I’m reviving this blog. Since my exit from the coffee shop, my new job had taken over my life, spinning away my interests, friends, and general inertia for anything remotely interesting. I’ve gone through the adaptation phase of my current job and now I’m in the settling-and-refocusing phase.

It’s taken a few moments about this for me to get kicked back into coffee.

1) A month ago, the recruiter who interviewed me said he liked me for my passion for coffee. It was a public passion (this blog, my internship, my club, my previous job) and he noticed. While obviously it wasn’t the only reason I was hired, it still helped that I had an outside interest. That I wasn’t going to go home after work and sit on the couch and do nothing.

2) I’ve received coffee gifts in the last few months and it made me realize how many ways of making coffee that I have at my disposal. At least six. That serves up a great deal for me to experiment with and eventually, perfect.

3) A coworker brought up the fact that she has to buy her boyfriend’s mother beans sometimes and how costly it was. She read about roasting coffee in a popcorn maker and wanted to give it a try. I suggested that we go in together on a shipment from Sweet Maria’s since shipping can be a trip… and I ended up with a sample pack of 4 pounds of 4 different origins of green. Needless to say, I’m roasting and tasting now.

4) A crop of shops have popped up in Chicago recently and I’m anxious to try a few more of them. They all have a common theme: exceptional coffee. It’s the approach that differs (comfy seating vs industrial benches) and I find it intriguing to see what each shop will bring to the scene.

5) Some rumors/actual news have happened recently and it makes me happy to be in the midst of Chicago while they’re going on. Actual news: the card that gets you coffee at the great shops around Chicago. News/rumors: Stumptown. Counter Culture. A disloyalty card.

Next post up will be about my horrors with the siphon.