vivdunstan

Second of three appointments completed for my new root canal + new crown. Huge thanks to my lovely NHS dentist. I know I'm really lucky to have him. In awe at his skill which makes scariest things trouble free - I can even fall asleep during them! Also always good craic (he's from Northern Ireland). He trained at Dundee University, taught by among others my previous dentist, who's from the same West Yorkshire town as my dad. Small world.

I now have a temporary crown in place, and can eat fairly normally, but will be extra careful on that side for the next fortnight. After the dental appointment we treated ourselves to breakfast in a local coffee shop, including a soft breakfast roll of scrambled eggs and sausages for me. Felt really indulgent. And fun.

Great morning in Broughty Ferry after my quarterly blood tests in Monifieth. Breakfast at Bowmans (see pic), buying Sacred Grounds coffee beans (roasted in Arbroath) loose from Love Your Planet, a fab woollen throw from interiors shop Time & Tide, and a manga book from The Bookhouse. Great wee town.

Part of my breakfast! This shows a round plate containing pancakes totally covered in cream and fruit including strawberries, plus a wee jug of maple syrup sitting ready to pour beside. Magnificent grub.

Starting our week of decaf coffee taste testing with James Hoffmann's Decaf Project. Have our beans (natural + 3 types of decaf processing, all same coffee originally) ready from an Aberdeenshire roaster. And going to be trying over 4 nights. Big YouTube live video on Sunday. We're going to make my usual style of coffee with our Hario Switch machine. And because we have a spare backup Hario Switch (!), that will be in operation beside it, making a coffee for Martin too. Who rarely drinks coffee, but is keen to take part in this decaf tasting. We are starting with the natural caffeinated beans, then working through Swiss Water, Ethyl Acetate and CO2 decaffeinated versions. Aiming to be done by Friday, one way or another!

Forgot to say we had a fab experience with a seagull at lunch yesterday. We were parked in Costas at Ethiebeaton Park above Monifieth. And a huge seagull suddenly landed on the front bonnet of our car, rocking it as it did. It flapped about, staring inside to see if there might be any hope of food. Then flew off again, the car moving again as it did. Sadly neither of us had a camera ready at the right moment. We were awestruck 🙂

Got a whizzy new one shot grinder for my coffee. It’s taken a little dialling in to get to the right grind level, but it’s a great flavour now. It will grind to espresso fineness, but for now we’re mainly using it for Hario Switch V60 immersion/drip combo. Which needs a much less fine grind level. But it does that too. This will mean I can enjoy fresher tastier coffee at home, that also keeps fresher for longer.

I've just finished this book by Travis Baldree, that sees an orc fighter called Viv (!) set up a coffee shop in a fantasy town. Love, love, loved it. So heartwarming. And how brilliant to combine a coffee shop plot with a fantasy setting. In places it was a little predicable, but the characters were so well written it was a real page turner. 5/5 read for me. And I will definitely be reading the sequel.

The book was originally written as a NaNoWriMo book, well edited, then self published. Then Tor picked it up for a bigger print run / distribution. The book includes a really nice acknowledgements section that tells some of this story, and stresses the importance of good editing for a book like this. Hugely encouraging stuff.

And although I'm stuck at home I am glad I had good coffee and buns to enjoy during reading this! Because the book would have made me crave them otherwise.

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Entries tagged with coffee

Dental progress

Morning in the Ferry

Decaf Project

Birds

Coffee grinder

Book 6 of 2023: Legends and Lattes

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May 2025

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