beans and dreams

Second Chance Coffee Company in Wheaton, Illinois offers a variety of amazingly delicious, rich roasts under its I Have a Bean brand -- and it also offers the promised second chance by employing and helping to transition ex-offenders following release from the State of Illinois prison system.  The positive purpose as noted on Second Chance's website is to end "[t]he cycle of recidivism" that often plagues former prisoners, and to stop the "ubiquitous tale of wasted lives and victimized communities" by creating an extended network of employment, reeducation and counseling.

You may not live in Wheaton or even close to it, but you can order on-line and help support this worthwhile venture while purchasing some excellent coffee blends.  The smell of the coffee alone is an alertly intoxicating experience -- and consider yourself warned that if you make one order, you're probably going to want more.

makioka and genmaicha

In support of Japan's struggle to overcome its recent tragedies, the latest Tea and a Book selection here is Junichiro Tanizaki's novel The Makioka Sisters along with Harney & Sons's Genmaicha.  The Makioka Sisters began as a serial novel in 1943 and details the saga of the four young women of the Makioka family and their various paths in love and life.  Tanizaki was born in 1886 and throughout his twenties was fascinated by American and Western culture.  Following the sobering devastation of the 1923 Tokyo earthquake, however, he began to appreciate more native Japanese traditions and to include them in his literary works.  Genmaicha is a green tea blend with rice kernels roasted right along with the Bancha leaves, pairing both integral elements of the Japanese diet.  The pace of The Makioka Sisters is slow and carefully crafted with detail -- and it's definitely not a racy page-turner.  A feminine mindset obviously dominates the plot, but there is something richly steeped and curiously compelling about the book that lends itself to the Genmaicha tea as well. 

Japan continues to reel from the horrors of the quake, tsunami and nuclear complications; the country is resilient and resourceful, but still clearly in distress.  America's outpouring of aid has been strong, though, and in reading The Makioka Sisters it's remarkable and encouraging to reflect how even though Japan was once a mortal enemy of the United States, there is that mutual support now -- just as Japan came to America's aid following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

(Pictured:  The Makioka Sisters, Junichiro Tanizaki (Vintage Books edition, 1995)

the fifth element and/or warm, comfortable drinks

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"In lecturing on cookery, as on housebuilding, I divide the subject into, not four, but five grand elements:  first, Bread; second, Butter; third, Meat; fourth, Vegetables; and fifth, Tea—by which I mean, generically, all sorts of warm, comfortable drinks served out in teacups, whether they be called tea, coffee, chocolate, broma, or what not. I affirm that, if these five departments are all perfect, the great ends of domestic cookery are answered, so far as the comfort and well-being of life are concerned."  Harriet Beecher Stowe -- Household Papers and Stories, Ch. 10 (1864)

Pictured: Mate, Coffee, Cocoa and Tea Plant (New World Encyclopedia, 1902)

mardi gras treat

Cafe Brulot involves coffee, sugar, orange peel, lemon peel, cloves, cinnamon, orange liqueur, brandy and perhaps a fire extinguisher.  Skilfully ignited before serving, the resulting tastes are deep, citrusy and delicious, along with the exciting drama of setting something culinary on fire -- but of course proceed with equal parts caution and adventure.  Here is Saveur Magazine's recipe for cafe brulot, along with another Saveur on-line feature for Six Classic New Orleans Drink Recipes.

Pictured:  Woman Seated on a Balcony, New Orleans -- (Edgar Degas, 1872)