Coffee Reflections – May 2025
A well-crafted coffee commands my attention. I always drink it black. Why? To enjoy the natural, inherent flavors. There’s nothing like it.
Fine coffee must be harvested at peak ripeness, carefully separated from its fruit, dried with care, properly stored, and finally roasted and brewed with precision. Only then can its full potential unfold.
When drinking it black, sip it slowly from hot to near room temperature, over the course of 15 to 20 minutes. As the temperature drops to around 130°F to 120°F, the coffee fully blossoms revealing sweetness and nuanced flavor notes that were only hinted at when hot. Like a fine wine, it deserves to be savored as it evolves. A cup like that can make a morning feel as special as a glass of good wine makes an evening.
When I travel, and there isn’t a specialty roaster in sight, I almost always add milk to my coffee – sometimes even sugar! No bitterness, just a mellow, compliant brew, softened by creaminess. I still welcome the caffeine kick, but I remain comfortably indifferent to the coffee itself, thank goodness, free to turn my thoughts elsewhere. It’s not the morning oasis I find myself immersed in at home.
Milk drinkers, satisfy your natural curiosity and taste it black before adding milk when at specialty cafes. Specialty roasters can vary dramatically as to what coffees they pick to roast and how they roast it. There is genuine comfort in protecting yourself from bad taste, but It is such a thrill to be positively surprised. Live to discover!
If you’re just starting your coffee journey, you might try what we call a coffee-coffee. Guatemala San Martin, Costa Rica Dota and El Salvador Montecarlos are such coffees: pure Coffee notes with just subtle hint of nuts, fruit and chocolate. Want something noticeably different but equally popular? Try Ethiopian Chelbessa.
When enjoyed properly, these coffees can make you feel like you’re rediscovering your coffee every morning. It’s the only way I start my day.