Ritual

Today is International Coffee Day, so I decided I’d take a minute to break down the details behind my coffee addiction habit.

1. I use a Hario hand mill, a two-cup burr grinder that allows you to adjust the coarseness of the grind.

Pros: You can really tell the difference between a burr grinder and a blade grinder. I also own a respectable Krups blade grinder, but there is a very discernible difference between the consistency of the grind produced by burrs and those chopped by a blade.

Cons: It takes 3-4 minutes of concerted effort to grind enough beans for one cup of coffee. This doesn’t seem like much, but it adds up. I often turn on the radio and start boiling water in an electric kettle, so as to maximize my time while I grind.

2. I don’t own a coffee maker, or at least not in the usual sense. My coffee-making apparatus of choice is a $5 Melitta pourover cone. It can handle about three cups at a given time, and I’ve owned this particular one for about three years. It’s easy to clean, and simple to travel with. The filters are pretty cheap, too. I’ve tried reusable gold filters in the past, but found that they let through a bit too much of the grinds, creating a sort of silty Turkish coffee.

3. This might make me sound like a caffeinated plebeian, but I often get my beans from Costco. Their Starbucks roast is well-priced, and above all, delicious, with a bold flavor that isn’t too acidic.

4. Since the above beans come only in 2 lb. bags, I store my weekly allotment in a vacuum seal jar that originally came in a jar of olives from Costco, and the larger reserves in the freezer in a Ziploc bag.