I love coffee.
It may not be an exaggeration to say that I am a coffee addict. I often go to sleep looking forward to the next morning's coffee.
Just smelling the aroma of coffee makes me happy.
I wonder if it's been about 10 years since I've been dating with coffee?
My day starts with an intimate ceremony with coffee, grinding beans in a coffee grinder and brewing coffee in a French press.
Looking back now, I can't believe I used to drink instant coffee every day, but there was a time when I did.
Things weren't always perfect between me and coffee, we sometimes had fights.
In this blog, I wrote about the history of coffee and me.
Pre-Coffee Lover Era
Originally, I thought that coffee equals canned coffee.
When I entered university, one of my favourite things to look forward to was going to Starbucks like every other Japanese student growing up in Japan aka Starbucks heaven.
I didn't go to Starbucks every day, but I liked the atmosphere of Starbucks. I'm sure everyone dreamed of it when they were a kid who don't have financial freedom yet.
However, most of what I was drinking at that time was a latte. I also liked Starbucks local limited tumblers and mugs at my travel destination.
And of course, since I was born and raised in Fukuoka, where there are many hip cafes, I think I started going to cafes such as Manu Coffee when I was a university student.
I used to love espresso drinks like lattes and cappuccinos at cafes, but at that time I wasn't a coffee lover enough to make my own coffee.
Even in New Zealand and Singapore, where I lived after graduating from university, I had the same sense of distance from coffee.
*But the coffee highlight in New Zealand - Singapore ark was that I got to know Flat white. Super yum and I do order it when I go to a cafe where I know the barista is skilled.
Yelp Era
I started working as a community manager in Fukuoka for Yelp, the world's largest review site. One of my jobs was to discover more and more cool spots in my city, so my favourite cafe tour accelerated.
Looking back now, it was such a cool job and actually, it didn't feel like I was working.
As I visited various cafes, my interest in coffee deepened.
*See my yelp profile here! I found a lot of cool spots during this era.
How I started brewing my own coffee
I'm a really simple person, so the trigger was simple.
I think I must have felt that the lifestyle of brewing coffee by myself was cool from youtube videos, but I think that one of my friends in Fukuoka had the most influence on me.
When I visited his house, I was welcomed by the beautiful aroma of coffee. In a very stylish house, there was a kick-ass espresso machine that he brought back from America, a coffee grinder, and beans.
And he made lattes for me and another friend.
I remember being impressed by the delicious latte that was mixed with the stylish music that was playing at that time.
I didn't go so far as to say, 'Okay, I'm going to buy an espresso machine!',
but this lifestyle aroused my admiration, and I happened to find Fukubukuro (a Japanese lucky bag that is normally sold during the new year holidays in Japan). at a cafe that included a French press, so I decided to buy it.
It's surprisingly easy!
To tell the truth, I bought the first French press once a long time ago. Yes, it's one of the impulse purchases.
At that time, I had no idea how to make coffee with a French press.
And this French press never saw my face again...
There was such a past, but this time I was different.
I looked up how to brew French press coffee on youtube.
'Wait a minute. There's a video on how to brew French press!'
By then, I was able to get a lot of information just by doing a little research.
And I also noticed that brewing coffee with a French press was easier than I expected.
It's so much easier than making coffee with a paper filter. You don't need a paper filter, and you don't even have the skill to pour hot water slowly.
What you have to be careful about is 1) the coffee: hot water ratio and 2) the waiting time to press the plunger.
Anyone can brew delicious French press coffee if they adhere to these rules.
The reason I started using a coffee grinder (coffee mill)
Back when Airbnb was still fresh in its first year in Japan. I had the chance to meet the Fukuoka manager of Airbnb, and since I like travellers, I decided to become an Airbnb host.
I was able to make a lot of friends through this Airbnb host experience, so I still think it was a very good decision in my life. More on this Airbnb host experience for another time. . .
One day, Brodie from Canada came as a guest.
"Why did you come to Fukuoka? "
I asked almost every guest at some point, and most of the people answered, 'Food, as a hub for visiting other parts of Kyushu.'
However, Brodie's purpose in coming to Fukuoka was coffee.
Having a strong passion for coffee, he travelled as a Nomad Barista and wrote blogs about cool cafes and coffee culture in various places.
He heard that Fukuoka's coffee culture is HOT and came to Fukuoka.
As soon as he checked in at my place, he asked me about cool cafes in Fukuoka. So I told him about some of my favourite cafes. *The local information I got from yelp helped me a lot.
On the morning of his departure, Brodie made a coffee for me.
As a nomad, he took out a bag of coffee beans and an Aeropress that smelled so good.
Then he took out a manual coffee grinder (coffee mill) and started grinding beans with a gurgling sound.
The scent became even stronger, and I felt that the aroma of coffee spread throughout the room.
I knew about the action of grinding coffee beans, but this may have been the first time I was exposed to this almost ceremonial action.
The coffee that was brewed in that way was very delicious and I was impressed the whole process of preparing coffee by hand looked like a ritual to my eyes at that time.
It did not lead me to buy a grinder right away the next day, but I remember the experience very strongly and it led me to buy a coffee grinder a few years later.
*By the way, I recorded a podcast with Brodie a few years later and interviewed him about his activities and lifestyle as a Nomad Barista. Please listen to it if you like.
Pros of making coffee by myself
1) I can now enjoy conversations with cafe and roaster staff.
Once you buy a French press or a coffee grinder, let's go buy coffee beans!
What type of coffee beans? How much should I buy at one time? What is the coarseness when grinding coffee beans? Etc. I bet you have a lot of questions.
No worries. In such a case, the staff at a nearby cafe or roast shop should be able to kindly teach you.
Even when I started brewing my own coffee, I decided to visit a local roaster. (At the time, I was living in Yakuin, Fukuoka.)
It was a very warm atmosphere with a very powerful roasting machine and the light of the sun.
Of course, the enchanting aroma of coffee spread throughout the shop.
When I explained to the owner that I was a beginner who recently started brewing coffee with French press coffee, he spoke passionately about French press coffee.
As the conversation developed, he started showing me various types of coffee beans displayed, and let me taste them. "See, they all taste different, don't they?"
I finished drinking the coffee beans I bought for the first time, so I returned to this roaster again.
The owner seemed to remember me and asked me, 'How did you make that coffee?'
'New coffee beans just arrived today, why don't you try it?'
And let me sample again.
Furthermore, he said, 'Even if you don't have to buy beans, come and have a cup of coffee whenever you're in the area!'
Before I started making my own coffee at home, my relationship with the cafe and roaster staff was completely different.
Just exchanging words to order coffee. Even if I could have a conversation with the cafe staff, I could not continue the conversation because I was worried about the people behind me in the queue.
However, if you buy coffee beans, you kinda have to exchange words with the staff. The more you visit the shop, the more you get to know the staff.
It's kinda cliche to say but coffee really brings people together, and I think that's absolutely true.
2) That 'unpleasant feeling' in my stomach is gone.
Fast, easy and cheap.
For these reasons, many people may find instant coffee attractive.
It can be a magical treat, especially in the morning when you are in a super rush.
It may be more accurate to say that I drank caffeine rather than coffee when I was a student who drank instant coffee to keep me awake.
I noticed a big change in my body after I started brewing my own coffee and stopped drinking instant coffee.
That unpleasant feeling in my stomach disappeared.
There was a time when I was drinking 5 cups of instant coffee, probably because I read on the Internet that I should drink 5 cups of coffee a day or whatever.
However, around this time, I had a very unpleasant gas-like feeling in my stomach.
Sometimes I feel like I can't sleep because of this.
Surprisingly, this discomfort disappeared after I started drinking French press coffee.
Unlike instant coffee or using paper filters to make coffee, French press coffee is said to be the best way to extract coffee oil and enjoy the taste of coffee itself.
I'm also convinced that it doesn't have that slightly burnt taste that instant coffee tends to have.
Plus, the beans you buy from roasters and cafes are more expensive than instant coffee, and they take more time and effort to prepare.
Because of this, the number of coffee I drink in a day decreased.
The coffee is brewed by yourself, so you can enjoy it slowly and carefully.
3) I look forward to waking up in the morning.
When is your favourite time of the day?
I like mornings best. It makes me want to do something productive to start the day.
Even if something bad happens, when I wake up the next morning, those bad feelings are gone. It may sound like an exaggeration, but perhaps what made me the morning person I am is the habit of brewing my own coffee.
I love brewing coffee while listening to my favourite relaxing music or listening to birds chirping.
I like to prepare my coffee slowly without rushing.
I remember waking up a little earlier to make sure I had time for this coffee.
When I noticed, I naturally became an early bird!
4) I became more interested in coffee.
You may have heard the term “third-wave coffee”.
Coffee lovers have become interested in the characteristics of each coffee bean. Where is the production area? How was it made? What is the route of coming to my hands? How to extract?
To put it in simple words, I think this third-wave coffee trend can be described as “appreciation for your coffee”.
If you drink instant coffee every day, you may not understand the concept itself.
Everyone has their own sense of values, so I think it's totally okay to think like "any coffees are fine as long as I can drink it!"
However, I'm glad that I was able to appreciate this coffee, and I'm glad that I was able to feel the value of this kind of thing.
It's something you drink every day, so you'll be picky about it.
I also started participating in coffee workshops held in my neighbourhood.
I can guarantee that the relationship between coffee and me will continue to change in the future.
I hope that each time I come back to this blog, I can remember how coffee enriches my life.
By the way, here is my favourite BODUM Travel French Press. Regarding BODUM, I have a good experience when I sent an email to customer service in Japan, and they responded to me politely. Great CS !!
The manual coffee grinder I use is HARIO's hand grinder.
If you're looking for a new hobby or want to become a morning person, I definitely recommend making your own coffee in the morning!
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