Regarding the original blog post about my coffee journey earlier this year, I’d like to talk more and share the updates in recent months.
I began the journey by drinking instant coffee and canned coffee. It’s said that caffeine excites our brains. Drinking coffee helps wake people up. Although it was ineffective to me, the mixing of bitterness and sweetness makes me feel good. I consumed instant coffee and canned coffee a few times a week.
When I started working, there was a coffee brewer at the office. The coffee was so sour that I hated drinking this. In 2012, three colleagues and I bought our coffee machine – Nespresso Pixie. This was the first time I drank espresso-like coffee. At that time, I couldn’t distinguish between capsule coffee and espresso. However, Nespresso broadened my horizons. It tastes better than all the coffee I drank before knowing Nespresso. The aroma and mouthfeel woke me up every morning. It was the best way to start my daily duty at work.
The Nespresso Pixie cost about HKD 400 per person, and each capsule cost about HKD 7 in the 2010s, which was quite expensive in comparison to my salary. However, Nespresso Pixie is so durable that nothing broke after we’ve brewed coffee for almost 10 years. As my colleagues left the company, I became the only user of the machine in the last five years. Interestingly enough, I sold it earlier this year for HKD 500. What a good investment!
My first Nespresso machine (sold)
In recent years, there are stalls and fairs in shopping malls selling drip coffee, drip bags and accessories. My girlfriend loves visiting these fairs and chatting with the owner. We might get a chance to the stall owners’ coffee. When she asked for my opinion, I had no idea. Why did they say there is a taste of lychee and mango in the coffee? How about the natural process and washed process? What were they talking about? Puzzled by the coffee terminologies several times, in 2021, I decided to study drip coffee and bought the most famous Hario V60 set.
Drip coffee is popular in Hong Kong. This is probably because of the (fake) hipster culture and hipster cafes. (Fake) hipsters enjoy the sense of ritual and the over-complicated procedures of brewing coffee more than actually tasting the coffee. Thanks to this culture, I could find lots of information on the internet and learned how to brew drip coffee at home. When the coffee blooms, the aroma is so attractive that I can’t wait to taste the coffee.
My first drip coffee, though the roaster should have already been out of business.
I realised the difference between capsule coffee and drip coffee. I wanted to explore more coffee knowledge. Then I came across a coffeeholic who is a chartered barista from Specialty Coffee Association (SCA).
… (to be continued)