There's Good, There's Great, and then, There's Mr. Coffee
Why drinking drip coffee is a good lesson on being "good enough"
I finally learned how to operate a standard drip coffee machine two months ago. Years earlier, I had ruined a pot of third-wave single-origin organic coffee in the office pantry. It was a small team - people depended on that coffee to function while working out of a building that overlooked the 405 freeway. What should have been everyone’s first hit of happiness, turned into another “We shouldn’t have hired her” blunder as I turned everyone’s favorite brew into coffee water.
The job was short-lived, and I never touched a drip coffee machine again until two months ago.
True story.
Seriously.
Not even trying to be dramatic.
I haven’t written “Second Meal” in over two months because I’ve been feeling sad and unmotivated, and the last thing I’ve been wanting to do is write. My biggest joy during those moments? Coffee. That ritual of waking up, plugging in my coffee grinder, grinding my Trader Joe’s beans, and adding them to my Moka pot with hot water, is what got me out of bed most mornings. Adding simple syrup, a dash of cinnamon, and almond milk was like blowing out birthday candles. A cherry on top.
But then it got to be another chore.
For years, I’ve rotated among different coffee makers to suit my mood, my preferred temp (iced vs. hot), and how late I was running behind. For the days when I woke up early and/or had no meetings planned in the AM, I chose my Moka pot. This lil contraption is filled with hot water and finely ground espresso, and put on a stovetop to create espresso-like coffee. I first learned how to work a Moka pot while staying at an Airbnb in Rome. It was exactly as charming as it sounds. I woke up in Rome, grabbed a cornetto from the bakery down the street, and made espresso like a local.
The Moka pot is not inconvenient - per se - it just takes some time. I grind up my beans because the Moka pot only takes finely ground coffee to get the extraction right. I then heat water in a kettle. I pour said hot water into the Moka pot and add the beans to a separate chamber before heating it all up on the stovetop. If I’m making iced coffee, which is what I drink 75% of the time, I put the brewed coffee in the freezer for at least 10 minutes so it doesn’t melt the ice.
It’s not a serious process, but when you’re in a FUnK and just need the caffeine to course through your veins, the last thing you want to do is wait an additional 10 minutes for the coffee to chill.
Do I still recommend it? Yes, yes of course. I love my Moka pot. Most days.
Before I bought my electric coffee grinder, I used a Chemex pour-over coffee maker after being influenced by some Bon Appétit article in its early heyday on how to make coffee shop-like coffee “but at home!”
I realize now, that I was looking to upgrade my life, and thought that the first step was upgrading my at-home coffee situation. This was around the same time I bought a kitchen scale to make sure the water-to-coffee ratio was just right for the perfect extraction. I also bought good beans sourced from local roasters. Dunkin? I don’t know her.
But like the Moka, using the pour-over method also takes time and attention. You have to slowly add in water until the coffee grounds saturate and “bloom.” Once the initial drip begins, you’ll add more water to the grounds in increments until you’ve reached your desired concentration.
Can you imagine doing this depressed??!
And then there was my phin filter; a Vietnamese coffee brewing tool that could be considered a cross between a Moka pot and a French press (been there done that!) and makes a STRONG cup of coffee. I learned about this new to me method while working on a project featuring the brand Nguyen Coffee Supply. It’s a great woman-owned company based out of New York that aims to bring awareness to Vietnamese coffee and robusta beans. Arabica beans are more widely known and used in the U.S., but robusta beans have more caffeine and are less acidic. I stopped using my phin filter when I ran out of my coffee from Nguyen Coffee Supply, but that’s on me because you can use any type of coffee with this tool. I’ll be making this Vietnamese Coconut Coffee soon.
This brings me back to when my mom visited two months ago, pre-Mr.Coffee. Previously, I had gifted her a single-serve pour-over set (literally this—how cute!) that sat unused in her cabinet, so I knew my coffee set-up might be an issue. After teaching her how to make a pour-over in the Chemex, I went to work and came home to find a Mr. Coffee machine on my counter, along with a package of pre-ground (!) Dunkin’ Donuts coffee.
I was relieved.
Stay with me on this metaphor (analogy?). For years, I have been so wrapped up in making the perfect [cup of coffee] with the right [beans], the best [equipment], and the proper [brewing technique] that I had entirely lost the point of just enjoying the [cup of coffee] for what it was: good enough.
I love you so much honey!
Love it 🥰