How I Started Drinking Espresso at 38—and Why I’ll Never Go Back
I was never a coffee drinker. I always wanted to be but when I would take the periodic sip it just never tasted right to me. Once, my dad even bet me that I would succumb and starting drinking coffee in college. I won $100 on graduation day. In fact, I wouldn’t start drinking coffee until I was 38 years old.
When I do something, it doesn’t usually make sense to people because I always go from 0 to 100. I’m dabbling in writing and then BOOM there’s a novel. I turn my nose up at coffee all my life and then BOOM, now I drink two double espressos a day, black. When it works, it works. And, this is my setup.
After my mom made me an espresso on her machine one day I ended up with one of these, a Casabrews espresso machine. Like I said, these things just happen. The coffee was an Illy espresso blend and it was glorious. It was smooth and gave an immediate buzz the likes of which I’d never seen.
Before long I found this espresso tamper on Amazon (the one that comes with the Casabrews setup is non-optimal. The weight of this thing was impressive and it makes for a nice puck of espresso, the intricacies of which I’m still learning.
The Casabrews machine makes for a creamy espresso, caramel colored and full-bodied. I would peg the temperature at middling; it’s too hot to sip immediately but within two minutes I can down it. If I add anything it’s a sprinkle of 100% Cocoa Powder on top.
If there’s one thing I like it’s a good ritual. As an entrepreneur, I find that taking pleasure in the little things helps me attack the big things with renewed focus and fervor. Maybe you can’t control every minute of every day, but you can allow yourself a little indulgence. In this case, the caffeine boost helps me be more productive, especially in the early afternoon hours.
Sometimes I still can’t believe it. A short time ago I had never had a full cup of coffee. I guess technically I still haven’t had a cup of drip coffee. But I do drink espresso daily, and probably more than I should. The Casabrews espresso machine was a great place for me too start. It wasn’t crazy expensive, at a little under $170. For a newbie like me it was worth taking the chance.
I’ve since tried espresso at a local coffee shop and at the elephant-in-the-room coffee shop as well. I found them difficult to get down. The Illy is just that smooth I think. It’s really an excellent place to start if you’re new to espresso like me. It’s flavorful without being so bold you wince.
Now, I’m not sure I’ll ever go back to my non-coffee drinking ways. It gives me something to look forward to throughout the day and, when you’re not adding a bunch of stuff to it, espresso can be quite healthy in moderation.
If you’re looking to get into a similar situation, here’s my current setup:
Let me know what your setup looks like and if you have any coffee recommendations for a rookie like me.
Disclosure: I received the espresso tamper product for free from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. I was not paid to write this post, and all opinions are my own.