Coffee Geek and Proud Of It
You can definitely classify me as a coffee geek today. I’m not sure when it happened.
As a teenager I didn’t even drink coffee. And trust me, that was many, many years ago. At the time, I may have been mildly aware of the negative message from the medical community maligning daily coffee drinking. Of course, as a teenager, I don’t think I was particularly influenced by the medical community and the doctors, based on the other substances I was willing to put in my body.
No, back then it was more that I just didn’t care for the taste of coffee all that much. I do recall at about the age of sixteen or so, in our family household, we were just transitioning off of the electric percolator to a Mr. Coffee drip machine. OK, now I’m really dating myself. Does anyone even have a percolator anymore? Even with the drip coffee maker, I do remember we were still brewing mostly Yuban, and occasionally Folgers and Maxwell House ground coffee in a can. Maybe the Yuban coffee just wasn’t doing anything for me back then.
Remember Yuban with the Juan Valdez TV commercials? Had to be 100% Colombian grown coffee if Juan Valdez showed up in your bedroom with his burro (somehow, that doesn’t sound right). I seem to recall someone telling me Juan Valdez was actually from Puerto Rico, not Colombia. But hey, Americans won’t be able to tell the difference. Come on, its a marketing campaign.
Juan Valdez – 100% Colombian Coffee
Now, many years later, I’m an incorrigible coffee geek, a veritable coffee fanatic. I’m not sure when and how it happened exactly. And don’t worry, I’ll only bore you with a few of the tedious details of my life, step by step.
But quickly, I think it happened something like this …
-
Discovered the value of caffeine to survive the late night “finish the paper” cram sessions in college.
-
I admit, Starbucks had some influence along the way.
-
Purchased a blade grinder, started grinding my own beans. Switched to whole beans. It just felt right.
-
And then I discovered espresso. I’m pretty sure it was one of the local Italian restaurants. A double espresso with desert. Hey, this stuff is pretty good!
-
For years, it had to be dark French roast beans. Didn’t pay much attention to the coffee origin. Just had to be a dark roast. Then I discovered there are some other options, at least thirty different coffee origins from around the world. Wow, there are some different tasting coffees out there.
-
Someone gave me a French press. Now there’s a great way to brew coffee and get a full extraction. I’m starting to pay more attention to the coffee ritual and the experience, and I’m getting pulled in. It’s not just a cup of coffee anymore.
-
Don’t ask me when I started adding words like “extraction” to my coffee vocabulary. But I think these may be some of the telltale indicators of coffee geek-hood.
-
I suppose another coffee geek “right of passage” occurs the moment you decide you have to have an espresso machine at home. After all, wouldn’t it be great to crank out great espresso shots anytime you want. Then you find out it’s “pulling shots” not cranking out shots. More coffee geek vocabulary.
-
So now one of the clear dividing line emerges. Is it going to be a manual or piston style machine, a semi-automatic, or a super-automatic fully computerized, one-button espresso machine? Let’s see, anything computerized is pretty geeky, but what would a real barista choose? I’m afraid if you go for the fully computerized, super-automatic, push the easy button espresso machine, you’re probably not a true coffee geek. You may have the bucks, but come on, you didn’t think you can just buy your way into geek-hood?
-
When you do a little soul searching, and you find out you somehow identify with that barista inside, and you decide that there must be honor and valor in mastering the full technique and artistry of espresso coffee preparation, you’re probably a coffee geek.
-
And then it seems, you’re past the point of no return. This espresso thing’s a bit harder than it looks. So you study, and you learn, and you practice. And at least several hundred shots later, and an expensive burr grinder so you can finally get the grind right, you’re pulling pretty respectable shots.
-
You’ve arrived! There is no denying, you are a full-fledged coffee geek. And proud of it!
Now let me clarify something. Please don’t confuse a coffee geek with a coffee snob. I can’t speak for all coffee geeks, but I would never think I’m better than somebody just because I love everything about coffee. In fact, I think a coffee geek is much more of a coffee evangelist than a snob. You know, an obsession. Can’t stop talking about coffee, and has the desire to share with anyone who will listen.
For the many folks out there that don’t share the calling, I get it. Coffee is no big deal. Any regular cup of coffee in the morning is just fine.
But for a coffee geek like me, there’s a richer and more rewarding coffee experience out there, and I’m going to make it happen.
OK, I don’t expect this to make sense to everyone.
But if it does, maybe you’re a little bit of a coffee geek too?
Posted in Coffee Banter | 2 Comments
November 15th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
[…] krups coffee grinder, krups coffee grinders, krups coffee grinder reviews, best coffee grinder krups coffee grinder, krups coffee grinders, krups coffee grinder reviews, best coffee grinder krups coffee grinder, krups coffee grinders, krups coffee grinder reviews, best coffee grinder […]
December 3rd, 2010 at 8:03 am
[…] krups coffee grinder, krups coffee grinders, krups coffee grinder reviews, best coffee grinder krups coffee grinder, krups coffee grinders, krups coffee grinder reviews, best coffee grinder krups coffee grinder, krups coffee grinders, krups coffee grinder reviews, best coffee grinder […]