A Letter For Coffee
My (ongoing) obsession with it and it's story
Like (probably) all of you already know…I’m an obsessive.
The people closest to me describe me as a “rabbit holer” - when I get curious and find a rabbit hole, I typically go very far down the rabbit hole.
One of my longest running obsessions is coffee.
I first drank a cup of coffee during an internship I did over the summer of my Junior Year (2008) while at the US Air Force Academy. I made it through a pretty competitive process to be selected for the Cadet Summer Research Project which allowed me to go work at a defense contractor and learn about how they do business with the Air Force (since I was set to become a Contracting Officer… shout out 64P’s!).
Moog Inc. was were I got placed, an American engineering and manufacturing firm in East Aurora, NY (south of Buffalo 45 mins), who specializes in motion control systems (actuators and their computer systems). I got to shadow a young engineer, Phil Gurbacki, as he worked on the F-35 Flight Control system. The first thing he handed me was a “Python for Dummies” book and started walking me through the scope of his work.
That work was programming a bunch of sensors for Prognostic Health Management of the system to give warnings when parts where near their failure points or WOULD BE near their failure points. Literally processing signals, filtering out the noise, and predicting the future with a combined hardware and software system.
*(Phil is now an AI Engineer and is VP of Product at a very important and respected AI platform for developers called Weights & Biases. He’s a genius, one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. We’ve fallen out of touch but this will give me a reason to reach out and say hi)
I was working 9-5 for the first time in my life. Going to an office, sitting down in a chair, and staring at a computer for 8 hours, learning to code, learning tons about everything within a business, and then leaving. The second day I started to dose off around 2pm. Phil was like
“Dude, you gotta drink some coffee, it’s the only way to survive”
So we walked to the break room, where a pot of folgers was brewed and sitting on the heating element of an old Bunn brewer, and he poured me a cup.
It was awful.
I thought what everybody thought the first time they tried black cheap “diner” coffee… YUCK
Phil of course encouraged me,
“You’ll get used to it, eventually you’ll like it”
“Yeah right” I thought, but I muscled my way through it and finished it.
Then the caffeine hit. Oooooooooohhh baby, I liked it.
I even remember the second cup (and third). The next day at 2pm again, break room. Phil explains to me that lots of people put cream and sugar in theirs, it makes it more palatable and drinkable. I follow his 2 creamers, 1 sugar recipe.
It’s better, still not great. Same caffeine hit though, I still like it too.
3rd Cup - and this is where it gets weird - I decide to put a couple altoids in the bottom of my cup, poured it and dissolved them, and then added 1 creamer. I love mints, in particular Peppermint Altoids and Wintergreen Lifesavers, during this time of my life I always had a tin and a pack of each in my backpack. I ate A LOT of them. I digress.
The sugary altoid, the peppermint, and the cream did it for me. Looking back I’m completely ashamed of myself, but what can you do. The past is the past, right?
That was my routine the rest of those 6 weeks. One coffee a day at 2pm in the break room.
Then I went home for a short 2 week summer break (all that we got at USAFA) and told my mom I was drinking coffee now. At the time she was really the only one in the house that drank coffee and I remember her drinking it throughout my childhood.
The most poignant memories are from waking up at our cabin early on a Sunday morning to the smell of a pot of coffee. My mom would prep the machine the night before and set the timer for 6:30am so that they woke up to hot coffee. My uncles and aunts and parents would be outside on the front porch looking at the lake, drinking a hot cup and socializing.
So now I’m at home on break and I have a new fun routine with my mom, we would wake up and drink coffee together. So lovely.
That’s when I realized coffee was a galvanizer of people. It’s one of the few drinks that a huge majority of people agree on and drink in some form or fashion. And it’s true, usually the more you consume it the more you like it. Sure it’s a bit addictive and can be abused like any substance, but it really is the king of drinks.
For the next year as I went back to USAFA and finished my senior year, I’d drink 1-2 cups a day of just black coffee from wherever I could source it. I’d study at Panera out the north gate sometimes and get Hazelnut Coffee sometimes as a treat. I’d drink a cup an hour before a basketball game too, after learning that Kobe Bryant (RIP) used this routine (actually he helped create Bulletproof Coffee). Game changer.
When I moved to St. Louis MO after graduating and getting to my first Duty Station, I really took advantage of the social nature of coffee. New people that I’d meet got an invite to weekend morning coffee with me. It became a regular thing to leave my apartment, walk through downtown and post up at a coffee shop, read a little (I loved The Atlantic and NYT Magazine and their long profiles), talk to the baristas, hang with friends, etc.
Back then (2009-2011) I didn’t really care for the quality of the coffee. Sure I was developing a taste for it and knew what I liked and didn’t like but it wasn’t serious. It was just a top of mind thing that I didn’t put much energy into.
Things changed.
The obsession, MY obsession, with coffee started in Japan, when I moved to Tokyo in January of 2012. The coffee culture was so strong - from being able to get hot coffee from a vending machine or Seven-Eleven to cafe’s on every other street corner. Right down the street from our house was a local roaster, who only roasted beans on demand for clients in the neighborhood. It was these two middle-aged Japanese ladies that didn’t speak hardly any english. They sourced green beans from all over the world and roasted them to their clients liking, I’d put in an order for 2X 500G bags a week.
Then I remember sitting down while drinking a cup of Woods & Water roast my mom shipped me one rainy Saturday morning in the fall and reading this article about Bear Pond #9 and Katsu Tanaka
That day I jumped on a train to Kita-Setagaya to try this elusive spot. To my delight I walked in and Katsu was behind the tiny bar that morning. That day we nerded out about roasts for about 2 hours - he showed me his notebook and how he selects, tests, documents, and dials in all his roasts.
He walked me through his latte process and we tasted and sipped together all day, to include a final shot of Britney Spears (Yirgacheffe espresso shot over ice with a shot of handmade cherry liquor) served in a bar glass. It was a blast. An unforgettable moment for me, in my mind Katsu is still the Coffee GOAT, and I’ve taken that day with me for the last 12.5 years.
I’d go on to visit Katsu every couple months for the next 2 years and drink his exquisite coffee and learn about it from him. He’s an obsessive, like me, and few things fill me with more excitement than when someone is willing to share their same obsession with me. To this day I’m still chasing him, which is to be understood, he’s dedicated his whole life to coffee and he’s got 30+ years on me.
What I’m really chasing is that elusive moment when the coffee just tastes perfect and it fills your whole being with warmth and energy and comfort all at once, when you most need it.
My roasting ladies in Japan introduced me to Ethiopian Yirgacheffe beans and since day one, they have been my absolute favorite. The flavors and aroma’s into the nose are invigorating. It’s the brightness and acidity, the potential blueberry and tart cherry notes combined with that Chocolate-y and earthy underbelly. A natural process unwashed (super earthy + bright) very light roast is typically my preference.
Today I made a latte with a Glitch Tokyo (one of the world’s top roasters and coffee shops) roasted Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Gersay Washed, roasted on 3/11 and it was the closest I’ve ever gotten to Katsu’s latte that day at Bear Pond #9. Simply exquisite.
This brilliant and crazy guy on Reddit, u/dirtydials, has created a business called Rotation Coffee where he sources and ships small packages of unique and hard to find roasts from the world’s best roasters. In every rotation you might get 4-6 different types of beans - a whole palette of flavors to enjoy. All the props go to him for a great idea and executing on it and delighting coffee obsessionistas like me. (if you love coffee you should sign up and join this coffee cult).
In the last 2 years I’ve dove in even deeper by buying my own espresso machine (a mid-level Breville Barista Pro) and trying to perfect how to make a latte. 2 years in and I’m not even close, my latte art is improving, my milk frothing is getting very good and I’m as consistent at dialing in a roast as I can but I still pull 1 bad shot out of every 8 or so.
I don’t plan on stopping this obsession either, but I am moderating it well. It’s an expensive hobby if you want it to be. Someday a beautiful La Marzocco Linea Mini will sit on this counter top, plumbed in to a RO water line and custom painted to match the bar (we guy can dream, right?)
Coffee has given me so much. It’s a source of connection between me and lots of people and a lot of my best friends. Its a community builder and gatherer, it’s a soulful companion when I need it most, and it’s a hobby I love that brings me lots of joy. I’m a big believer in orienting my life to always move towards joy. Be aware of the joyful things and soak them up like a spunge, within reason and with balance, of course.
With love and deep appreciation,
Andrew
—
My latte process:
1. 23g of espresso (double shot)
2. 150g of Quarter Milk (50% Half & Half, 50% whole milk - makes for a smoother thicker experience)
3. Sift grounds
4. Even grounds
5. Press to 20 psi
6. 38 second pull
7. Froth milk to paint-like texture, tap lightly on counter until only micro-bubbles
8. Pour
9. Enjoy!