Kostverlorenvaart

Jan visited me and he brought a bag of fine MSG which is used in many kitchens to enhance the taste of food. Would this work in espresso as well, Jan wondered so we set out to try with 0.3g of MSG in 30g of excellent espresso. Could it get any better? No it couldn't. It tasted as if some anchovies had been kept in the cup for a night and then some espresso poured over it. Yikes! But fun all the same.

This morning my friend Arthur from the Russian MiniMix supermarket (formerly CCCP Amsterdam) here in town told me how he likes to cover a slice of lemon with equal parts ground coffee and sugar to eat while drinking good Cognac. Jan arrived in the afternoon and I asked him to join me in testing this with freshly ground Colombian coffee. It was delicious! We did not taste the coffee much. It was sweet lemon and some hint of chocolate. The coffee probably caused the 'chocolate' sensation here.