Caffeine And Sugar

The first part of this week's weather has been/will be lovely, but over the weekend a cold front will bring the first winter-coat weather so I've been spending as much time outside as possible. This morning before a Pilates class I walked around the neighborhood by the gym, then after lunch Hubby Tony and I headed to Main Street in St. Charles to get steps and do some window shopping. 

We walked from one end to the other on the west side of the street, then crossed to the other side to head back. Eventually we passed a coffee shop and decided to stop in for a cup.  

If we're not in a hurry, and a shop offers it, we'll order a pour over (a brewing method where hot water is manually poured over grounds in a filter, with the brewed coffee dripping into a carafe below). Today it was. There were two choices of beans. One of them came from Yemen. The other was from Ethiopia. We ordered one of each in order to taste both, and added a cookie to share. The barista said the drinks would take a little while, but I told her that was okay. 

We took a seat at a table and waited. All of a sudden a string of customers came in, and the two baristas were working hard to get everything done. Ten minutes later one of our drinks was ready. When they called my name I went up to the counter and collected it and the sweet. We waited almost ten more minutes for the other drink, but passed the time by enjoying the large homemade cookie.

When the second drink was ready one of the baristas brought it over and set it on the table, along with a cardboard container. He apologized for the delay, explaining that one of the two pour over stations was out of commission, and said he hoped we would enjoy a piece of Turkish baklava on the house.

I am familiar with Greek baklava, which uses walnuts and honey. This Turkish version had pistachios and a lighter but sweeter sugar-based syrup. The small piece was cut into a wedge like a piece of pie.

The piece might have been small, but combined with the large cookie was more than enough. On the walk back to the car I had plenty of energy, but back at home had a sugar crash. (It was worth it, though.)

Five years ago: Leaf Walking