I bought a fake chemex and a bag of pre-ground ‘deathwish’ coffee.

Come about a year later, after first moving to utah, I’d been having coffee like this every morning. But the occasional visit to a specialty coffee shop (ironic, considering the bleak outlook our mormon brethren have on the hot bean juice), left me feeling like my coffee at home was lacking.

So I wanted to start understanding coffee on a deeper level.

I sat on the floor of my empty apartment (getting this straight took priority over getting a couch) and went down the youtube rabbit hole.

I learned about the importance of buying coffee beans from transparent, local roasters. About buying whole bean. And that drinking pre-ground coffee straight off the grocery store shelf is as good as making your spaghetti bolognese with toilet water.

I learned what light, medium, and dark roasts actually did differently to the palette. I bought the book ‘craft coffee’ by jessica easto. And most of all, I learned that I needed some nicer equipment to start brewing that better cup at home.

So the couch remained a dream as I scrolled fellow’s coffee equipment catalog, salivating, and embarked on what’s now been a 5+ year journey into the world of third wave coffee.

A ritual that’s changed my life, gets me out of bed every morning, and makes me the most annoying person you could possibly travel with.