Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Write Right~Would You Like Some Miasma with Your Coffee?


My Keurig®
Last year I got myself a Keurig® coffee maker for my birthday. Hands down, one of my best purchases ever! I bought one of the larger ones with a good sized water tank that holds enough water for at least five cups of coffee.  

In preparation for that first (awesome, amazing, wonderful) morning cup of coffee, I fill Keurig®’s tank the evening before so that all I have to do is put one of the little K-Cups in the Keurig® when I wake up and push the button. Then, about a minute later, I have a cup of coffee. 

Yes, the days of grinding my own beans and using the drip coffee maker are over. I will admit that freshly ground is better, but there’s not a big enough difference to make me give up the convenience of my Keurig®

So what does this have to do with The Borrowed Book? No, I’m not trying to convince everyone to buy a Keurig®. I was reading The Young Housewife’s Counsellor and Friend from 1871 looking for something of interest to share with our bloggers, and I found this little tidbit that made me think:

Water that has been standing in the house is not fit to be used for coffee or tea. Unwholesome gases are apt to be imbibed from the air in which persons have been breathing for even an hour. Standing water is unwholesome to drink; it should be often replaced with fresh.

To make sense of this excerpt, I have to explain that what people called miasmas (noxious exhalations from putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or germs polluting the atmosphere) were thought to be the cause of disease in the 1800s. I don't have space to address miasmas further in this article. I hope to do so in the future.

But in the meantime, I'm making a sign for the kitchen:  







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6 comments:

  1. Hutt-Write VoiceMay 2, 2012 at 3:14 PM

    And right now I'm ready for a deliscious cup of java, especially after reading this. But our Tim Horton makes exceptional coffee too.

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  2. No NameMay 2, 2012 at 4:20 PM

    That's good to know. :-) Coffee is amazing. And even despite possible miasmas, I still had my standard two cups first things this morning.

    Thanks for commenting, Linda.

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  3. Diane Marie ShawMay 2, 2012 at 5:28 PM

    I'm a tea drinker, all day long.
    I got a chuckle out of the information.
    My daughter-in-law has a Keurig and she loves it too.

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  4. No NameMay 2, 2012 at 8:42 PM

    Diane, when I'm in a tea mood, I use the hot water from my Keurig. Saves me from using the teakettle. Although, I think that for many tea drinkers, a teakettle is part of the ritual. :-)

    Thanks for commenting.

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  5. Elizabeth LudwigMay 3, 2012 at 8:15 AM

    We have noxious gases in our household, too, but they aren't called miasmas. They're called MEN! ;-)

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  6. No NameMay 3, 2012 at 12:36 PM

    Is that what it is? If only I'd known that before everyone passed out from holding their breath. :-)

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