Perplexity
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HM
This is an experimental essay I’ve been working on for a class while visiting multiple specialty coffee places.
Homemade Coffee:
Older Brother: Remember our coffee road trips?
Younger Brother: Kinda, but the basic idea was—
Stumptown:
You never know what to expect when you open the door of a café, and that's the beauty of it. You open that old wooden door to a mix of fruity aromas covered by the basic smell of the espresso. Stumptown has one long bar counter with brown barstools on the side for customers to watch the baristas at work. The custom-made Stumptown espresso machine is huge with three steam levers, and behind the barista, you could see the manual brewing methods that look like it has not been touched for a while.
Younger Brother: Can I have a Chemex of the Colombia Los Picos?
Barista: Sir, we don't make Chemex for one person, but would you like the drip?
Younger Brother: Eh, sure. Can I have the tasting notes?
Barista: Green apple, black cherry, and honey. Your coffee will be ready by the counter next to the barstools.
Older Brother: So, how’s the coffee?
Younger Brother: It tastes like piss. He messed up the ratio…
Older Brother: Can you estimate the ratio?
Younger Brother: 18.
Older Brother: You’re always good at this! Let’s go have lunch.
Blue Bottle Coffee:
Have you been to an Apple store? That’s exactly how Blue Bottle Coffee looks like. The white paint is everywhere, and you could see the coffee AeroPress in action in the middle of the table like an iPhone. A two-part plastic tube that pumps filtered coffee into your cup with the lightest and sweetest taste as possible. The white long counter with light brown barstools make for the perfect IKEA look you’d imagine. The espresso machine they own is Italian made, but what is special about that machine is the way it looks. It’s a time machine.
Older Brother: I think this is the best coffee place in San Francisco.
Younger Brother: You’re always optimistic.
Older Brother: Someone should be.
Barista: What would you gentlemen like?
Younger Brother: I will have the Three Africas blend. I assume you’re going to make it in an AeroPress?
Barista: That’s correct. You should be able to taste the golden raisins with a little bit of a winey blueberry taste. And what would you like?
Older Brother: Hot chocolate. 12 ounces.
Younger Brother: I cannot believe we’re brothers.
Older Brother: Get over it.
Younger Brother: This is actually really good. There is a nice contrast between the ground beans and the water, and I believe the beans were roasted till the first crack.
Older Brother: Aha, okay. sips.
Coava Coffee:
The way a café is designed sets the mood for the customers, but at the same time, it defines the owner of that café. Coava Coffee looks like a warehouse that has been filled with mahogany woodwork, but the elegance is destroyed by the cheap plastic chairs sitting against the well-made wooden tables. There are about five coffee grinders for people to see next to the cashier counter, and they have those iPads with the checkout accessory. The one thing you could observe on each visit is the Vikings tattoos on the arms of the baristas.
Younger Brother: So, you’re getting married?
Older Brother: Yeah, she is from this area. We met a year ago. Are you coming? Or you are going to skip like you did with my graduation?
Younger Brother: ...
Barista: Can I help you guys?
Older Brother: Yeah, do you have something with a strong taste?
Barista: We have the fresh Las Capucas from Honduras with an altitude of 1600-1650 meters, it makes for the perfect dark chocolaty cup of espresso.
Older Brother: We’ll have two of those.
Younger Brother: I thought you hated espresso shots?
Older Brother: Come on, it been a while since you’ve talked to me. It will be fun.
Younger Brother: Alright, I guess…
Older Brother: Sips. It tastes like tar. Agh.
Younger Brother: No, it tastes like dark chocolate. Your tongue is malfunctioned.
Older Brother: Just drink your coffee assface.
Counter Culture Coffee:
Basic. That’s what comes to your mind when you see this place. How basic? It looks like a big kitchen. Your father decides that he is fed up with your mother so he designs the whole kitchen by himself. What does your father need? Chairs, a huge counter, a flashy sink, and many drawers because it’s practical. Fathers like to be practical. You can’t see the espresso machine because it is in one of the drawers so it does not catch dust, I assume. At least there are two expensive Baratza Encore grinders for you to mesmerize your eyes with.
Younger Brother: You’re leaving?
Older Brother: Yeah, I've been relocated to France. You got one year to graduate and after that, you can come with me if you wish.
Barista: Hi, can I take your order?
Younger Brother: I’ll have the New Guinea Kobuta.
Barista: It’s very sweet and carries a similar taste to the Darjeeling tea. What about you?
Older Brother: I’ll just have water.
Younger Brother: I’ve been moving a lot lately.
Older Brother: Do you like Oregon?
Younger Brother: It’s 15, just like this cup of coffee.
Older Brother: Balanced.
Younger Brother: I think I’ll go back home.
Older Brother: Home?
Younger Brother: Home.
