This is a difficult edition of the newsletter to write...
On Monday my wonderful mother passed away. I miss her and her wise counsel deeply.
Rummaging through my memories of her, I have fuzzy recollections of coffee from the ancient times, when espresso was not common in Australia, when instant coffee was the only readily accessible form of coffee... I'm talking about the 80s.
The specific coffee memory I have from that antediluvian point in history was the intense rivalry between Nescafe Blend 43 and Moccona. Strangely, I'd always thought that Blend 43 was so named because it took 43 different types of coffee beans to form the blend (something which seems utterly ridiculous in any case). The name actually comes from the idea that one cup of coffee requires 43 beans. Coffee must have been pretty weak back then, it takes about 250 beans for the shot of espresso that I have each morning! Moccona, on the other hand, was marketed as being the "exotic" alternative. We always purchased Moccona...
As a light-hearted part of the grieving process I'll get a small container of both Blend 43 and Moccona Classic to try. I'll let you know what I think next week.
In the meantime, enjoy your coffee and give your loved ones a big hug.