A worthwhile coffee habit
I didn’t drink coffee until I went to college. My parents were big coffee drinkers, and still are. Never espresso drinks, just salt-of-the-earth red-blooded American style drip coffee. Seemingly endless cups too, pot after pot. Plenty of cream, zero sugar.
They didn’t seem to care much about the coffee quality either. Whenever discussions about the coffee maker, grinder, or beans started, the core benchmark was speed. “Does it make the coffee fast?” Other than the obvious “is it sufficiently caffeinated?”, every other aspect was moot.
Growing up I thought coffee was gross, as most kids do. Hot, bitter, nasty brown water for adults. No thanks.
That changed once I started college. I had an “early morning” Intro to Philosophy class three times per week (8:20am is early for a college freshman). After just a week of attending these half-asleep, I reasoned that a cup of coffee would be the solution to my problems, as more sleep wasn’t desired at that point.
I started buying a 12oz cup of coffee from the cart on the ground floor of the building where I had class right before the start of class. No sugar, just cream, like my parents. It was history from there.
It became a daily habit, and one that I’ve happily continued to this day. I’ve kept it to just one cup a day (occasionally two), and always strictly in the morning to avoid any sleep disruption. Research suggests coffee is at worst neutral for your health, and likely beneficial, so hey, that validates my addiction. The science has my back!
I explored the new world of coffee with enthusiasm. I ordered from the campus Starbucks (wow those cups are strong), the local on-campus cafes (some were great, others were not), the dining hall (still consistently the worst coffee I’ve ever had) and I started making my own. The latter is the best option, without a doubt.
Personally, I started with buying coffee using my student campus dining plan account. Once I stopped being an on-campus student, I started with the prototypical speed-above-all drip coffee maker. Then I had a Keurig, then upgraded to a Nespresso. I had a phase where I used the Clever Coffee Dripper and a kettle. Now, I have a Breville Bambino espresso machine and a Breville Burr Grinder. I love it. I use it every day, and I make great coffee.
My belief: You should want the best daily cup of coffee you can get, and you absolutely should DIY to get it.
For one, if coffee is a daily habit, it is likely how you start your day. In many ways, it is a mindfulness practice, it shapes your mood, and is a small part of who you are. So make it great. Something you look forward to. Something you will get out of bed for.
I realize you might be someone who just desires what coffee does for you, i.e. makes you a functioning human being due to your poor sleep habits. I get it. But that is a pitiful stance on the art form of brewing coffee, of which you are a practitioner. Have some pride! It can have its desired physiological impacts, and be worth drinking. Let’s make it so.
Second, you can assemble all the components of the process to your liking. It doesn’t have to be expensive. The sky’s the limit on what you can spend, but getting an excellent cup at home is more affordable than Starbucks every day.
When you make your own coffee and try to make it as good as it can be, you learn something. It becomes apparent what effect the bean quality has on the taste. Or even the water quality. Or the ratio you’ve been using that’s actually all wrong. You only learn that by trying something new and fixing it.
Not only do you learn, but you appreciate it. The richness and depth of different forms of coffee and various roasts are all unique. It’s a small addition to your overall sense of taste, which everyone should cultivate.