Coffee Talk

I am a woman of simple tastes, and needs. I love coffee, in any shape or form. I use to work as a barista and worked to get my master coffee certification but stopped short when I ended up moving and leaving that job. Needless to say I had two years living in downtown Seattle WA, drinking too much caffeine and dealing with way to much in my personal life. Coffee was an escape from life and an easy way to make friends. I spent many days working with coffee, or on my days off, on my laptop, sitting in a coffee shop and making friends with each barista I met. Coffee is a cultural connector, that the majority of society can relate to. Its a simple part of life that is either overlooked as a daily habit, or the highlight to the hard times in life. The simple pleasure of drinking a hot cup of coffee goes unmatched.

There are two types of coffee in the world. The good coffee that you dream of and hope for every morning. Or the good old fashioned crappy diner coffee, you know the kind. Where you are sitting in an old diner with a sweet waitress who calls you Hun and keeps your mug full, while you maintain the perfect balance of sugar and those small creamer pods, that if your me, you make creamer trees from. This is the coffee that gets you through your lows, and hangovers. Or helps you think through the major problems going on in your life. This is the coffee that I would sit with my dad at a local diner and drink coffee to talk about life over breakfast.

Now The good coffee, this is the stuff you spend years finding the right blend, and learning how exactly you like it. This is the coffee you make sure you never run out of, and when someone comes over and you ask “would you like some coffee?” you secretly hope they say yes to so you can brag about the coffee you spent so much time finding. This is the drink that keeps you moving forward, and gets you through the day.

Now the next step is how you make it. A normal drip? Espresso? Pour Over? or cold brew? Or my personal favorite French press. I have learned many ways to make amazing coffee and each has their unique taste and way to brew. Depending on the blend and the roast, it will change the way you drink it. Coffee is an ever evolving door that can evolve with you and your current life.

Recommendations

Now we have established why coffee. Why is it important, why we need it and the ways to drink it. Now the most important part of the recipe is where to get it. I have a few standards, from Fire Department Coffee to Black Rifle and even HEB(a grocery store chain in Texas and will forever be the best store ever) brand. Each has amazing quality products and support foundations and fills needs I agree with.

Fire Department Coffee

Fire Department Coffee is as its name suggests a coffee shop run by non other then Firefighters! This is a great organization as well as amazing coffee! With monthly coffee clubs, great blends and fast shipping its one of my favorite coffee roasteries. On top of the amazing quality coffee, They are run by Vets, Active and retired first responders and support other first responders who have been injured on the job either physically or mentally. Its a great organization to support and a great quality all around. I am not sponsored to say any of this I just love what they do and their products and I have been drinking their coffee regularly for more then a year now.

HEB Blend

Now this is not as accessible as the other brands but its worthy of a mention. This coffee was made in the heart of Texas and it shows. With so many options and blends and each tasting just as good as the other. This coffee is roasted in San Antonio Texas, and sent to all HEB stores. HEB is a great store and is an important part of the Texas way of life, a lesson I learned during my 5 years in Corpus Christi Texas. During Hurricane Harvey, HEB was there before FEMA. They are truly the spirit of Texas and the coffee expresses that. If you ever visit Texas this is a must, and after 5 years, its the place I will miss no matter where we go.

Black Rifle Coffee

Black Rifle Coffee may be the most well known and the one you could find in a lot of stores. This is a great coffee that is always amazing quality. It is great drip coffee to cold brew, with many different roasts and options as well as premade drink options! as well as coffee subscriptions! This is another Vet owned and operated business that supports military, police and first responders with every cup.

Now every coffee is not the end all be all. But its a start to a day that could be. Its a shared conversation or just early morning silence while you wake up with the ones you love. There will always be negative voices, there will always be reasons not to, but for a few minutes a day you can take time to enjoy the simple parts of life.

What is your favorite part of coffee?

Why do you drink it? How do you enjoy it? and what is you favorite kind? Just tell me your experience with the drink we all love.