Good coffee: Worth The Money and The Time

In our house, coffee is an event that rises to the level of sacred ritual. Once, when making a list of life goals I wrote, “Have coffee with my husband every morning.” It’s not about chugging down the fastest cup possible for a quick caffeine and sugar fix. For me, good coffee is comfort, connection, and a tiny bit of luxury all in one. When we moved here, one of the first things I set out to do was to find the best coffee in Corpus Christi.

With that said, you can’t just have any old coffee for your sacred ritual! And you can’t make it just any old way. Grocery store coffee is generally many weeks, if not months old. Ground coffee is the worst in terms of freshness. Don’t even get me started on K-Cup coffee. Blech.

There are a number of ways to make excellent coffee. My coffee process has evolved over the years, but currently I make it Americano style (espresso + water). I stumbled upon this out of desperation when my French Press broke one morning. My husband had a stovetop espresso maker getting dusty in our cabinet, so I pulled it out, made an Americano, and was thrilled with the flavor of the result. I’ve stuck with that since then. Since I do use a quality, more costly coffee, as a frugal Mama, this is the way to get the most flavor out of every precious bean. Doing it this way I actually use less coffee than I did when I used a French Press.

My favorite coffee in Corpus Christi is at Driftwood Coffee Company. Owned by a genuinely awesome woman and fellow mama, Driftwood is a coffee roastery and tasting room. A tasting room is different from a coffee shop in that they don’t make espresso based or blended coffee drinks. They simply sell great coffee, and teach you how to taste really great coffee. And while you can buy their coffee by the individual bag, you can save a few dollars per bag by purchasing a subscription for several bags per month. I have tried most of their coffees but my favorites are from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nicaragua. They roast the coffee in-house and stamp it with the date roasted, which is usually within a week or two from when you purchase it. This is actually optimal as coffee can actually be “too” fresh if you are using it immediately after it was roasted.

One Way to Make Great Coffee at Home

What you need:

Good whole bean coffee, a stovetop espresso maker, coffee bean grinder, hot filtered water. There are different sizes of espresso maker. We have these two. The baby one makes 1 shot of espresso. The big one makes 4. Hubby and I use the big one when we have coffee together.

Step 1:

Turn your stove on medium heat while you prep your espresso. Fill your stovetop espresso maker with water. I fill it up to the bottom of the little screw. Screw the top back on and put the espresso maker on the stove. Meanwhile, heat up your water.

Step 2:

Grind your beans. You want a fairly fine grind for espresso. Put the ground beans in but don’t pack them down.

Step 3:

Wait for your espresso to brew! Be patient. Take a walk around your living room and get some steps on your pedometer. I can knock out 1,000 steps while I wait for my espresso to brew (my husband calls these my coffee walks). You’ll know it’s done when your espresso stops bubbling up through the top . As soon as it stop bubbling take it off the heat or your espresso will taste burned.

Step 4:

Pour your espresso into a mug and add as much water as you like. Honestly, I don’t add that much because I like mine really strong.

Step 5:

Slowly enjoy your coffee, preferably with someone you love.