on coffee
i run on coffee. not dunkin. not starbucks. i want real coffee - black, like my soul (just a joke…. i think?). my morning cup is quite meticulous. i need to time my brews and weight my beans, ensuring future repetition. over the course of five minutes, the dance is quite extraordinary. i have to use brita filtered water. it needs to go into the electric gooseneck kettle first and to be set at 99C. while that’s warming up, i need to weight exactly 15.0 grams of coffee beans. and grind it at the exact grind setting. the paper filter and decanter need to be washed. the brewer and the cup need to be preheated. ok now i can start brewing. 45 second bloom. 15 second pause. 10 second pour of 50 grams of water. 10 second pause. 10 second pour. repeat until 250 grams of water have been added. (hoffman v60 method iykyk). perfection. but way too much work for my sleepy head at 7:30am before a long day of work. it’s an accomplishment when i nail the brew.
you may ask why i drink black coffee or why i go through this entire process when i could easily use kcups. jokes on you, i also have those korean instant coffee sticks haha. to be concise, once you’ve tasted good coffee, you can’t easily go back. it’s a constant chase to try some new flavors. it’s a constant chase to maximize the flavors each brew. too coarse of a grind, the brew is too weak lacking complexity. too fine of a grind, the brew is too sour. us coffee nerds are constantly tweaking every single variable for what is ultimately burnt bean juice. and i love it.
that is not to say i don’t enjoy other mainstream coffee. my parents were coffee non believers growing up. as our household was folger-less, the nearest source of caffeine was the starbucks down the road. 16 year old me wanted to seem adult - put together if you will, ordering grande cold brews only to realize after a few sips that he still preferred the iced vanilla frap with extra whipped cream (and maybe a pump of caramel). yet i have starbucks to thank for being a gateway. it introduced me into the world of coffee. what was the difference between drip and espresso? what about latte and americano? these questions led me to be curious. i would like to say i had the courage to ask my local barista, but im too shy. my phone over the free starbucks wi-fi did the trick just fine. but what starbucks really did is introduce me into coffee. i had spend so much time in coffee shops. why not understand coffee a bit better? i still enjoy starbucks to this day. sometimes in the office i’ll grab a can of double espresso with cream. sometimes i’ll go out of necessity (being open late). sometimes i just miss that fleeting nostalgic feeling. thank you starbucks.
i have never worked in coffee, and probably never will. this will forever remain as a hobby. i realize that most of this is rather pretentious. some dude on the internet is talking about fancy equipment and brewing that sounds more like a science experiment. he’s talking about the starbucks like it’s a god’s gift. trust me, 99% of the times, i just want caffeine, a place to work, a pleasant aroma. but in the remaining 1%, i stop and wonder and contemplate why i did the 99%. what it means to me. how it has shaped me. let me know something you are into.
be good,
simple