The Oromo people would customarily plant a coffee tree on the graves of powerful sorcerers. They believed that the first coffee bush sprang up from the tears that the god of heaven shed over the corpse of a dead sorcerer.
I make cold brew coffee for enjoyment at home, and savor every drop.
At work, the coffee just isn't the same.
Do I miss my cold brew while I'm in the office? damn straight.
Do I still get enjoyment from ready access to plenty of free mediocre coffee? damn straight. It's not amazing coffee, but it's fresh ground arabica bean, decent roast. If I'm honest about it, it's plenty good enough, and definitely beats having to go for a 5 minute walk to pay $6-8 for a cup of mediocre coffee.
Sometimes it's nice to have a shitty coffee. It's kinda like little Debbie or Taco Bell. It sucks, but in a nostalgic comfy way.
Office coffee makes me gag sometimes. So, no?
Working from home has made me so glad I don't have to experience office coffee! That used to be my backup if I forgot to brew my french press or didn't have enough time.
My office has a superauto. It's more consistent than yours based on what you're describing, but it's consistently mediocre. It makes passable cappuccinos and Nespresso-style shots.
The thing is, the milk drinks it makes are not much worse than what I can get from the coffee shops on my way to work. And even though the coffee isn't the greatest, it's always the same, and I appreciate the consistency when I'm in a rush to make the next meeting and just want a coffee without having to worry about making it. I wouldn't want one at home, but I sympathise with using it at the office!
Your work machine grinding whole beans already puts it far above the average work machine. I can't drink the coffee from my work machine unless I cover it up with loads of milk and sugar, and then I might as well just drink an bottled iced coffee or a Celsius.
I actually bring an aeropress go to work for my coffee. Fits comfortably in my desk and takes ~3 minutes to make a nice cup.
Coffee found a special place for me when I quit drinking as I used to bartend and loved getting creative making drinks - can’t do that anymore so I replaced it with coffee! Splurged and got us a Breville Touch and now I get to keep experimenting and making something I CAN drink :D
A machine that grinds beans? You have been blessed by the workplace coffee gods! My work has a keurig and a fine selection of watery swill cups. I just brought my secondary setup from home. No amount of sugar or milk will fix K-cups.
I've experienced the same effect, however, I prefer not to have to torture myself in order to renew my appreciation :)
The coffee at work is terrible and I'm not being a snob. It's a drip machine that uses prefilled filter bags. The issue is that the bag is designed for a machine half the size and people are so used to drinking weak coffee that there's a riot if you make it correctly. Thankfully I work remotely a lot these days, so I use my espresso setup at home.
I have nothing against lower quality coffees, like I have no trouble drinking instant coffee for a while if necessary. I prefer good quality coffee, bur low quality is still not bad in my book.
It does make our good "home coffee" even better!
To add, we watched James Hoffman's review of good instant coffee and tried the Percol instant. It's certainly good enough for later-in-the-day coffees, but we always start with the good stuff.
Great username btw!
I like getting coffee from it in the mornings just to feel the warmth of the cup in my hands while I work