One of my earliest memories is of my paternal grandmother drinking a coffee-like substance out of a tiny china cup. Apparently, she would let me take sips of whatever it was she was drinking, coffee or tea. I was primed for a love of coffee early on.
Like many others, I first started really drinking coffee in college. It started out with visits to Starbucks for caramel macchiato breaks from studying but didn’t really grow from there until a few years later when I became a regular at Dunkin’ Donuts. (Sometimes they would have my medium-iced-coffee-cream-and-sugar ready for me when I reached the register.)
In 2014, as manager of a small grocery store/sandwich shop, I invited a small coffee roaster to come by the store and offer individual pour-overs as well as bags of coffee beans for sale. I was given a free pour-over and was mesmerized by the experience of it. And then I didn’t know what to do. Because here I had this amazing, fresh cup of Colombian coffee, and I thought it rude to go dump half and half in it. And so, I drank it straight, black. It wasn’t as bad as I thought.
My coffee experience has taken me from Peet’s to Blue Bottle to La Colombe and a few other places we won’t mention here. I have spent hours in training, trying to get my milk the correct temperature and the right consistency. I’ve wasted at least two cow’s worth of milk trying to perfect my rosetta. I’ve spilled coffee on at least one customer and myself, frequently. My index finger is permanently encrusted with espresso dust and I sometimes find coffee beans in my shoes.
Even though I’m leaving the world of coffee for education, coffee will always be a part of my life and I look forward to taking you along with me as I visit cafes all over Korea!
Koffee & Kpop 