Mindfulness and Coffee
You do not need to be an expert to enjoy a great cup of coffee.
It can be easy to rush through life without stopping to notice much. We all have so much going on and such busy schedules in general; that we often put ourselves last.
Because of this we run the risk of living in our heads -caught up in our thoughts without stopping to notice how those thoughts are driving our emotions and our behaviour. Paying more attention to the present moment, to your own thoughts and feelings and to the world around you can absolutely improve your mental well-being. And practicing mindfulness is a really simple way to do this.
Mindfulness is the psychological process of purposefully bringing your attention to your experiences in the present moment. Becoming more aware of the present moment: our thoughts, feelings, smells, sights, tastes, and emotions can help us enjoy the world around us more and understand ourselves better.
Now, everyone finds their own way of practicing mindfulness. But one way I practice it is simply making coffee. Instead of making a morning coffee just being "a thing I have to do in order to be able to drink coffee" it is the care, the attention, and the patience that I must practice while making it that is as much a part of the process as enjoying the coffee itself.
Brewing Method
We recommend using the pour over method with either a Chemex or a V60 as this gives you the best opportunity to experience a mindful brewing experience
What tools you need.
- A Chemex.
- Your favourite coffee beans.
- A coffee grinder.
- A gooseneck kettle.
- Coffee filters.
- And your favourite mug!
Lets get Brewing.
Start by filling and boiling your kettle.
Then measure your coffee beans. I find I need around 45 grams to fill this Chemex, but this will depend on how strong you like your coffee and how much you are making! Grind your beans to a medium-coarse grind. Roughly the consistency of kosher salt. Then pop a filter into the top of your Chemex. By now your kettle should have boiled so pour in some hot water through the filter like this. This does two things: firstly, it rinses away any slight paper taste that you might get from the filter. and secondly, it warms up the glass so that when you make your coffee the cool glass does not just suck all of that heat out of it straight away.
Dump this water into the sink. Then fire your ground coffee in like this and pour enough water in to completely soak all the grounds... but not too much more than that. Leave this for around 30 to 45 seconds. This part is called the "bloom". This allows any gas that's trapped in the beans from the roasting process to escape. You will see the grounds start to inflate and bubbles will appear on the surface as these flavour-inhibiting gases expel out the top.
After the bloom, slowly and continuously pour water in a steady circular motion over the grounds ensuring an even saturation of all the ground coffee. Now after around three or four minutes you'll have brewed enough coffee and you can toss that used filter in the bin.
Self-care in a cup
Now for the best part! Pour your perfectly brewed coffee into your favourite mug and enjoy! Now I know that for a lot of people this whole process will seem like complete overkill.
Why would you bother with all of this when you can just pour some hot water over some Nescafe -other brands are available - and be done with it?! But it's exactly that: the patience it takes, the effort, and the concentration that not only allow you to just spend five minutes in the present moment; but it also means you get to enjoy this cup of coffee a lot more...
You earned it!
Author: Cameron Gibson