Who Are You Brewing Your Coffee For?

In this deeply reflective episode, I explore one of the most fundamental questions that every coffee enthusiast should ask themselves: "Who are you brewing your coffee for?" I dive into the complexities of our coffee journey, examining how external influences - from online gurus to family members - can sometimes overshadow our personal preferences and authentic experiences with coffee. I share my honest reflections about how I've sometimes found myself brewing coffee according to expert recipes or roasting techniques, losing sight of my own palate and preferences in the process.

Throughout this episode, I emphasize the importance of reclaiming your personal coffee journey and being "selfish" with your craft. I discuss the realization I had at a recent coffee expo, where tasting various coffees reinforced that staying true to your own taste preferences is not only valid but essential. By the end of this episode, listeners will gain clarity on the importance of brewing coffee primarily for themselves, understanding that while it's wonderful to serve others and learn from experts, your coffee journey should ultimately reflect your personal tastes, preferences, and reasons for loving this craft. You'll learn how to navigate the balance between external influences and personal authenticity in your daily coffee brewing practice.

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:30 The External Influences in Coffee
• 3:48 The Coffee Expo Realization
• 5:53 It's Your Journey, Not Theirs
• 7:29 Personal Answer: Who I Brew For
• 9:33 Advice for Listeners
• 11:43 Final Thoughts

Transcript

[00:00:00] We're live right now. Today is May 7, 2025, and we're doing pretty good right now. I hope you're doing pretty good right now, and that's all we can do.

[00:00:22] I don't think this one's going to be too long. I've been thinking about it for a while, well, ever since yesterday. Just being real, but I don't know if we've asked ourselves this question much or any at all when we're going through this whole journey.

[00:00:47] But here's the question. Here's the topic. Who are we brewing for? Who are we making coffee for? That can be as simple as me or you, or that can be pretty layered.

[00:01:03] We have people online. We have gurus who are experts. I haven't put myself in there as somebody who tries to help people with their coffee. We have family members. We have co-workers. We have all these things and people that we perhaps brew coffee for.

[00:01:35] Sometimes I don't stop and realize or think about the things that I have done with coffee. My coffee journey. Who I brew coffee for. Why I brew coffee for them or for myself. But I think about that. I just really step back and think about the whole situation for what it is. A lot of times I'm brewing coffee with a recipe.

[00:02:12] I'm brewing coffee with a particular outcome that I'm looking for. I'm not going to lie. Sometimes some of those gurus get me online and sometimes I follow their recipes. Sometimes I roast the way they want me to roast. Sometimes I think in a way to where, you know, the way they do it.

[00:02:39] And that's not cool, especially all the time. I don't know if you go through that too, where you're brewing this cup of coffee and you're trying to understand it for what it is for yourself, for your own palate. But you're thinking about what this person tastes. What would they think of my coffee?

[00:03:12] Or even family members. If you like high, lightly roasted acidic coffees, do you think they will like it? Do you think it will go right with their milk and sugar? Would they look at you crazy for brewing this type of coffee? Would you look at them crazy for drinking their coffee that way?

[00:03:48] Those are some of the things that we go through daily throughout this journey. There's a lot of things that you just don't realize, the things that you care about and why you care about them. And I think that's the point of us just talking right now.

[00:04:06] I guess really what I'm asking is whose journey is it really? Is it our journey? Is it those other people's journey? Is it our family members' journey? I think we need to start getting back to the root of why we're doing this. And I think that's the reason why I'm asking this question, because I ask it for myself quite a bit.

[00:04:37] And I'm glad that I was really honest with myself when I was tasting those coffees at the expo. Because truthfully I did want to taste different coffees. That was the whole point. I did want to see what other people were doing, seeing how they got down, see what magic that they were brewing.

[00:05:09] And it's not so much that I was disappointed. It gave me more of a realization that at least to me, in my own eyes, that I'm on the right track. That it's okay for me to be extremely objective, opinionated when it comes to tasting coffee.

[00:05:32] Because at the end of the day, I'm the one who's drinking it. Same thing with you. At the end of the day, you're the one who's drinking the coffee. I can tell you the notes on the bag. I can tell you probably the color that you'll probably be tasting. I can tell you that you're going to be tasting Starburst, Jasmine, and Oolong Tea. I can tell you all that, but truthfully it doesn't matter.

[00:06:00] It depends on what you care about. Those are some of the things that I think about constantly. Because at the end of the day, it's your journey. And I think we can't lose sight of that. It is your journey.

[00:06:23] Even if you have family members doing their own thing, trying to tell you what to do, give you requests of what they like, it doesn't matter. That's their journey. They're just interjecting it on you. And especially since you are the one who's making a cup of coffee, brewing a cup of coffee, the way that hopefully you will want to do it, that's all that matters.

[00:06:44] They're just people. You're just a person. And believe it or not, it's just a life, right? It's just a life that you're living. And coffee is a part of it. And I think once we realize that that's what we're really into doing, we have to be extremely selfish in this whole game. And this whole walk of whatever it may be.

[00:07:13] Because, truthfully, that's the only thing that matters. How we feel about certain things, what we care about, all past the whole thing about people online and what I'm telling you to do or anything like that. It doesn't matter. It's your journey. And I think that's where I'm really getting back to.

[00:07:33] So, who are you brewing your coffee for? I'm going to answer that for myself. And hopefully you can think about how you want to answer that and answer it for yourself whenever you do listen to this.

[00:07:57] So, let me ask myself this question. Okey, who are you brewing your coffee for? I would say it was for others. It was for YouTube. It was for podcasting. It was a way to where I can give people real advice in order to make a good cup of coffee.

[00:08:19] And I think I lost the way to an extent because though I was learning so much, I didn't really express it for myself. So, I think moving forward I will still do the things I'm doing for others, but I will think about myself first and then others second because at the end of the day, it's my journey.

[00:08:51] It's something that I know that is important to me and the trials and the tribulations and the game that I play with making the best cup of coffee that I can for that moment. That's perfectly okay. As long as it's my game, it's the game that I want to play. It's the thing that I want to do.

[00:09:17] And it's okay for me to explore different things, different people because at the end of the day, that's really what it's all about - me exploring this magical thing of coffee to the world. And I think the biggest takeaway that I can have with this is that it's also a gift to just share it with others.

[00:09:50] Others to comment, others to say things, others to probably think about things a little differently, others to be mad and tell me how they feel. But at the end of the day, no matter what, that's what I want to do with my journey and that's what I'm planning to do more and more.

[00:10:03] And I have to constantly remind myself every time throughout the year, who am I making this coffee for? Yours may be a little bit more simple. Maybe you're already on that right path of brewing the coffee for yourself, expressing yourself through coffee for whatever reason it may be.

[00:10:29] I don't know what it may be for you. We're all different. We all like what we like even though you may be a medium roast person. You may like it for different reasons. You may brew it a certain way for whatever reason, it doesn't matter. At the end of the day, as long as you are happy with the way that you're making your coffee, hopefully more so for yourself, then that's all that matters.

[00:10:52] So I guess that's what I'm getting back to again. It's about being selfish with this craft. I'm in the business of giving people great tasting coffee each and every day and sharing tips and tricks about coffee and anything that you can think about.

[00:11:28] But I think you have it probably a little bit easier. You don't have to worry about profits and loss. You don't have to worry about if you're pivoting in the right way or asking the right questions to people. You don't have to worry about figuring out your target market. Your target market is you. It's you.

[00:11:34] And if you already know who you're brewing your coffee for, then that's all that matters. You're a lot better placed than a lot of people. Beyond what gurus say, beyond what you read in a book, watch a YouTube video, listen to a podcast, it doesn't matter who you're listening to.

[00:11:52] At the end of the day, it's about you and what you care about. So grab it and be honest with yourself and ask yourself those questions. Am I brewing coffee for others and not for myself? It's okay to be a servant. I'm not saying that it's not okay to be a servant or steward of others.

[00:12:17] I'm just saying that you got into this coffee game whichever way you got into this coffee game, you're deep into the rabbit hole because you're just deep into the rabbit hole. You make those decisions and as you make those decisions, it's your journey. So just own it, appreciate it, and just let it be, right?

[00:12:52] That's kind of more so the way I look at it. This is Okey at Everyday Beans signing off. Don't forget to ask yourself, please ask yourself this question. Who are you brewing your coffee for? That's all that matters. Hopefully it's for yourself. Hopefully it's for the reasons that you deeply care about.

[00:13:09] If you don't know, then hopefully this question gives you the opportunity to ask yourself, who are you brewing your coffee for? I'm out. Talk to you later.