A Life Full of Stories

Does it drive you crazy to think that you might be the same a year from now as you are today? It drives me crazy. If the stories I have to tell tomorrow are the same as the ones I tell today, then there’s been no change – just living in the status quo. Well I don’t think it has to be so. Education can change us. Certain experiences can change us. If we are driven by something within us – change should come.

Let’s get back to coffee. I began this little journey about five months ago. All I wanted was a better morning cup of coffee. Nothing overly ambitious. Then as I traveled down this path, I stumbled on some wonderful discoveries and even had an epiphany! My morning cup of coffee has definitely improved.

I now have stories: 1) eye-opening flavors by using a French press, 2) filling my house and my brother-in-law’s house with smoke, while attempting to roast coffee in the oven, 3) finally roasting coffee with a popcorn popper from Target, 4) realizing that bad tasting coffee from the supermarket may just be rancid.

Am I done yet? No way! I’m sure there is much more to discover out there. I have purposely decided to wait a little while before embarking into the universe of espresso.

I don’t have an unlimited budget. I can’t afford $600 coffee grinders or $2000 espresso machines. But I don’t think it really matters. A really good cup of coffee doesn’t demand ultra high prices. Maybe a perfect cup of coffee requires a pretty penny. But I’m still not sure that my palate can appreciate the perfect cup.

Another Mission Moment

I got another mission moment – you know, when some self-reflection and self-realization come. The last time I had one of these was back in December 2008. So here is is:

I’m just an average coffee drinking guy traveling the specialty coffee world. But I’m not just sight-seeing. I’m expecting to make part of the landscape my home. In this blog, I’m letting you watch how things play out.

You don’t think you have a gourmet palette to appreciate what the coffee aficionados rave about? Well I didn’t think so when I began this blog. I’m not there yet either. But let’s just see where I end up. If you want to ride my coattails, ride along! Let me know what you see on the way.

Here is my past itinerary:

October 2008 – used the French press for the first time – so much better than drip!

November 2008 – discovered the vacuum pot – mad scientist way to make coffee

December 2008 – January 2009 – failures home roasting in an oven, twice, with a cheap popcorn popper

End of January 2009 – now – Finally getting home roasting to work.

Guy’s Personal Coffee History

Childhood
I grew up with coffee drinking parents who were the product of the 50’s. Hills Brothers, Folgers, and Sanka were all common household brands. However, I never drank coffee until my senior year in college — I was still hoping I would grow a few more inches — I stopped growing at 5′3″ at age 15.

The 80’s
Unfortunately, my memory is drawing blanks during this time. One memory I have of the time between college and grad school — Friday nights, my dad and I would go to an Italian restaurant. I found the secret to the perfect meal. A good beer before the meal. A good wine during the meal. A cup of coffee with dessert — a rich chocolate mousse. Mmm. Hedonistic heaven! In grad school I don’t think coffee was that big of a part of my life. Maybe a cup when I first got to school.

The 90’s
After grad school (PhD in chemistry), I went into Christian ministry. I lived in a large house with about 12 other male college students – the house was like a Christian frat house. Went to bed at midnight. Woke up at 6:00. Then studied the Bible with 4-5 other Christian workers with the intensity of supreme court justices every morning, Tuesday through Friday.

THIS WAS THE TIME OF SERIOUS COFFEE DRINKING!

We had the usual Folgers/Maxwell House/etc. coffee made in a Mr. Coffee. My sister also gave me an espresso machine she had gotten as a wedding gift. I made myself pseudo-lattes — I cheated and just heated up the milk in a microwave and poured in a triple shot.

2001
I moved to Ann Arbor, MI in 2001 and lived a few blocks down from Trader Joe’s. I began drinking Trader Joe’s organic coffee. Mmm. That was good coffee. Still made in a Mr. Coffee. But it sure tasted good.

2005
I moved to Pittsburgh. Unfortunately I no longer lived near Trader Joe’s. I did find organic beans at Sam’s Club. 2.5 lbs for $14.42. Not bad, that’s $5.77 a pound. This was good coffee. But my wife did not shop much at Sam’s club, so to purchase a $50 yearly membership just to buy coffee seemed unreasonable to me.

I also upgraded my coffee maker to a Cuisinart Grind and Brew – thanks to a “free” gift from one of my credit card companies.

Just about 6-8 weeks ago, I saw 8 O’Clock coffee on sale at Giant Eagle – buy one get one free. I heard that this was decent coffee. I bought one light roast, and got a dark roast for free. Yuck! It had a chemical aftertaste, especially the light roast. The organic coffee I made before even tasted ok one day later – just water it down a little and heat it up in a microwave. But when I did the same thing to 8 O’Clock, that chemical taste was like chewing on bandaids.

Then I read God in a Cup. I found it in the new book section of the library. This book was inspiring. It put a desire within me to investigate the coffee world.

My philosophy is whereever we are, we should be able to at least take one small step toward improvement. So here is where I have begun my coffee journey – 8 O’Clock Coffee made in a Cuisinart Grind and Brew. The French Press was my first step toward improvement.