How it all started, or how I got so obsessed with coffee..

Coffee, a seemingly common beverage, but it could actually mean a lot different thing for each. For some people, it's more of a habit. For others, it's the "holy" source of caffeine kick to work extra mile. And for me, it's about the enjoyment of making and savoring every little subtle flavors of the coffee.

I was born in Malaysia, and the coffee culture here is pretty prevalent. Only that it is called kopi. Believe it or not, 3 years ago, I was still a coffee-hater. I once told my girlfriend that the strong coffee smells in Starbucks would make my head go dizzy, just like how bad and strong perfume makes you feel. And true enough, I didn't bluff about that! (now she kept using that to tease me)

So how a coffee hater was thoroughly,from head to toe, converted into a coffee lover and what's more-a self-proclaimed coffeegeek?It all went to to about 2 years ago when I was studying in United States and where I discovered "Latte art" on the Youtube. I had been mesmerized by how beautiful the coffee pouring arts are. I must find out how to go about creating those beautiful art that I saw. There, I spent days of reading on the net, just to get closer to the elusive Latte Art.

Have a look at that video. Can you believe the chocolatey brown liquid is actually coffee??(I later learnt that it is called crema, only found in properly prepared espresso using fresh coffee) Never in my life have I imagined that coffee could be that beautiful and all I'd seen prior to that point of my life were black bitter-ish liquid. If you're from Malaysia too, I believe you would have agreed with me! :P

Anyhow, I digress. Back on my coffee journey. I started up my experiment with a $3 frother and instant coffee. Why?It's the cheapest way of course! Well, you probably know how it all ended. Frothy milk with bitter coffee, but never art. (May I add it's also more or less the Starbucks/SF coffee style, drinkable, but not what I call "real" coffee)

Then I started stretching my budget slightly to a Walmart( A supermarket there in US) Mr. Coffee and Starbucks preground coffee. It was an improvement. At that time, I was pretty satisfied with the coffee foam “art” that I created, and thought that was the end of it. Then, I did more researches; only found out that the cheapest decent espresso machines starts from about $100 and you need a grinder

to go with it. 

My Early Latte Art with Mr Coffee Machine- the Casper :P

"Why can't preground coffe works?Aren't they the same??Just coffee anyway" But, my friend, that is a very WRONG assumption. As a poor student and a beginner in espresso journey, I looked at used second-hand espresso machines and hunted in Ebay for weeks. In the end, I managed to snap a used Gaggia Carezza in a good shape. Along with a new Capresso Infinity grinder and accessories, it all cost me about $200(USD). That is a leap of faith I had taken. But, with the setup and most importantly the grinder, is where I really get started on my real coffee journey, of tasting the "real" coffee.

And mind you, that started from a budget a little as $5.  I don’t even know how I ended up with spending thousands of USD$$$ using my study allowance(heh, pls don't tell my parents/JPA about that :P) . That’s really scary, isn’t it? But to tell the truth, I am still very enjoying it and did not regret a bit. And to clarify, I did in fact sold off all my coffee toys and made a few hundred dollars of USD, which included all the cost of coffee beans! 

Fast forward to today, I am back in Malaysia with my first class honors degree(cheh wa show off,just kidding la.. :P). Luckily for me, there were quite a few coffee lovers like me already in Malaysia, and fresh beans and espresso machines are available if you look hard enough..and rich enough maybe.. Anyhow, this blog will be a memoir of my coffee journey, starting from zero in Malaysia. :)