Francesca's Edit: Coffee Craze
By Francesca Furey, EIC
I’ve found myself sipping on iced coffees at 9 p.m. lately. That’s probably not good — but when I think a bit harder about it, 1) my bedtime is between 3-4 a.m. 2) I’m immune to caffeine and 3) time isn’t real anyway. Speaking of which, I’ve argued that time isn’t real forever and now everyone’s starting to agree with me. Talk about being a trendsetter.
Quarantine is full of boredom and hobbies. The two are directly correlated: if you’re bored, you start up a hobby. After doing said hobby for a certain amount of hours, you go back to being bored. And the cycle continues. My quarantine hobbies are a mishmash of different things. There’s coffee, anime, reading, stanning BTS, and scrolling endlessly through YouTube and TikTok. It’s pretty fun, but gets horribly repetitive when you can’t break it up with daily tasks like… going outside.
By staying in the house for weeks (months?) now, I’ve decided to up my coffee game. Sure, I was a light caffeine snob™ before the stay-at-home orders, but now I can up the ante. Quarantine means more “time” to spend on perfecting a perfect cup of joe, experimentation with various beans and brewing gadgets, and no control on online spending.
For this issue’s EIC edit, I want to showcase my go-tos, new finds, and favorite coffee-themed things. If you have the means and want to become a coffee boss, look no further!
1. Bodum 34oz Pour Over
Step aside, Chemex. You’re too expensive and fragile for my taste. The Bodum pour over is a cheap alternative to the Chemex, but works just as well. You’ll start to see that I’m a bit loyal to Bodum… not sure how that happened. Pour overs allow for you to have control over the strength of beans and the texture of your coffee. You add a certain weight of medium-ground beans (for beans, check out my note on Trade Coffee) to the cone, bloom them, and then slowly add hot water in a cyclical motion for two to three minutes. Pour overs are pretty flexible, as you can add ice to their base if you want cold drinks and you can make as much or as little coffee as possible.
2. Bodum Schiuma Milk Frother
This is pretty self explanatory. Right now, you can’t head over to your favorite coffee shop and get a perfect cup topped with froth and foam. Well, how would you feel if you could make milk foam in the comfort of your own kitchen? By using a milk frother, you can volumize any milk—this works amazingly well with non-dairies—and add pizzazz to any drink. For optimal frothing, warm up your milk.
3. Bodum 12oz French Press
French presses are taking the world by storm, and rightly so. These bad boys are an inexpensive and essential item for your coffee kit. The 12oz is perfect for a hot cup in the morning; you can even let it sit after pumping down the grounds for some iced coffee. Pro-tip: you can make cold brew with french presses, too. Add your favorite course grounds to the base of the press, add cold, filtered water, and refrigerate for a minimum of 20 hours. Congrats, you’re a barista now.
4. Klean Kanteen Tumbler
Oh, you’re still buying single-use plastic products? So not cool. Life is a bit chaotic right now and a reliance on single-use plastics is ensuring health and social distance standards. I get that. But once the pandemic comes to a close, consider alternative coffee vessels. Since COVID-19 has disrupted society as we know it, there’s been a six-percent decrease in greenhouse gases and improvements in ecosystems across the globe. However, this improvement does not mean the fight against climate change is over. We’re not even close. COVID-19 allows for us to see the changes and successes of less cars on the road, airplanes in the sky, and crowds in urban centers. Find a sustainable brand that’s worthy of your loyalty and stick to reusables. I’m a die-hard Klean Kanteen fan and have quite the collection of water bottles, tumblers, straws, and more. Even if you can’t bring your reusable to a coffee shop, it’s still fun to keep it at your desk at home.
5. Trade Coffee Subscription
This post is not sponsored by Trade… LOL. I wish! I discovered Trade Coffee through one of my favorite Tokyo-based YouTubers and by reading through coffee articles in some magazines. Trade Coffee is a coffee company that pairs you with roasters across the country (whether they be family-owned or popular retailers) based on your preferred taste. You take a simple quiz about your coffee habits, like how you like your strength, what your preferred brewing method is, and flavor preferences. Trade pairs you with a different company each month, building up your coffee expertise and supporting local coffee connoisseurs. It’s relatively cheap for two bags of whole beans a month (~$30) and it’s even sustainable. Trade prides itself on being flexible, too, and if you want to change up your taste, your subscription renewal, or anything else, you can!
6. Coffee Grinder
This gadget goes hand-in-hand with both my Trade subscription and my brewing methods. Coffee aficionados recommend buying whole beans and grinding them fresh before you make your cup. This ensures an amazing flavor—pre-ground coffee loses its taste and durability each day you have it. A coffee grinder also allows you to use multiple brewing devices; one day you can grind your beans for a French press, another day you can grind them for cold brew or a pourover, etc.
MorganDrinksCoffee, TikTok & YouTube (photo credit: Andy Cripe)
7. MorganDrinksCoffee
OK, so #7 isn’t a coffee gadget, obviously. MorganDrinksCoffee is a TikTok sensation from Oregon that has taken the barista world by storm. Morgan is a real delight and warms up my day with her coffee-themed TikToks and YouTube videos. Her jokes about working as a barista remind me of my time working at my local coffee shop and her tutorials about perfecting latte art and specialty drinks are top tier. If you’re looking for a laugh or to become an amateur barista, I suggest checking her out.
8. Nutpods Creamer
I’ll keep it short and simple: buy this short and simple creamer. Nutpods is a non-dairy, nut-based creamer without all the sugar and processed syrups. Add this creamy goodness to any coffee along with some agave, and you’re good to go! As a warning: Nutpods is not sweet at all— if you need some sugar in your drink, combine with the creamer. Flavors are pretty extensive, with favorites like caramel, hazelnut, and French vanilla, and seasonals like vanilla lemon, cinnamon swirl, and peppermint mocha.
9. Coffee Bubble Tea
Sick of the same old cup of iced coffee? I suggest you turn to coffee boba. Bubble tea shops everywhere have begun to combine two drink favorites, coffee and tapioca, to make this creamy, delightful goodness. Coffee boba was my go-to splurge after a long day of classes or a much-needed pick-me-up in the middle of the week. Sipping on some boba on Beury Beach was a necessary rite of passage as a Temple student. If your nearby tea shops are open for pick-up or delivery, consider ordering some coffee boba. If not, research how to make some homemade coffee boba or mark it down on your calendars for the future!
10. Your Favorite Mug/Cup
Nothing says personality like your favorite coffee cup. Somehow, coffee tastes even better in a vessel that holds memories, makes you smile, or spruces up your workspace. My favorite mug is my green ceramic puffin mug from Iceland. I remember begging my mom to buy it at a souvenir shop on the top of Gullfoss Falls, right outside Reykjavik. Whenever I take it out of my cabinet, I can feel the arctic mist against my face and the crisp Icelandic breeze. If you’re like me, you can be wary of damaging your favorite mug, too. Sometimes, I place it in my room as a knick knack and let it add some flair to my living space (and Instagram feed).
