Coffee & TV /EN/
Using a reference to Blur's lyrics Coffee & TV - as addictive as coffee can get, I consider the phenomenon so much more than a fad - it is a life philosophy. Quite unsurprisingly, the best coffee is prepared in Japan, which is known for its tea history and ceremonies.
I decided to dig deep in my own consciousness to investigate what it is about coffee that has made me fall head over heels in love with it. Until recently I would have sworn by a tiny Italian espresso to be on Olympus of the coffee art. Only when I had to look for alternative ways of preparation was I forced to re-evaluate my stance.
The beauty of manual brewing lies in the process itself. It requires more than a mere pushing of a button on an espresso machine - it needs your absolute devotion. I believe this might be the rationale behind me totally having got lost in it. Every time I prepare a new batch of fresh coffee, the result may differ, which brings a certain degree of excitement. Now I seem to be leading a very boring life having compared coffee making to being thrilled, right? Don't be deceived though - achieving a good taste can bring a very distinctively satisfying sensation when you have high-quality (means expensive) coffee which you could spoil by not following the routine correctly.
Look at the photos to see how I prepare coffee with my Chemex, a classic coffee maker.
The shapes of the vessel remind of a beaker taken from a chemical laboratory, which is not a coinsidence. According to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Peter Schlumbohm created Chemex in 1941 following the Bauhaus philosophy and artistry. The designer was a chemist himself, who emigrated to the USA and was heavily influenced by the German school of art. Now Chemex is in the permanent collection of the aforementioned museum.
Besides Chemex, I have been using equipment by a Japanese manufacturer Hario - the scales, the pot and the grinder.
I am not exactly sure what it is that brings me the pure pleasure from coffee drinking. Be it the fact that I always have a moment of total relaxation while sitting on a couch or the joy from preparing it, manual brewing gives me this feeling of having a skill. I might have grown into the person who has shifted the focus from having things to learning things. And I am really enjoying it.