Kahve

Coffee Cof.fee (noun): The magical drink that gives Alex productivity.

I started consuming caffeine when I was about twelve, drinking large amount of orange pekoe. As I spent long amounts of time preparing and drinking it, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a better way to get homework done than brewing six separate cups of tea every day.

When I worked as a dishwasher, a position I will soon be resuming, I got free access to coffee in the mornings. It was a contributing factor to my fond memories of that job. It was the cheapest coffee money could buy, like most of the products in that bakery, but it was a good start. I found out months after I left that job, that my old boss had changed the brand of coffee they served, only because 7-11 started serving it.

There’s just something magical about the process of making coffee, the grinding, steeping, flavouring, and drinking it. I love it. People have been doing it for hundreds of years, tradition, almost. Or it would be if we made it ourselves still. These days we let machines do all the work.

Whenever I make coffee, it’s always with a french press. It’s a more romantic way to drink coffee, the same way listening to a vinyl record is a more romantic way to experience music, or using a typewriter is a more romantic way to type. It just feels more authentic than just pouring some brown powder into a machine that filters hot water through the mystery powder and produces this murky juice that lets you working at your desk job without falling asleep. Sure using a press or a separate filter over the mug takes longer, but in my opinion, food tends to taste better if it takes some effort to make, but that’s just covering a topic I’ve already talked about.

All I’m saying is that there is value in doing things in a way that most people think is outdated. A metal and glass press has more soul than a white plastic panelled coffee maker. Doing things romantically isn’t redundant, most people have just sacrificed it in favour of saved time. I know I’m being unfair to the people who have early morning jobs where they need to make coffee quickly so that they can get out the door and support their families. There will always be those people who are constantly strapped for time, but we all shouldn’t be those people if we don’t have to be.

Or maybe I’m just biased, seeing as I’m the teenager who collects antiques and uses a french press.

-A