Commuting, working, and then living in Los Angeles & traveling to major cities inundated with high-quality coffee shop scenes, opened my eyes and palette to a new world of coffee enjoyment.
I looked forward to spending $6 on a pour-over and exploring the aromas and flavor notes from around the world vs. the $4 chemical-tasting, and most of the time burnt Starbucks coffee.
For the first time I wanted to try different coffee crafts knowing these baristas, I mean the real deal baristas, knew what they were doing and chose to be there for the love of coffee and the art of making an experience in your cup much like a mixologist.
I never went back to my previous coffee life after that.
Fast forward to moving to a suburban place where there’s only a handful of craft coffee places in the East Valley and a culture where drive-thru “coffee” I say that the loosest way I can because let’s be real these are drive-thru places that are sugar and milk with a splash of coffee in the drink. But boy do the soccer moms and tweens keep their businesses thriving. I wish they didn’t call themselves coffee, it cheapens the rest of the community.
I couldn’t go back to my old ways and even though I only get coffee from somewhere on occasion or if I’m in the area and make a point to stop for such an experience I miss so dearly, I mostly enjoy coffee in the comfort of my own home which I love. Nothing like sitting down with my daughter as she plays and cracks smiles to me which I sip on my morning hot cup of comfort and joy.
But I do it in my way, like a working mom at home should, through the ease of online coffee snobbery-style shopping.
Not only do I enjoy the effort and detail many coffee roaster companies produce their products, but there are so many bad players out there and once you learn more about it you can’t unknow it and it will change how you see coffee from here on out.
I’ve learned so much evidence of the lack of regulation and quality control on coffee bean exports and throughout the entire production process. The amount of mold, pesticides, and heaven knows what else that is covered in coffee beans from fast food restaurants, airplanes, and on grocery shelves is astounding.
You feel it, you just imagine all those toxins going into your body, and if you’re a daily drinker, the compounding effects of that each day wow.
Enter brands that are doing their diligence in producing tested, pesticide-free coffee beans and let me tell you it’s a game changer. Gone are the days of burnt, toxic over-priced “coffee” and welcome the days of rich, flavorful cups! To learn more about specialty coffee and how they differentiate from the majority of beans out there take a look here.
They are more expensive but even as a nursing mom and keeping my caffeine intake at a low level so I don’t decrease my milk supply, I don’t have the “need” to have coffee every day like I used to. It’s almost like without all the unknowns you’re drinking it’s no longer addicting. Who would have thought?!
Here are the brands I’ve been enjoying and look to try others in the future:
Biodynamic Coffee (Specialty Grade)