Friday, November 23, 2018

Oysters

Favorite Oyster Features:
medium to large size, plump, creamy yet firm, moderately briny, plenty of liquor;
off white and opaque (creaminess and texture indicator), generally prefer Pacific, open to merroir.

Very Good Ones:
Konbo Mori (Hokkaido, JPN) - soft, creamy, minerally, low brine, medium finish; M-L (9)
Hiroshima (JPN) - sweet, medium creamy, firm, medium brine, M-L (10)
Senpoushi (Hokkaido, JPN) - very creamy, minerally, earth tones, long finish, M-L (10)
Namibian Pacific (SA) - very creamy yet firm, sweet, medium brine, M (9)

Good Ones:
Isigny Speciale (FR) - creamy yet firm, briney, a lot of liquor, M (7.5)

Saturday, November 17, 2018

Favorite Cheeses

France:
Fumaison (smoked, raw sheep's milk)
Pont l'Eveque
Vieux Pane
Langres
Morbier
Saint Nectaire
Reblochon
Banon
Fourme d'Ambert
Bleu d'Auvergne
Chevres (various)
Italy:
Taleggio
Gorgonzola (dolce and naturale)
Pecorino Sardo
England:
Neal's Yard St. James (raw sheep's milk, funk)
Stilton
Cotswold
Mature Cheddar
Scandinavia:
Swedish Farmer's Cheese (Scandic)
USA:
Humbolt Fog
Cremont
Schloss

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Coffee

On the British scale of 1 (weak) to 5 (very robust), I tend towards number 4.

Favorites are tropical Southeast Asian - Sumatra and Papua New Guinea.

Disappointing: Peruvian (too mild)

Best method - pour over with unbleached filters in a Hario ceramic cone.