A Damn Fine Cup ☕️ : MEntal Health (Coffee) Break
Approximately how much coffee I drink in a week
I like coffee.
It gets me going. It calms me down. It warms me up. It cools me off. It is my Linus blanky during times of turmoil. It’s something to talk business over. It’s something to hold while catching up with and relaxing with a friend. It’s a reason to take a break. It’s a reason to start a journey. It’s my ticket to the front row in a new town. It takes the good. It takes the bad. It takes them both. And there you have …the theme song lyrics to The Facts of Life. I digress. It won’t be the last time in this post.
I grew up drinking coffee from blue and red cans. The blue can, Maxwell House got its name from a hotel of the same name in Nashville. Allegedly, the tagline was from Theodore Roosevelt saying it was “good to the last drop” while staying there in 1907 …or while a guest at Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage ..or they admitted they cribbed it from Coca-Cola, but it is still a registered trademark. No matter, I think the Nashville connection is why my dad was loyal to the brand for so long. He drinks Dunkin’ now, so I didn’t get my snobbery from him. Mom doesn’t coffee, but her mom had the red can and would tip her cup and let some spill onto saucer to let it cool and sip it off. My guess is that was a trick she learned while working at Ford in Detroit to get through a hot cup on break, but that is conjecture.
My dad made a pot each day and started his day with a giant travel mug. He’d make me a cup on the weekends. It was more of a sugar and milk delivery mechanism to start. I can still remember the way the American Ace hit with breakfast at Riverview Marina. Most Thursdays in the summer, I’d get up and get ready. That was the day dad worked on their accounting. For me, it meant breakfast there and getting to play Super Mario or Donkey Kong Country on Floyd’s Super Nintendo in the back office.
Now, I drink it black unless I do a cortado or a splash of half and half in my cold brew.
Coffee for Work and @ Work
In high school, my first “real” job was working at the Coffee Beanery in Bellevue Mall. I learned how to make espresso and specialty coffee drinks. It’s where I learned most espresso drinks are just that and different amounts of steamed milk and foam in different orders. It’s where I learned how to work under pressure with a line out the door. It was always busy. If the mall was busy, patrons stopped for a cup on the way in or out. If the mall was slow, the workers we looking for something to keep them going on break. And Becky made sure we had plenty to do if for some reason it wasn’t busy.
Later, I traveled to NYC for work. The smell of some kinds of coffee can transport me to one of the many little delis or bodegas we’d stop at on the way to wherever we were going in the morning. That’s when I figured out the Americano was my go to. And not to try to take a drink when you pulled into a subway station.
Over a couple of years I slowly weened myself off the sugar and milk with the help of a conical burr grinder, better beans, and various extraction methods: pour-overs like the Clever, Aeropress, and cold brew.
Bongo East in Nashville was the first place I would setup shop and work for hours. Sometimes, I’d be there under the guise of working but mainly focused on people watching while churning on a problem hoping the home of the nunbun would beseech some divine inspiration .
When I travel now, my first impression of a new place is usually a local coffee shop. Even if I bring coffee to make with me, a shop is still on my list of places to go. I get the feel of a town from the coffee shop. What does the staff recommend? Who’s hanging out, reading, laptopping alone, there for a meeting, or just staring out the window? How are the people dressed as they either grab a cup to go or setup in the corner and bogart wifi? Are they in a hurry? Do people camp out? Does it look like every other coffee shop — or does it have a unique aesthetic. I didn’t realize how homogenized coffee shops were until I read Civic Brand by Ryan Short.
Coffee in Salida
At home in Salida, I am a regular at more than one coffee shop like an alcoholic going to different bars and liquor stores so that no one person gets the full scope of how much I consume. Guess that ship has sailed if any locals read this.
Topo’s bar and view of F Street
Coffee by Topo has been my go to for the past couple of years. Most consistent draw no matter who is working. A sign of good onboarding.
I go enough the baristas know my order depending the season. Decaf Americano if I bring my travel mug, cortado if I don’t, and nitro cold brew in the afternoon when it’s warm. Why decaf? I’m usually a couple of cups in before I go.
Always a good selection of beans to take home from roasters like Sweet Bloom. And they have great merch and events.
Compact’s living room vibe during a Chaffee Remote Workers meetup
When I want a slow cup, I go see Seth at Compact Coffee. I belly up to the bar, usually let him pour whatever he recommends, and more often than not learn something new about coffee. Depending on how busy it is, I can just play with his dog Billy while he drops knowledge and treats each cup like a piece of a art.
When it’s treat time, an affogato from Howl or Brown Dog is where I end up.
I can neither confirm or deny going to three out of four in a single day.
Seth explains various coffee extraction methods at The LOBBY Fireside Chat in May 2026
Coffee @ Home
A recent favorite from Color Roasters
Did I mention I like coffee? I try not to scoff when someone asks me if I want the beans ground. What am I, a pleb!?! My great grandmother’s cast iron skillet was only slightly higher on the list of must brings than the Encore conical burr grinder when I moved from Tennessee.
The Aeropress lives in the travel trailer during the summer since I got a Clever from Seth earlier this year. He passed along the technique of pouring the water first and adding coffee second. Here’s the details on that. If you somehow found this looking for this technique, I am not a food blogger so apologies for being the annoying person that tells their life story before you actually reach the content you were after.
Steep Time & Sequence
Total Time:3.5 to 4.5 minutes
1.Rinse & Prep: 0:00.
Place the paper filter in the Clever. Rinse heavily with boiling water to preheat the plastic vessel—crucial at altitude. Drain completely.
2.Pour & Stir: 0:00 - 0:30.
Pour 320g of water at 92°C. Add 20g of coffee. Give it a quick, thorough stir to ensure rapid, even wetting before the slurry temperature drops.
3.The Extended Steep: 0:30 - 3:00.
Cover with the lid instantly to trap heat. Let it sit for 2.5 minutes (30 seconds longer than sea level) to allow the lower-temperature water time to extract the solids.
4.The Break: 3:00.
Remove the lid, gently paddle the top crust with a spoon to drop the grounds, and prepare to drain.
5.The Draw-Down: 3:00 - 4:00.
Seat the Clever on your vessel to open the valve. Look for a clean draw-down that finishes in under 60 seconds.
Here is the breakdown of why pouring the water first is mechanically superior:
The Mechanics
Faster, More Consistent Draw-Down: When you put grounds in first and pour water on top, the finest coffee particles (fines) get washed down into the crevices of the paper filter immediately. This forms a muddy, restrictive layer that chokes the flow when you open the valve. Putting water in first keeps the fines suspended in the slurry longer, ensuring a clean, fast draw-down that won’t stall.
Even Wetting Without Agitation: Dropping dry grounds onto a pool of water allows them to hydrate evenly from underneath via capillary action. You don't have to aggressively stir to break up dry, compacted pockets at the bottom corners of the cone.
Thermal Retention: Dumping 320g of hot water directly into a pre-heated, empty vessel helps maintain a slightly higher initial slurry temperature—which is exactly what you need at 7,000 feet.
A Clever Cup at Home
Timelapse sequence of making a Clever cup for a clever boy
Aeropress’n with the Fellow Prismo Attachment on the Road
Posted up in Creede in the travel trailer making a pre-dawn cup on my way to go catch photos at North Clear Creek Falls
No Clever Closing Remarks
I like coffee. I needed to do a blog post. My kids are in town this month, and it’s the week after July 4th. I’ll be having Aeropress by Horsetooth Reservoir later this week. Cheers to you and your fresh cup ☕️🫖
