This was originally going to be a coffee maker review, beginning with some context on what coffee making methods I've tried before. However while thinking about it, I realised how long my coffee drinking journey has been, and how I've been "doing it wrong" for so long.
In the future I'm hoping to buy and review coffee beans from around the world (including some roasted by other hive members). So consider this my introduction to the coffee community!
My relationship with coffee has been an odd one. I didn't start drinking it until far into my twenties and that was due to necessity at work. Certainly not for the taste, which even while drinking several cups a day I still didn't enjoy that much. Instant coffee meant three sugars was a pretty common occurrence (sorry teeth).
What I used to consider "posh" coffee
complete with some dark humour via sharpie
It was only a few years ago that my coffee drinking habits started to change. My parents had a Nescafe gusto machine which made pleasant cups similar to what you might find in Starbucks or Costa. But they weren't real coffee, and thanks to my sweet tooth I would always pick lattes with some sort of flavouring.
Crimes against coffee in a box
I briefly had a stove top cafetiere. But cheap ground coffee brewed too hot wasn't worth the constant burns, leakage, and complicated deconstruction and cleaning. My most clear memory of that thing is how much coffee was burnt onto my stove from it leaking from every opening.
It even looks like a deathtrap
Then around two years ago my place of work got a bean grinder and filter coffee maker. Finally, progress! Sadly to cut costs we only had access to very cheap espresso beans but it was a thousand times better than instant coffee.
Another guilty pleasure of mine
During all of this I have been put off of big brand coffee shops such as Starbucks. I'm a fan of iced coffee and all of the variations, however in the last few years Starbucks seems to have turned into a milkshake shop. I'll be lured in to try the newest sugary frappuccino only to realise I've spent £4 on something that contains zero coffee.
Starbucks in America however, amazing
Most recently I've started using an aeropress and it's been bloody amazing (review coming soon). It's finally a method I can use anywhere that has a kettle and makes amazing coffee, so I can start buying premium beans.
My next purchase is definitely going to be a bean grinder.
My baby, and probably the cause of my incoming caffeine addiction
Now that I've got that out of my head and into an article I can get to work writing a review to my Aeropress, and buying some premium bags of coffee to review.
