Coffee- A Journey

Coffee, in my opinion is one of the greatest gifts God gave to man. It has transformed the very world we know. Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world next to oil, beating out gold and natural gas. My journey with coffee has not taken me around the world, but I have had the opportunity to share in the amazing product that coffee farmers around the world work so tirelessly to produce. This journey starts as a young boy when my mother gave me a small cup of some cold coffee while I was sick, thinking it would help boost my immune system. That first sip was the most bitter thing I had ever tasted, and it reminded me of falling face first into the mud as a child. I’m thankful that this experience did not hinder me from trying it again a few years later. I first fell in love with coffee as a teenager, the coffee was nothing fancy but at that time it tasted like home in a mug. As middle and high school became more and more difficult coffee became more and more necessary. The fanciest I got however was the Keurig that my parents had recently gotten, and for the time being it satisfied me. The local café named Café Z was the closest that I had gotten to understanding the full nature of what coffee could be. I still love my home café and I try and visit it whenever I am home.

My true coffee journey didn’t start until my freshman year of college. Attending a school in Rochester NY it becomes hard to ignore the amazing coffee culture that is present here, rightly so, Rochester is often called the Seattle of the East Coast. With cafes and roasters spanning the whole of the city and its’ various neighborhoods, coffee is in the blood of the locals. For me I didn’t have a car, so access to these great cafes was sparse. Going into college I had the typical Mr. Coffee maker which does its’ job if your goal is to just wake up in the morning. I however felt that there had to be something bigger than just the average cup of joe. I ended up remembering going to a friend of my parents’ house for lunch one afternoon and hearing about this thing called a French press, which supposedly made a great cup of coffee. So, after a few weeks of college I went home and bought a French press from Café Z not knowing a thing about it. After using it I remember being amazed by what this small 3 cup brewer could do to your standard Folgers coffee. Once I brought it back to my school it became a hit. On Thursdays, a few guys and I who are now my best friends would dress up, I would make them a cup of coffee and we would have our classy Thursdays. This became my favorite part of the week and I quickly discovered how much I loved seeing people’s reactions to a great cup of coffee. This sparked my interest further than I could’ve imagined. I ended up researching for hours upon end to see how else people around the world are brewing up coffee, and what different kinds of coffee are out there, what flavor profiles exist. Now I usually don’t nerd out on something like this, unless its related to Jesus or guitars, but coffee grabbed my attention and its’ not let go since.

That summer I learned more about coffee and spent more money than I care to admit on different brewers. To this day I own about 6 different brewers that range from the stoutness and depth of French press and espresso, to the clarity and brightness that comes from using a Hario V60 or Chemex. But the brewer is not the only thing that matters in a great cup, first you must have great organic coffee, preferably fair trade. I have tried coffees from all over the world, from Kenya to Guatemala and many places in between, and no two coffees are alike.

The amazing thing that I’ve found in the coffee world is the amount of variables that go into a cup of coffee. Now bear with me through these next sentences. From the very farm land, elevation, amount of rainfall and sunshine, to the time and way that the coffee is harvested. To the way in which the farmer washes or doesn’t wash their crop, to the way that it is transported to the roaster. Once arrived at the roaster the variables continue. Within the roasting process there are fluctuating levels of heat that can change the flavor of the bean their working with, the timing of such raising and lowering of heat at specific times has an impact. Once roasted and sent to the café the variables continue. First the grinding process, the fineness or coarseness will change the ultimate outcome in your cup. Once ground the brewer in which is chosen is added to the equation. Next is the variable of the water that is being used, is it tap water, mineral water, water from a well or a city? What is the temperature of the water being used? How long is the coffee itself coming into contact with the water? If there is a prolonged period of contact the flavors tend to be intense and you’re able to taste those chocolate notes, but if it is a shorter period of contact the flavors tend to be lighter, with notes of melons and citrus. All these things impact the way in which your coffee tastes, and I find this to be amazing.

I have found such beauty in coffee over these past few years. As a Christian to see the complexities in coffee shows me the loving and intentional nature of the God we worship. Coffee this seemingly insignificant pit of the cascara plant, and yet it is full of beautiful possibilities. I think about the influence that coffee has had upon our planet and how much it has shaped the society that we’re a part of, and God calls that “good” in the book of Genesis. And then we look at ourselves and look at the beauty within us and God calls us “very good”. I can’t help but look at coffee and see a reflection of the creator in every bean that I come across. Yet we are so quick to pass by and not see the evidence of God in our lives, in the very thing a lot of us drink to make it through the first part of our days, the thing we want to just grab and go. I believe that if we were to stop and actually think about what’s around us that we would see God through a whole new perspective.