The Purple Nomad Coffee
“Coffee is the essence of the soul.”
I love coffee. But it wasn’t a smooth start with it. It takes time to understand coffee. It takes time to get used to its taste. It takes time to appreciate it for its amazing smoothing of the beginning and the ending of the day. And here it’s how it all began.
My administration for the black creamy drink became a distinct part of me in my early twenties. Before that I was just a casual coffee drinker. My first touch with coffee was the wonderful smell in the morning when my parents were preparing breakfast and brewing the magic. I really loved the smell but wasn’t allowed to drink. I just remember how my mom was praising the taste.
It all starts with a cup of coffee. Or does it?
Fast forward and I’m in my mid teens. I started hanging out with friends at new places outside playgrounds - cafés. There we could just sit and talk, discuss ideas and have a laugh. But that required that we purchased something. And since we were kids and not having much money we were always going for the cheap stuff - coffee or tea. I have never been a big fan of tea. And coffee sounded a bit “bigger”, “stronger” - the drink for adults. It made me feel like a grown up. Finally I was allowed to drink it.
But wait. Coffee. What type of coffee should I order? I had no idea what is what and how it tastes. So I made the safe choices - order what the others drink. And I started ordering the same type of coffee my brother was drinking at the time - a long shot with cream. And sugar. At least two or three teaspoons. Soft, sweet, tasty.
And that stayed so for quite some time.
And then some genius decided to charge extra for the cream. And in order to save some money I dropped the white milky softener. Now it was a long shot with sugar. Wasn’t as soft but it did the job. Sugar killed the bitterness. Fast forward a few years and I’m already a student at the university. Life had escalated to much more stressful levels. Fast food and no sleep. The result - I started gaining weight. Not dangerously a lot but I became concerned. And I decided to cut on the bad stuff, mainly - sugar. But coffee without sugar - it’s so bitter. How to drink it? Ok, maybe not cut the sugar completely but use less. And less. And less. Until I could drink it black without flinching.
Black deadly espresso is the only true coffee. Let me explain.
It was around that time I’ve heard about the notion that you can’t really feel the taste of something unless you eat it or drink it pure. And I have also heard some rumors that the real taste of coffee is without any additives.
And that is where my real adventure with coffee really started.
For the first time I could feel the pure taste of the coffee. How sweet or bitter it is, how strong, how much “bite” it has. It can be soft and creamy with a long-lasting pleasant aftertaste. Or it can be bitter and strong. The one you need a glass of water or juice after.
That is also when I started praising the “goddesses’ elixir”. I became known for my love of coffee.
Then a lot of people told me it’s not good for the health drinking so much coffee. Especially the strong one. Though they have a point I would argue that it depends. On your health condition, on your stress levels, on how it affects your nervous system. I didn’t feel any significant effect. And definitely not a negative one. I didn’t feel much more awake or powerful due to the caffeine. I drank coffee because of its taste. I actually felt more relaxed and just more positive. I did’t have any adrenaline rush or nervousness as many of my colleagues and friends reported. Later on I read an article about caffeine and how it works. It binds to the brain receptors preventing the build-up of adenosine. That is why people feel fresh and energetic after a cup of coffee. However there are people with a unique variant of a gene which lowers significantly the effect (for the curious, it’s called CYP1A2). So they can drink as much coffee as they want without going nuts. That explains the reason that I feel so much relaxed and why I love drinking a cup of a strong espresso just before landing in Never Neverland. Best thing before sleeping. And I don’t have any problems falling asleep or sleeping really deeply.
Coffee time all the time.
Back to coffee. It is impossible to get intoxicated or die because of overdosing. And it actually is the most popular and most spread around the globe drug. Fortunately it is also the least harmful too. In normal doses it is pretty good if you enjoy the drink. There are exceptions though for people with health problems.
Am I addicted? Difficult to say. I have had some days, even weeks without coffee and I didn’t miss it and I didn’t feel bad or tired. But I just so much love the taste of it that I don’t want to stop it just to test myself.
Fast forward to 2009 when I decided to move to Denmark. And there are approximately 3 years of struggle. The only coffee I could find at the time was the black coffee from the vending machines which tasted awful and I could only make instant coffee because I didn’t have an espresso machine. I don’t like instant. It tastes like metal. Least favourite on my list.
Sadly I couldn’t find cafés where they offered espresso. It was only black tasteless coffee. I didn’t have the time to go and look everywhere so maybe that’s why. But in general I didn’t find it so popular to drink espresso here. And it looks like it’s mostly the foreigners that prefer it.
Until one day I saw it. And I bought it - a real espresso machine. It was the cheapest (and actually the only one at that shop) but it still made a blazing strong, tasty and creamy espresso. Perfect.
I also started finding more and more cafés which offered espresso. Whether good or bad. Still better than nothing.
Let me tell you a short story from the States when we visited it once again. We went for a breakfast at our favourite place. There are two ways to order - wait in the queue and speak to the cashier or use the automatic touch-screen machine to order. The last day I decided to use the machine for the first time. I put my breakfast in the basket and the only thing left was my coffee. So I click on espresso. And there are the options. There is the shots option - how many shots do you want. By default it was 1. So I started pressing the + button. Just out of curiosity. I wanted to see how many I can order. All the way up to 8. Perfect. Done. Ordered.
We sat at the table everyone waiting for their order. First came the breakfast. And one by one the coffees or teas. At some point the waitress came, stood next to me and in a very shy voice asked me if I ordered 8 shots of espresso. At which point everybody at the table fell on the floor laughing. They new my affiliation to coffee. And that stressed the poor waitress even more. I said - yes. She asked if it was a mistake - no. But do I want them at once? In one cup? Now? Really? Yes, please. Jaws dropped down. But I’ve got my coffee. According to one of the guys at the table - an “Octopresso”.
Back to Denmark and the search for coffee. In the beginning I was drinking a local brand - Gevalia. It tasted soft and ok. Perfect quality vs. price. Every now and then I could find Lavazza but it wasn’t in every supermarket and it was double the price.
But then one day I’ve got a coffee grinder for a present. And that changed a lot. I was buying Lavazza beans and Gevalia ground coffee for the early mornings when I have to run and don’t have much time to grind the coffee. This practice has already become obsolete. So I almost always grind fresh beans. And honestly I don’t like the Gevalia so much anymore.
And here is my next venture in the search for the best!
Life is too short for bad coffee.
I visited a pretty good amount of cafés in Denmark and specifically in the capital region. I have some favourites. But all of them didn’t evoke so much of a cosy feeling in me. Just nice places to sit down with friends or alone. Enjoy a cup of espresso.
Until one day when I was just passing by one relatively busy street close to my girlfriend’s apartment. And I saw this little nice café. No place for more than 3-4 people inside and 3-4 outside. But so beautiful and handcrafted place. So I decided to check it. And there it was. The magical taste of coffee. So rich, so good. Mmmmmmm. But what made the experience so magical was the guy behind the counter. Mark is such a nice smiling guy always serving the best coffee, making it with the greatest finesse. It is just such a nice experience passing by for a hot cup of tea, coffee, chai latte. Your favourite - the way you will love it for life.
Can’t miss the chance to get the magical drink each time I pass by his café. And even better - get a pack of freshly roasted coffee. His own coffee roasted the way he likes it. The “Ethiopia” is just so good that it is irresistible. Can’t get enough of it. But that’s not the end. Now Mark has a roasting machine and he is making his very own “Burmese” coffee. Now we are talking. That is called a real passion for the craft. And a real love for the taste.
Ever since it has become my favourite coffee. Nothing beats the richness of the flavour and the miraculous aroma. Especially when you grind it. Fresh!
You can read about “The Nomad and The Bean” café’s story on its website - PurpleNomad.dk. Get the insights of a wonderful adventure.
I will come back with more details about the unbelievable experience visiting the café. Once I take some more photos there.
If you are passing by Copenhagen or if you are already living here, definitely visit this magical café.
And don’t forget to order your pack of delicious beans delivered to you. Anywhere. Do it.
https://purplenomad.dk/products/micro-roastery-burmese-specialty-coffee-1kg
It is weird how most of the other coffees don’t taste good to me anymore. I think it is a part of growing up with my personal tastes. Don’t make compromises with my desires. Life is too short for the wrong choices.
“The best orgasm is the coffee flavoured one.”
Don’t get me wrong. I like cappuccino and latte and iced coffee as well. I love Irish coffee. But my absolute favourite is a strong deadly espresso. Uncompromising.
And for now, I’m gonna take a few more photos. Maybe make another video. And finish my cup of deadly strong espresso before I go to bed. Sleep well!
Can you feel the aroma in the air? Yes, it’s coffee.
