I was never a coffee drinker. As I kid, I didn't like the smell of it, so I never asked my dad to try it. My mom didn't drink it either, and since she was the at home parent, it wasn't ever really an option. As I got older, high school age, I had friends who drank coffee regularly. But, I still wasn't interested. I was also the one kid who didn't drink alcohol, and I still don't, in my whole school, so the fact that I didn't drink coffee was not surprising to anyone. Even when I left college and started working in the real world, coffee was never an option. I still didn't like the smell, and the few sips I had were far too strong. That was my own doing, being that I tried my father's coffee, and he used to drink it black. I still stayed away even after my son was born. But, the tiredness was starting to take over, this was in the first year of his life, so I wasn't an at home dad yet, and I needed something. I tried Diet Coke for awhile, but that used to upset my stomach in the morning, and no one should ever be drinking soda at 7am. I tried tea for awhile, but it was either much too hot, or again, too strong for me, even if I added sweetener. What is a tired man to do?
My wife finally convinced me, around 6 years ago, to give coffee another shot. I moaned and groaned that it would be too strong and mess up my stomach. She then introduced me to the concept of cream and fake sweetener being added to coffee. At first, it was just a little cream and Splenda because I didn't want too much coffee. But, the more I drank it, this sweetened version of it, the more I started to like it. I do have to say to all the coffee purists and snobs out there, I sweeten the shit out of my coffee, so please don't come at me and tell me I am not a real coffee drinker. I don't drink it for the taste, I drink it for the caffeine and the fact that I can add stuff to make it palatable for me is just an added bonus. So, after getting the right amount of cream and Splenda in my coffee, I became, in my mind, an adult that enjoys a coffee every morning. I now drink it everyday with breakfast, and sometimes, I may even have a cup in the afternoon. I enjoy going to local coffee shops to try out what they have. I go to Starbucks occasionally, but lately I have been more of a Kaldi's man. Coffee shops are neat little places, and even the major chain places, like Starbucks and Kaldi's, have their own kind of charm.
Recently though I have found my new coffee obsession. It has been brutally hot in Saint Louis ever since schools let out here, in late May, so a hot cup of coffee in the morning, while I still have one almost every morning, isn't as appealing as it should be. But, again, thanks to my wife, I have started to drink iced coffee, and my new favorite thing, cold brew coffee.
It is amazing.
The fact that the coffee can still be doctored up with cream and fake sugar, and be "refreshing" is so awesome. I had an iced coffee from Starbucks this morning because I didn't have time to make one before taking my son to camp. And it was great. It paired very nicely with the sous vide eggs I got. My wife and I now love to buy Stok brank cold brew coffee from the grocery store. It comes in a jug, akin to milk, and we put some in our Yeti cups, add cream, fake sugar and ice, and it is wonderful. We usually have that in the afternoon on the weekends too, when our kids are taking a nap and having "quiet time". I like the local shops version of iced coffee too. Every local shop has their own brand of beans they use, and I like them all.
This whole cold brew thing is simply amazing to me. I don't know exactly how it works, but the fact that they brew it, make it cold, then add ice and you can do whatever you want from there, is remarkable. I'm a big time fan of buying the Target brand, Up and Up, bottles of cold brew that they sell in their stores. The cinnamon flavor is great. But, when it comes to cold brew coffee, it gets no better, for me, than what Kaldi's is doing. I don't know what they do, or how they brew it, but their cold brew is out of this world. I treat myself to this once a week, usually on the weekends so my wife can have one as well, and it is so good. The coffee at Kaldi's is already much better than any other chain I've been to, but that added flavor of some kind of berry, I can't quite put my finger on it, makes their cold brew stand out. I don't even have to add too much cream or Splenda to it because it is so good on its own. The berry gives it a natural sweetness, and it tastes so god damn good. Kaldi's cold brew is something I will drink year round if they sell it year round.
I know that I am a novice when it comes to coffee. I know that what I drink isn't "real" coffee. I know that purists are probably super angry with me right now. But, I do know that Kaldi's cold brew coffee is a joy and I cannot wait to have another one in a few days. I like coffee, I love cold brew coffee.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is starting to catch up on food trends from the last decade. He is all in on food trucks, with a look at bone broth and raw water coming up next.
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