I heard some big news today; it's International Coffee Day (or at least, it was - but what's a late celebration between friends, right?). It is a massive day, equal, some would argue, in importance to New Years Eve or the Queen's Birthday Public Holiday, but it passed without any fanfare that I'm aware. In fact, I wouldn't even have known about it, if I wasn't seeking out my mates 
So I can't help but wonder, where did my alignment to coffee come from? Let me paint you a picture; a pretty ordinary family, with parents who owned their own business and were never home, and a brother and sister who were amicable, but basically did their own thing. As we moved into our early teens, we started to indulge in warm beverages which are distinctly adult in nature - of course I'm talking about coffee and tea.
For me then, it was partly about taking sides - my mum was a coffee drinker, and in turn, I became a coffee drinker. My sister on the other hand took after my dad, and became a tea drinker. That's it - that's how it all started. And, despite the simpleness of this little story, there's actually a lot more to it than might meet the eye - because when I drink coffee, I only ever buy the instant coffee that my mum drank, Moconna - and, when I do have tea, I only ever had the Lipton's tea my dad used to drink. This will sound ridiculous, but I was insistent on this point, and my wife just picked up a box of teabags that were on special one week. When I had one, I remember feeling a sense of betrayal to my dad. He's now passed, but I think I will always think of him whenever I encounter a teabag (he used to leave them everywhere, it was disgusting!) - in the same way, coffee will evoke positive feelings about my mum.
Something different then, I thought today I would forego my usual cup of instant, and go for the in-between, of course I'm talking about the coffee bag. It looks like it should make tea, but it makes a cup of coffee. Now - I'm pretty easy going with coffee, and again, my wife picked these up for her work. She moves around sites, unlike me who had a work desk at one site, so while I can have my setup, she needs to be more agile in how she gets her fix. So coffee bags were the answer; now, they're not cheap, but she reckons they're pretty good. I never bothered trying one, figuring, meh. But today, I thought, why not?
It is International Coffee Day afterall! Straight away out of the box, it looks simple enough. I don't mind a Vittoria coffee when I buy one at a cafe, it's a nice blend. Funnily enough I remember reading something about them months ago, being able to take their cafe brand and successfully put it into supermarkets. Perhaps this little bag is all marketing, but it looks delicious! (Perhaps because it's the colour of chocolate!)
The first step in Coffee Bags for Dummies is this: you tear the packaging where it says 'Tear Here' and voila - it's out. It really does look like a teabag, although the material used to hold it in is thicker than a teabag, which is more paper-like. Perhaps this is why they have such a hefty price tag, this looks like expensive packing to me! I also thought I might encounter my first problem, I have a bloody big cup, and the little rope looked a bit short to me.
But - let me tell you, this was an olfactory experience. The smell was incredible, and I was preparing for an elixer fit for the gods! The smell was strong; aromatic, inviting, warm - all those goods things. I could have kept the bag at my nose for 10 minutes, but I wanted my beverage, so I threw it in the cup!
But then when you add water, something curious happened. The bag floated. I know what you're thinking, weird, huh? Absolutely. The issues I was having with the short string were really 'fake news'. But, while I had my water in, I noticed the back of the bag had instructions on it. Now - how's this for Coffee-For-Dummies:
- Put the coffee bag in your cup
- Pour approximately 250mL of near boiling water.
- Allow to infuse for 3-5 minutes. Dunk for best results.
- Squeeze bag and remove from the cup.
I'll be honest, I feel like if you need these instructions, then you're an idiot who probably shouldn't be allowed near hot water. But as it turns out, I didn't follow them. My cup is about 650mL, so I put in more water, and my impatience meant I didn't infuse for 5 minutes. I also didn't dunk, choosing instead to let it float, then squeeze. Perhaps I should have read the instructions.
And the end result? It looks exactly like every other cup of coffee I make at home. Voila!
Now - I bet you're wondering about the taste? The smell was amazing, the taste was just fine. If I was honest, it tasted just like my regular instant coffee - perhaps it was because I didn't dunk, or I had too much water, but in the end. It was fine. A fine way to celebrate International Coffee Day! (And, next time, I promise I'll follow the instructions)
Cover image created in CANVA using free elements, all other photos my own.