Don't Fast Forward Your Coffee Journey

For the past couple of weeks I've been sitting with Kenyan coffee and a Costa Rican natural, roasting them light, medium, and dark, and being honest with myself: they're just not doing it for me. In this episode I talk through what it feels like to drink a coffee everyone says you're supposed to love and walk away unmoved. I get into that familiar winey character in Kenyans, the way fruit in naturals hits hard and then fades into something empty, and why understanding a coffee matters more than forcing yourself to enjoy it.

More than tasting notes, this is about the mindset behind specialty coffee. I talk about industry pressure, baristas and competitions telling you what you'll experience, Reddit opinions becoming your identity, and why none of that should be the main recipe for your palate. You'll learn how to tell honest self-assessment apart from second-guessing, and why trusting your own walk with coffee, even when it goes against the crowd, is the real skill worth building. If you've ever wondered whether something's wrong with you for not liking the "right" coffee, this one is for you.

Transcript

[00:00] Kenyans, naturals, they're not doing it for me. Or were they ever? Or am I just being honest with myself now? That's the way I've been feeling for the past couple of weeks.

[00:18] I've been playing around with Kenyan coffee, a medium and a light roast. That could be the issue, we don't know. And with naturals, a Costa Rican natural, a light and a dark roast I was playing around with.

[00:41] It's not that I was trying to like it for it being what it is. It was more just me being honest with the path I was taking with it. As I kept drinking them, all different types of ways, I wasn't blown away. I wasn't mesmerized. I wasn't satisfied. That's the right way to say it. And I wonder if I've been feeling this way for a very long time.

[01:20] The Kenyan coffee was just OK. It had that winey type of taste on it, something we're really accustomed to drinking. Did it have a sparkle for me? Not really. It really didn't. It was familiar. It was something I used to get down with, something kind of trippy that people always say has that winey taste on it. I took that as that's the way it's supposed to be. But I don't really drink wine like that. I don't care for wine that way. It's different in a coffee, but it still has that same sensation, that same taste.

[02:19] Then I eventually put it down for the Costa Rican. I had different times, different chances of tasting this particular coffee, especially in the uniqueness I found myself in, roasting it as a light roast and also as a dark roast. Maybe I should have tried it as a medium roast. Maybe I would have felt a little different.

[02:46] I thought that if I tried it as a dark roast it would have been there. It was slightly better. But something about it felt empty. That fruit hits you first, then it just dies down, like I've talked about before.

[03:11] I knew that's the way it did it for me. But putting that explanation and that understanding around that particular coffee gave me a peace of mind. Like, wow, this is what this truly really tastes like. Not bad, not good. Just the reasons why I don't really care for it.

[03:36] Then I started thinking about the industry. I wouldn't say there's pressure. I wouldn't say there's reasons to conform. A lot of times people are just talking from their own experience, which is fair. But when you're sitting there drinking your cups of coffee for what they are, for their uniqueness, their specialness, their quirks, hopefully you're drinking it for yourself.

[04:05] For the most part, I was drinking it for myself. I was trying to understand what makes this coffee tick. Why is it special to me, or why isn't it? I sat there a little bit longer, just wondering, where did I miss the mark? Why don't I understand this particular coffee the way everybody else does?

[04:36] As I kept drinking, I got a little more frustrated. Then I realized: that's just not me. I don't like it. If I can explain the reasons why I like it, that's perfectly fine. You don't have to. What I'm really saying is that our journey is our journey. It's helpful to get tips and tricks from others, but at the end of the day, we're truly just drinking coffee for ourselves. We're in that room, making that cup, trying to understand and enjoy it as much as we can. That's it. It's really that simple.

[05:37] As I sit here thinking about at least these two coffees, I'm still wondering, is it me? A lot of times you second-guess yourself. You wonder if it's truly you, because others are saying you're going to taste this, you're going to experience that, you're going to enjoy it this way, like they do with these competitions all the time.

[06:06] Or just talking to a barista in a cafe. They're going to tell you what you're going to be tasting, even what you're going to be experiencing. If you think about that, that's a little disservice toward you. It's not giving you the opportunity to find that coffee for what it is to you, because that's what that person is feeling, that's what that person is experiencing. They're just excited to let you know how awesome and magical the coffee is.

[06:45] But if you don't feel that way, there's nothing wrong with you. You're just in a different place in your journey. You have a different palate. If you don't like that stuff, you just don't like it, no matter what somebody says, no matter what the notes are on the bag. Those are the things I keep coming back to.

[07:14] Many months ago I talked about how I wish I had some of those coffees back, the ones I missed and messed up because I didn't have the right water chemistry. I still think about that moment, because it's not inaccurate, but it's a very immature type of situation. Even when I didn't have the best gear or the understanding of water chemistry, I was still able to make awesome, repeatable, delicious coffees. So this stuff does help, don't get me wrong.

[08:10] It's kind of like the EK43 I mentioned a long time ago. Sometimes you put coffee through a machine, get it back, drink it, and it's not great, so you quickly put it down. You quickly dismiss the coffee. You don't see the awesomeness of it. But lately I haven't been doing that. I've been seeing what it's all about, what it can do for me, and then I move on to the next. That's where I'm at with trying to understand coffee. The cool thing is, this is the journey I'm going on, the things I'm learning, and hopefully this is helpful to you.

[09:19] Before I leave off today, I want to read you something I wrote about this talk. I like to journal a little bit before I do these, to clear my mind and see if I'm crazy or not. What I wrote is very telling. Here it is:

[09:54] "Don't try to fast forward your journey because someone else is giving you the shortcut to expand your experience. It's your journey. Know that you are unique. You like what you like based on whatever the case is. You have to figure that out for yourself. Part of that is getting insights from others, but it shouldn't be the main recipe equation for your own walk with coffee. It should be a small part. If you like something new, something others don't, that's OK. Just have confidence in the steps you take in your journey."

[10:43] I want to read that first part again, because that's really it in a nutshell. "Don't try to fast forward your journey because someone else is giving you the shortcut to expand your experience." It's your experience. It's your walk. Even me, to an extent, giving tips and tricks and advice, take it for what it is.

[11:22] Sometimes I feel like the different comments I get from others, what I see online, what I read, and yeah, I'm on Reddit, I'm not going to lie. We're so quick to take all these things, not with a grain of salt but with a full fistful of it, to where it becomes our identity. It becomes the way we do things. It's like, what would this person do? Which is fine, but if you think about it, that's not good. It doesn't matter what that person would do. What would you do? Why do you like this? That's what we're getting at here.

[12:26] Like I said before, if you don't understand the reasons why you like something, that's OK. But at least you know why you don't like it. You just don't like it. If you can explain it, that's great. At the end of the day, it's about you. It's always going to be about you.

[12:54] If it's not a darling in the coffee community, if you like that Brazilian chocolate coffee, it is what it is. Who cares? It's exciting to you. Keep drinking it. If the fruity ones don't do it for you, if the exotics don't do it for you, that's fine. And if they do, that's great. Sing it to the rooftop. It doesn't matter.

[13:33] That's all I'm saying. Enjoy your coffee. See what it's all about for you. I think you're going to be in a better place. Trust your own walk with coffee. Let me know what you think. Talk to you later. Bye.

[13:54] (End)