This month marks 1 year since I acquired my first espresso machine second-hand. It’s my sixth unique method of brewing coffee. This past year I’ve done so much learning into coffee, where it comes from, brewing styles, qualities of different regions and roasts, steaming milk, and of course latte art. As a half-Mexican, coffee is deeply rooted in my life and culture. Yet, this year I’ve connected with coffee in the most intimate level I’ve ever had.
That said, I’m curious on t/suki’s relationship with coffee. What type of coffee do you prefer? What’s your favorite coffee shop? What do you like or dislike about coffee?
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As a little bonus, here’s a picture of the flat white I brewed this morning
makes me too jittery to drink, unfortunately. close to some people who do super custom stuff and i keep tasting it tho
I think of coffee as “tasty bean water” and I normally only drink it when I have fancy brunch at a place with friends. I don’t really know much about coffee, but I prefer it black.
Caffeine can make me wired and anxious if I have too much. I’ve only really noticed this being a problem with cold-brew coffee, so when someone gives me cold-brew I try to not drink too much of it.
The thing with caffeine is that it’s very sensitive to temperature. That’s why cold-brew happens to be the most intensely caffeinated. I always have to dilute cold-brew when I drink, otherwise I’m in the same situation as you.
used to have a favorite coffee shop, sadly it closed down, it was steampunk themed and so cozy
lately ive had horrid luck getting any coffee that is even drinkable, every beans we get to try end up smelling and tasting super burnt and acrid
i miss coffee, i miss the good aroma’s, i miss the process of making it, ive been planning to get a moka pot because i think the process of that would gel with our brain well, but don’t wanna get it until find some beans that aren’t burnt and acrid
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Had it a couple times but I’m really saving my first time consistently drinking it for when I really need it (end up with an overnight job, raising kids, etc)
Holding off from drinking coffee saves me some money and also holds me more accountable to getting proper sleep, so it’s a win-win right now
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You should definitely look into light roasts, or at least try some flights through a nice local roaster who specializes in light roast. You’ll find some of the most amazing amora, complex flavors, and consistently smooth coffees from light roasts.
I genuinely think this lack of attention to coffee roasts and quality brewing is a consequence of the Starbucksification of Coffee. Even the dingiest diners made sure they were brewing a good cup of Joe. Then Starbucks comes in and shows the world that you can sell some crap coffee as long as there’s enough sugar.
That’s totally fair. I’ve reached that point where the level of caffeine doesn’t necessarily impact me. Maybe I just don’t go long enough without a coffee to register the difference.
I really enjoy good coffee, a lot of coffee is kinda just like bean water to me not good. Its weird but I enjoy the complexity of the flavor, there’s this depth to good coffee beyond the bitterness. I’m also a big fan of iced americanos. A bad one washes out the depth but if you have good coffee I find it mellows out the bitterness allowing the other notes to show up.
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So I’ve got a mild tree nut / peanut allergy, so my brain kind of associates earthy, nutty smells and flavors, with something I should avoid or spit out. But despite this I do enjoy coffee, I just can’t really have it black. The taste just messes with my head. Even though I know there’s nothing in there that’ll harm me, I can’t fight that association that’s wired into me.
So I typically just have a simple hot or iced coffee with french vanilla creamer, made out home with a simple keurig. I have a cold brew every so often when I go out, but it’s not my favorite. Anything with a decent amount of sugar masks any earthy or nutty tones that would upset my taste buds.
I’ve tried some Vietnamese coffee before, with the condensed milk, and that was so different than anything I’ve had before. I’m Vietnamese but, my family’s never really been big on coffee, so I have to still go out of my way to get it. Definitely not an everyday thing for me, but sometimes I get a random craving for it.
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I try not to drink coffee :U
Okay buckle up! This is my deep dive:
I currently brew my coffee in a steep and release brewer (like a pourover, but that you wait before allowing it to drip so that the coffee is a bit stronger.) The one I use is by Clever, and I love it!
I do about 2-3 cups every day, but I make a half-caff blend for myself. Caffeine barely affects me and I mostly drink it for the flavor, so why go overboard with the caffeine? But also, if I drink solely decaf, if I ever go to the coffee shop and get full-strength I do notice it affects my sleep. So I do half-caff to shield my adrenals for long-term coffee enjoyment and to maintain a gentle tolerance 
I don’t have a very good palette, but recently I’ve been developing my tastebuds to at least distinguish between cheap Folgers and a medium grade coffee. When it comes to my choice in coffee, my biggest problem is I’m too lazy to grind my beans daily, so I buy ground coffee. Over the course of 2 bags (because I’m mixing decaf and regular) I feel like it all starts to taste the same. Plus the coffee brands that come ground tend to be less fancy. (Which in some ways is alright, at least that’s what my wallet says.)
I also brew it quite weak. I believe the suggestion is 1g coffee : 15-17g water. I do 1g coffee : ~30-40g water.
My favorite part of coffee is cream. I drink mine sans sugar with table cream (for those outside Canada, table cream is 18% milkfat–more than half and half and less than whipping cream). My 2-3 cups of coffee with cream are my daily breakfast.
I’ve also really enjoyed making summer-time cold brews and an occasional Dalgona Coffee.
I’ll see if I can snag a photo of my coffee for you soon!
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Clever’s my go-to for drip too! It was my daily until I started shifting more towards espresso.
You can always have your local roaster grind their beans for you, If it’s within your budget/convenience! I used to get pre-ground from my local roaster all the time before I eventually got my own grinder. Although, I do live in an area where roasters are plentiful.
This one is new to me! I always felt half & half watered down drip a little too much, but heavy cream is a little too much to balance right.
That would be lovely!
How about tea? I’m learning a lot of people here prefer tea or other drinks over coffee. Maybe I should’ve expanded this to our favorite comfort drinks.
To be fair, I am also a massive tea lover
I’m kind of curious, have you ever tried the hispanic variations of coffee? I’m half-Mexican and in our culture we tend to make intensely spiced or flavored variations of coffee, rather than using cream. For example, Café de Olla or Café Tabasqueño.
I’m also curious if you ever tried light roasts of African coffee. I find they tend towards more Citrusy and Fruity flavors. Coffee tends to pick up the flavors of the surrounding environment and they don’t grow a lot of tree nuts in the major Coffee exporting regions of Africa.
