Coffee bags

Back in the late nineties, in England I could buy coffee bags. They were packaged and used very similarly to tea bags: many in a box, same size, etc., just add to very hot water then wait awhile. Purists may turn their nose up at such but they were certainly a convenient improvement over instant coffee.

Coffee bags remain available but, oddly, they've grown. The boxes tend to hold fewer, larger bags, I suspect less cheaply too. In trying different brands, we found that the Percol Americano stocked by Tesco are among the best. Perhaps better is the Rich Italian from Taylors of Harrogate, we should try their other flavours, also compare the price with the Percol.

Surprisingly cold

I have memories of April often featuring pleasantly warm, sunny days. Most of my teenage years were spent in Cornwall but even up here in Aberdeen we're typically only a couple of degrees celsius colder. I've been surprised at how cold I've typically felt here lately, we still usually bundle up well when we go outdoors, and this week we've seen some hail. The news sometimes mentions frost warnings. I don't know if that couple of degrees makes a large difference, or if the weather has changed, my memory is at fault, or what, but I feel that more signs of a coming summer are increasingly due. I wish my time in Tennessee had included two summers, not just one, but things worked out to have me arrive in fall and leave in spring, at least we will get back to the tropics sometimes to see family.

Update: A few hours after I wrote this, we got snow flurries.