Sunday, September 18, 2011

Space Travel

For years, I have joked about Kootenay astronomers having a hard time finding work.  The mountains hide a lot of the sky. Also during the winter in the mountains, there are a lot of clouds.  Between clouds and mountains, being a sky watcher is tricky.  What we can see is quite limited which I understood every time I ventured out into the flat lands.  The prairies have so much sky.  That is the place to view the stars.

The Big Dipper
The community event offered a view of the night sky with an amateur astronomer.  My friend BJ and I decided to check it out.  Wayne had set up two telescopes by the time we arrived. With a light laser, he pointed at the Big Dipper and singled out one of the stars in the “handle.”  Through the telescope, we could see that there were actually two stars, double stars.  The two stars are also called “horse and rider,” and can be seen with the naked eye; they have been used as a test for eyesight. Mizar is really a system of stars.

The sky was perfectly clear. While we waited for Jupiter to rise, Wayne showed us two kinds of nebula, a word that comes from Latin and meaning cloud.  Nebula consists of gases, dust and matter and is the place where stars are born.  This is also how stars die.  The nebula where stars were being formed was much larger than the dying one; the other distinction is their colour.  Astronomers like Wayne are able to detect whether stars are on their way in or out. 

Our next sighting was a globular cluster which is a spherical collection of stars that are bound together by gravity.  When I looked through the telescope, I saw thousands of dots of light.  I was blown away. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, has about 150 to 158 globular clusters.  The Milky Way, Wayne told us, has over 400 billion stars.  And our sun is one of them.  And it is only a medium-sized galaxy.  It is estimated that there are 170 billion galaxies. 

I can’t even imagine what that would look like.  The numbers are dizzying and the more I looked up into the sky, I felt simultaneously how expansive the universe is and then how small we are.   What BJ noticed was how much the Big Dipper moved in the sky, and then realized that it really was us moving.

Intrigued by figuring out how fast we are moving, I called Wayne.  Here is what he said:

  • we are spinning on our axis (which we see in the 24 hour clock);
  • we are revolving around the sun (which gives us the 365 or so days in a year);
  • our sun is spinning around the hub of the Milky Way Galaxy; and
  • our galaxy is also moving.

After some research, here’s what I found about our movement through space:

  • The speed of our axis spin can be easily calculated.  The Earth’s circumference is 40,075 kilometres and there are 23.93 hours in a day.  The result of the division is 1,675 kilometres per hour. 
  • In a day, the Earth travels 2.5 million kilometres around the sun. 
  • Our solar system revolves around the galaxy at about 220 kilometres per second. 
  • And our galaxy is cruising through space at about 1,000 kilometres per second. 

We are in a hurry!

Just as Wayne promised, by 11 pm, we saw Jupiter rising in the East; the planets are on the same elliptical path as the sun and moon so they rise in the East and set in the West.  Because of the Earth’s atmosphere the best viewing was when it was higher in the sky.  When I looked through the lens, I saw four of Jupiter’s moons and dark-coloured bands.  Spectacular!

A man and his young daughter alternated telescope time with us; he told us that he just moved from Israel where he could not see the stars because of the glow from city lights.  I looked up.  The sky was getting darker and the stars were increasing. 

My mountain home is a wonderful place for star watching!

A few days later, I found my copy of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos.  This book published in 1980 follows the popular 13-part television series of the same name.  He explains the speed with which Earth is moving through the Universe.  He says, “we have always been space travelers.” 

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Coffee Culture

“Where’s the best place to get a latte?”   Thanks to the Coffee Mania wave, I can even find a café in whistle-stop towns.  My vocabulary, spending habits and preferences has unfolded over the past 20 years as I have been swept along into the rise of coffee popularity.  Though my body has spurned coffee, I remain a wannabe, captivated by its aroma and sweet-bitterness. 

The quest for the best java has morphed over time.  Years ago, my father would drive his half ton to the local diner and park alongside other trucks.  Inside, the men sat in a line at the counter on swivel stools where they caught each other up on the news of the day.  As each one seated, a waitress flipped a cup over in front of the customer with one hand and poured the coffee from the pot she held in the other.  Cream was in metal containers and sugar was poured out of a glass jar with a metal lid.  It was rare that they ordered anything to eat.  Coffee cups were topped up, and once that was done, they all went off to do their chores.  The women who poured the coffee were called waitresses, and what came out of the pot was never questioned. 

Today, baristas serve up our drinks, a long list of possibilities centred on an espresso.  The customer is frequently conversed in the specific language, and the degree of strength of their cup. 

What is espresso?  People often think that it is about the type of coffee bean or grind, but it is about the preparation method.  Each cup begins by forcing hot water under pressure through a finely ground coffee.  Depending on different regional preferences, the coffee beans used may be dark or lighter, a result of beans chosen and the roasting process. The result is a thicker consistency than drip coffee, and a reddish-brown foam on the surface, called crema.  From this base, other variations are created such as cappuccinos, lattes, americanos and mochas.  Prepared by a barista, an Italian word for bartender, each cup is presented in an individual, “just-for-you” fashion.  And fashionable it has become, with recognizable logos on the sides of to-go cups, and the emergence of the word grande into everyday language.  Selecting what to drink at a coffee bar has also become stylish, and ever changing; for example, one new trend is a Canadiano which is an espresso with added drip coffee.  A Banff café calls this one a “caffeine avalanche.” 

Italy is the birthplace of espresso. It was there, in 1901, that the first espresso machine was patented. In North America, Seattle is perhaps the most well known city for its coffee, and perhaps because this is the birthplace of Starbucks, and other roasteries such as Seattle’s Best Coffee.  Starbucks opened in 1971 across from Seattle’s Pike Place Market, a popular visitors’ attraction.  By February 2008, they had 15,700 stores in 43 countries, and in 2006, they bought 32 million pounds of coffee.

Smaller coffee roasteries abound in Seattle.   Espresso Vivace in Seattle’s Capitol Hill district identifies itself as an Italian-style coffee house.  Vivace’s is a vibrant culinary delight with enthusiastic baristas who create spectacular coffee art on their lattes and cappuccinos.  The motto at Vivace is “una bella tazza di caffe,” – a beautiful cup of coffee.  They take their motto seriously.  One of the founders has created a book on professional espresso techniques and a video called “Caffe Latte Art.”

By the time, I stumbled upon Vivace on Broadway Avenue, I knew that the secret of a great cup of coffee was freshness, both in the preparation and in the roasting of the carefully chosen beans.  Vivace embodies both.

The pursuit of excellence in a divine cup of espresso stretches far beyond Seattle and Italy.  In my hometown of Nelson, BC, Oso Negro, coffee roastery and coffee bar, was immensely popular from the start.   In 1993, the roastery occupied a 200-square foot room and has now expanded to roasting 4 tons a month.  At Oso Negro, freshness is emphasized; employees advise that customers’ newly purchased coffees be used within 4 weeks.  The popularity of Oso Negro has locals bringing a bag when they go away on vacation, and former residents requesting it from afar.

For those who are insistent on the ultimate in freshness, the roasting of coffee beans can also be done at home.  For $89 plus shipping, a person can buy Freshroast Plus 8.

Roasting coffee beans is an acquired skill.   An Oso Negro video of the art of coffee roasting illustrates the miniscule time between a perfect roast, and one that is burnt.  The results are what make a coffee popular, or not.

Starbucks, for example, have been criticized for the bitterness of their coffee, and nicknamed Charbucks.  Bitterness is all in the taste of the beholder.

The growth of Starbucks and independent coffee houses have not gone unnoticed by the big companies who are vying for our coffee dollars.  McDonalds pounced into the lucrative coffee market in 2006 when they announced their Premium Roast Blend to increase their ailing sales.  Then, in May 2009, they launched a $100 million advertising campaign for the McCafe line of espresso drinks, which are aimed to be an affordable alternative to coffee houses.   Burger King’s entry is the BK Joe, which comes in either regular or “turbo strength,” which has 40% more caffeine.  Dunkin’ Donuts bills itself as  “America's largest retailer of coffee-by-the-cup” with their fair-trade offerings that now include espresso, cappuccino, and lattes.  Many places are battling for our coffee dollars including our financial advisors who plead us to consider the “latte factor” when thinking of investments. We are not giving up our coffees quickly.

Tim Hortons, the land of the “double double,” a coffee shop established by an ex-NHL hockey player .  Tim Hortons is also popular with a new generation of hurried morning commuters who take advantage of the drive-through and famous food such as the Hot Breakfast Sandwich.  Tim Hortons’ motto, “Always Fresh,” is illustrated through their commercials, which have servers marking the time on each fresh pot; after 18 minutes a new pot is brewed.  Like the espresso, freshness is essential.

Whether it is brewed or espresso, the phenomenon of coffee houses has exploded over the last few years.  Our local Safeway has a Starbucks installed so customers pass by on their way from the tellers.  On Robson Street in Vancouver, two Starbucks are on diagonal corners from each other; it is not unusual to see a line-up at both places.

Starbucks’ growth has much to do with their atmosphere, as well as their coffee.  The coffee movement, called Coffee Culture, has been called a “social lubricant,” and indeed Starbucks is a social gathering place. 
Coffee Culture is a social atmosphere centred around coffee, and in particular, espresso.  But it is also about the consumption of coffee, how it is prepared, and where it is served. Coffee Culture has infiltrated the modern world, changing the fundamental ways people lead their daily, busy lives.

A chain of stores called Coffee Culture, started in Woodstock, ON, is a 100% Canadian owned café and eatery with over 26 locations and 17 planned ones in Ontario.  On their website, Coffee Culture describes itself as a European-style coffee house, “Canada’s hottest coffee concept.”  Their motto is, “Come for the taste, stay for the visit.”

One of the ways that we know when a trend has become ingrained into our lives is when it is becomes part of the entertainment culture.  In the movie, Shrek 2, a building called Farbucks is destroyed and all the customers run out and go to another one across the street.  Humorist Andy Burowitz announced that Starbucks would be opening 11,000 cafés on the moon by 2021.  "Those astronauts are going to be working long and hard to build that moon base and we’re betting they’re going to want a latte or two," says a Starbucks spokeswoman. "Fortunately for them, there’ll be a Starbucks on the edge of every crater."

With such a prominence of specialty coffee cafés, imagining Starbucks on the moon doesn’t seem that farfetched.  Coffee Culture is clearly here to stay; the pursuit for more exquisite tastes will engage the aficionados and delight the rest of us.  

Where’s the best place to get a cup of coffee?  Like love, it is truly in the eye of the beholder.