It may surprise you to learn this, but I’m not actually very fond of coffee. Not the taste anyway. I’d take a good smoothie over that hot bean water any day. For me, coffee is what I call a “mood beverage” — meaning it’s something that I like to have when I’m in a certain mental space. I don’t drink coffee in the morning before work, because it dehydrates me and sends me to the bathroom. On days that I work late, or not at all, I like to brew coffee when I’m reading or writing, and have time to relax and think. I’m also very process-oriented, so the steps required to brew are fun for me — heating water, grinding beans, pouring the water and waiting for it all to drain into my mug. It can be therapeutic for me. Honestly, after making it I rarely drink more than a few sips. (I get a pound of beans a week from work, so I’m kind of wasteful. Though I do give most of it away to people who actually drink the stuff.)
When I talk about coffee with people, I usually use the following example to illustrate my relationship to it: the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had was made from a four-dollar bag of pre-ground beans that I bought from Aldi, because I made the coffee around a fire with two of my best friends in middle-of-nowhere Maine. That’s a true story, and the experience will stick with me for years. Because it wasn’t about the coffee, it was about the things surrounding it, specifically the people, and the time I got to spend with them.
That’s what coffee is to me. It’s a catalyst for conversation. It’s one part of an experience that is so much more than the sum of its parts.
I brewed a chemex a few days ago while at home reading, and took some photos. I liked the images, and thought it created a good opportunity for me to share my thoughts on this with you. Maybe you’ll enjoy coffee more after this — and maybe your coffee experience will be about much more than a drink from now on.
love,
— Joel
images taken with Fuji X-Pro2, Osawa 28mm f/2.8 & Helios 44-m