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The Bewitching Aroma of Mudhouse Espresso

posted by Kyle Jeffries on February 02, 2008

I am walking down Walnut Street. It is six p.m., or round thereabouts. This is about a year and a half ago. A gentle head wind toys with me as I walk. In my gloved hands: a twelve oz. mug from where else? containing two shots of espresso and an equal amount of hot water: a short and beautifully stout americano (the perfect way to take espresso according to this coffee snob). And the wind directs straight into my olfactory organ something profound and arresting and intoxicating; it's not an aroma, it's a visitation. It's a revelation of some sort.
That the aesthetic response is, at least in its point of origination, a sensory experience is not a controversial claim, I think (though mathematicians may disagree: the aesthetics of a solution seems to be a different kind of beauty: not sensual, but wholly abstract. Yet, the practical effect of the aesthetic response is the same as with visual or aural beauty. An interesting and, to my (granted: limited)knowledge, under-explored issue of contemporary aesthetic theory. (Also (way digression here) interested parties should think about the prospect of bungee jumping as an aesthetic experience of gravity?!)). But we so often limit aesthetic experience to visual or aural senses. But of course there are endless examples of olfactory aesthetic experiences: ocean breeze, baby smell, roses, rich soil (Grandpa's farming hands at dinner in the evening? weeding the flower bed with Mother one day playing 'sick' from first grade?), Stetson. And, of course, coffee.
The point being that there on that street I had a first order aesthetic experience: and I'm talking, like, the Kantian sublime here. Beyond mere pleasure. Beyond simple beauty. Transcendence. Contact with other worlds, etc.
My problem now is that I can scarcely find the words to accurately describe the phenomenal aroma of our espresso. So let's get interactive here: if there are any hardcore MH espresso drinkers out there that read this, write in and try to describe that sensation. Don't fall into a common trap: I don't know enough about coffee to talk about it, my palate is refined enough, etc. This isn't some professional industry forum. I just want to know if anybody else has been hooked like me. Again, my recommendation: two shots of espresso with equal part hot water (no lid. I cannot stress this enough!). Put your nose right in the cup and breathe deeply and evenly. There's a whole world of smells in there. Tell me about it.

Later, mudlovers.

2 comments | Post by Kyle Jeffries | In Capricious Musings, Random Spoutings-Off, and Miscellanea!

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