Back in 2011, I was a 17 year old San Diegan going to college in the upper left of the US. I was starting fresh in a new region as well as a new, rigorous schedule. I joined the rowing team at Western Washington University and most people know that the schedule of a rower is very intense. Practice begins at 5:00am, sharp, <\/em>seven days of the week. Then at around 7:30am, you leave the boathouse and head to 8:00am class. Often, I would get caught dozing off in the amphitheater of Math 102 (very embarrassing, btw). In order to be awake enough to row a boat in the dark on a large lake, caffeine must be absorbed in the system by at least 4:45 am. And then again on the way back from practice to be ready for the first class of the day. On the team, we would joke that our rowers got more done before 7:30am than most of our peers did throughout an entire day. To further complicate matters, our dorm didn’t allow most convenient types of coffee makers in the room. So alas, I was stuck with those packets of instant coffee and a kettle of boiling water. I would stash a bottle of sugary creamer to help cut the bitterness of this new-to-me substance.<\/p>

As I spent more time in the coffee capital of the country (the PNW) and my taste for coffee became more refined, so did my morning set up. I graduated from instant coffee with coffee-mate, to a drip coffee machine using a bulk bag of Costco beans and eventually to a french press with a local roast. By the time I graduated, I had a favorite drive-thru espresso stand with a barista who knew exactly how I liked my sludgy cappuccino. (Shoutout, The Bean Stop).<\/a><\/p>

When Bryson and I started our life together, we upgraded to a very simple single boiler espresso machine. I dipped my toes into espresso making, but with a newborn it was difficult to really spend time fine-tuning my skills. So, I continued to rely on home-brewed moka pot espresso and local coffee shops for my afternoon espresso fix (I have you to thank, Steady State<\/a>!) <\/p>