Marian
November 7th 08, 02:30 PM
With pictures on the Chinese Eye website:
http://www.chineseye.com/path-users-usr_center&option=blog_show&blogid=407&userid=1406.html
The Espinozas have kindly loaned me their espresso maker for the
duration of the Tour so, in addition to the instant 3 in 1 and the
drip maker the office is going to be totally set for me to do my
little Caffeine Fairy act. I like being the Caffeine Fairy. Although
I personally don't drink that much coffee that often I have found that
having a large and varied supply of good coffee when no one else has
any real coffee at all is a good way to make friends and influence
people.
At my most extreme the travelling coffee kit has included three
different kinds of coffee bean in two different grinds, chocolate
covered coffee beans, a french press, a small butane burner, fuel, an
ubruki for making Turkish coffee, buckwheat honey, clover honey, white
sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, green tea, black tea, seven kinds of
herbal tea, hot cocoa, and milk.
Last year it was just the drip maker and the electric grinder and I
hadn't even originally intended to bring those. I'd stolen a pot of
coffee from the buffet one morning at breakfast and brought it back to
the office, winning the approval and thanks of both the people working
in the office and the ones just wandering through. Later on in the
day I ordered a pot of coffee from room service and was horrified to
discover that it cost 200rmb! That's USD 25 for a single pot of
coffee. I realize that the race tends to stay at some pretty nice
hotels but that's a ridiculous price for one pot of coffee.
Being as I was living in Sanya at the time when I went to get my
luggage the night before Stage One, I also brought a coffee maker.
It was very popular.
Very very popular.
One of my favorite stories from the 2007 Tour is how I ended up
grinding coffee for the Mongolian National Team. I had offered to let
them take my coffee grinder back with them but the riders who had
brought the coffee beans to me were somewhat lacking in English skills
and the conversation mostly consisted of big smiles, gestures and the
words "you," "girl," "coffee," "yes."
After originally being snapped at for the trouble caused by my coffee
maker and how the office was an office where official office stuff was
supposed to happen and not somewhere where people were supposed to
hang out drinking coffee I somehow ended up being officially
responsible for bringing the coffee this year. Even if the person who
snapped at me isn't a coffee drinker, he knows how to respect public
opinion and too many people not only liked my coffee they also
commented on it.
As a result, although I didn't really bring all that much personal
luggage, the stuff I was lugging this morning when I got picked up
included a newly bought drip maker (the large one I had before
accidentally got put away in the warehouse with the other office stuff
after the triathlon), the Espinozas espresso maker, sugar, and an
electric grinder. I'll be adding milk (both fresh and sweetened
condensed), coconut milk, and cocoa powder in the next day or three.
Also got to get spoons. Compared to what I have carried in the
Caffeine Fairy's basket in the past it's not an especially large
collection but it's more than enough to make the coms (all of whom
come from western countries) and the high powered media types (like
CCTV and ESPN) happy.
While I might not be the kind of kiss-ass who butters up important
people solely because they are important, I do rather a lot of work in
sports and I'm hoping to do even more work in sports so making the
important people happy is a good thing.
Besides which, the coffee makes the most important of the important
people happy - my coworkers.
....though I do wish they would stop bouncing.
http://www.chineseye.com/path-users-usr_center&option=blog_show&blogid=407&userid=1406.html
The Espinozas have kindly loaned me their espresso maker for the
duration of the Tour so, in addition to the instant 3 in 1 and the
drip maker the office is going to be totally set for me to do my
little Caffeine Fairy act. I like being the Caffeine Fairy. Although
I personally don't drink that much coffee that often I have found that
having a large and varied supply of good coffee when no one else has
any real coffee at all is a good way to make friends and influence
people.
At my most extreme the travelling coffee kit has included three
different kinds of coffee bean in two different grinds, chocolate
covered coffee beans, a french press, a small butane burner, fuel, an
ubruki for making Turkish coffee, buckwheat honey, clover honey, white
sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, green tea, black tea, seven kinds of
herbal tea, hot cocoa, and milk.
Last year it was just the drip maker and the electric grinder and I
hadn't even originally intended to bring those. I'd stolen a pot of
coffee from the buffet one morning at breakfast and brought it back to
the office, winning the approval and thanks of both the people working
in the office and the ones just wandering through. Later on in the
day I ordered a pot of coffee from room service and was horrified to
discover that it cost 200rmb! That's USD 25 for a single pot of
coffee. I realize that the race tends to stay at some pretty nice
hotels but that's a ridiculous price for one pot of coffee.
Being as I was living in Sanya at the time when I went to get my
luggage the night before Stage One, I also brought a coffee maker.
It was very popular.
Very very popular.
One of my favorite stories from the 2007 Tour is how I ended up
grinding coffee for the Mongolian National Team. I had offered to let
them take my coffee grinder back with them but the riders who had
brought the coffee beans to me were somewhat lacking in English skills
and the conversation mostly consisted of big smiles, gestures and the
words "you," "girl," "coffee," "yes."
After originally being snapped at for the trouble caused by my coffee
maker and how the office was an office where official office stuff was
supposed to happen and not somewhere where people were supposed to
hang out drinking coffee I somehow ended up being officially
responsible for bringing the coffee this year. Even if the person who
snapped at me isn't a coffee drinker, he knows how to respect public
opinion and too many people not only liked my coffee they also
commented on it.
As a result, although I didn't really bring all that much personal
luggage, the stuff I was lugging this morning when I got picked up
included a newly bought drip maker (the large one I had before
accidentally got put away in the warehouse with the other office stuff
after the triathlon), the Espinozas espresso maker, sugar, and an
electric grinder. I'll be adding milk (both fresh and sweetened
condensed), coconut milk, and cocoa powder in the next day or three.
Also got to get spoons. Compared to what I have carried in the
Caffeine Fairy's basket in the past it's not an especially large
collection but it's more than enough to make the coms (all of whom
come from western countries) and the high powered media types (like
CCTV and ESPN) happy.
While I might not be the kind of kiss-ass who butters up important
people solely because they are important, I do rather a lot of work in
sports and I'm hoping to do even more work in sports so making the
important people happy is a good thing.
Besides which, the coffee makes the most important of the important
people happy - my coworkers.
....though I do wish they would stop bouncing.