A Cup of Joe

I've long been a stickler about coffee. I had a grinder and a Melita pot way back when I was in college in the early 80s. It was hard to even find whole bean coffee for sale in the States back then; it would be five years before Starbucks opened anywhere outside of Seattle. 

So in those days, I brought a couple of kilos of freshly roasted coffee beans from a shop in Saudi Arabia every time I went home. Like my parents, I used a half-light, half-dark blend. I don't know where the beans were sourced, but it was probably somewhere nearby, maybe Yemen or Eastern Africa, and they roasted the beans onsite, in plain view of anyone who patronized the store. 

Since I have never owned an electric coffee maker, I've spent a lot of time waiting for the kettle to boil. I used to be a big multitasker, unloading the dishwasher and packing lunch as I waited, but this year I took my coffee making up another notch. After enjoying the coffee bean advent calendar, I started paying attention to the nuances of brewing. In addition to the ceramic burr grinder my siblings gave me for my birthday several years ago, I got an electric Stagg kettle for Christmas that rapidly boils to a precise temperature. I also bought a scale with a timer and a few different-shaped cones, as well as some various-shaped and sized filters.

Now, coffee making has my full attention as I weigh my precisely ground beans and calculate the ideal water ratio and pour time. I don't really have much downtime while the kettle is doing its part, but it's still a joy to mindfully brew each single cup in the morning.