Autoethnography: A Progression Through a Coffee Life
The way coffee tastes on the tongue is different from most other liquids on this earth. It can be rich yet subtle, sweet and bitter; there is and always has been quite a variety. For many different fans of coffee, people have a relationship that goes back to childhood, whereas my connection to coffee is very different. To dislike coffee now would be the equivalent of jumping over the Empire State Building; it simply isn’t possible. Three years ago I could not stand the taste and would never consider spending a single penny on a liquified coffee bean, but shortly after something changed.
I grew up in Maryville, Tennessee, a place neither extravagant nor having many options by way of coffee. However, there was one shop in my hometown called Vienna Coffee Company that pioneered its location in the terms of coffee. The owner and chief roaster of the company, Jon Clark, probably did not know my name even though I spent countless hours at his shop every week. Vienna Coffee was a place I would go after school to avoid my thirty minute commute home. I would play cards and buy a bottomless cup that would sit and never contain a drop. Eventually, I ventured out of my comfort zone and spontaneously purchased a white mocha; I would describe this drink as the beverage that takes many peoples’ coffee virginity, were they not raised on the substance. It would be my guess that I sipped on this beverage for about 6 months before I started actually drinking regular drip coffee. At first, the cup contained more cream than it did coffee - and I did not find any problem with that. Now, that would be catastrophic considering I drink nothing but black coffee when I buy the beverage.
With me, you see, there is always a weaning process into new situations. It is an extremely long process; I will not fly before I start to jump. This white mocha was my experience in a new, coffee-filled world. Jon Clark, a man at one time I was actually frightened of, does not realize that the days I saw him walking around his shop and coming from the roastery showed me a completely different side of coffee. The sight that I saw from this man was the hands, the dirt, the skill that coffee stems from. Beginning to realize the importance of the work behind coffee completely changed my view, I started to understand why this drink has been globally popular for centuries.
At this point I began to explore outside of Vienna. I visited other shops where I tried to seem knowledgable about the craft that they were partaking in, but usually failed to understand a single word that came out of their mouths. Because of these embarrassing interactions, I decided that I truly needed to explore more, spend more time with these baristas and roasters. I visited Java, Remedy, and K-brew; I started to take the classic “hipster” photos of coffee that most people think is “ artsy.”
Today is a different story. I soon after moved to Denver because I loved theatre, but what I did not tell my parents was that Denver had a massive coffee scene that I was determined to explore. The first few months I began to get my bearings of the city, mapping out shops to visit and meeting people to contact later in my coffee conquests. Soon, I realized that these explorations might be able to prove useful in finding an entrance and insights into the world of craft coffee. For this reason I started “The Mug Diaries”. The Mug Diaries is not just some internet showcase, but something I take very seriously when reviewing the unique places around Denver. I took the time to develop relationships with many owners, managers, roasters, and baristas, because I knew that they all had their own individual views on the story of coffee, why they were at the venues they were. I would ask questions such as “what makes this venue different than the different venues in Denver?” and “what has been your mission with your craft coffee adventure since you started?” Most people do not realize that each person holds a piece of the puzzle in the coffee industry. There are so many ways to create good coffee, so many different tastes and styles and brews and beans to use. With each venue comes a different feel, a different attracted customer demographic. Everyone brings something to the table and The Mug Diaries helps let me share the vast knowledge and view with the world.
As my journey progressed, I knew that I would want to work in coffee, and what better place to pursue this task than in Denver, Colorado. After this large hunt, I realized that the place most likely to hire me, with my lack of experience, was a place called Pigtrain coffee. Pigtrain was my obvious choice because of its queer blend between craft and commercial coffee. Pigtrain was the perfect place because it was a new venue and needed staff to man its high volume customer flow. They hired me because they knew that I was in love with the art of coffee and was extremely eager to learn about the craft. I have to say, I think the selling point was the fact that I ran a very in depth coffee blog. So yes, about three months ago I completed the task of being a barista, one of the things on my todo list that was at the very top. I currently still work at Pigtrain and have learned the art of being a barista over the past three months. Becoming an espresso machine master was one of the most important aspects in being apart of the coffee community, if you are not a roaster, because it allows you to meet many people in the business and gives one certain knowledge that allows people to be able to converse without confusion.
As one can see, coffee is not just something I buy or drink because I simply like it. Craft coffee has become a part of how I think and who I am; constantly, I am trying to find new venues and create a network from person to person to fuel my knowledge. My main goal now is to spread my experiences to other people through places like The Mug Diaries. I have purposefully created a place where people can go to find out about new venues and roasters through my own writing. I try to help provide individual information they can use to cary out their own fandom with coffee and by doing so, I contribute to my own. Not only does The Mug Diaries allow me to share my knowledge, but it also allows for people to follow my process as I pass through the world of coffee. My first post versus my last post has a large spread in the knowledge category. People will now be able to see how to become more involved in coffee and where to go in order to do it. By reading The Mug Diaries people can truly discover a new cultural experience, and my story is just a small piece of the puzzle that is the craft coffee industry.
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