Coffee Memories with My Dad: How Simple Pour Over Changed Everything
Hey everyone, I'm back, and today's blog comes from a very different place – literally and emotionally. Right now, I'm visiting my dad, and spending this time with him has me reflecting on how coffee became such a central part of my life. It's funny how a simple morning ritual can carry so much meaning and memory.
Time Moves Faster Than We Realize
The last time I saw my dad in person was literally a year ago. A full year. That's crazy when I really think about it. Years ago, we spent every day together – cooking, playing games, just being present in each other's lives. Now everyone moves on, life speeds up, and suddenly you realize how much time has passed without the people who matter most.
He lives near Usedom, which is the second largest island in Germany. It's actually really cool – you just drive a couple minutes with the car and you're already on the island. We often go there when we want to hit the beach or go fishing on the Ostsee (Baltic Sea). Right now we have incredible weather here, literally 30 degrees Celsius, which is 86 Fahrenheit for my American readers. That's pretty hot for German standards, and I'm really enjoying this time here.
Thinking about flying back to America where no clear perspective awaits makes me genuinely sad. I mean, I've had a couple interviews, and one of them actually looks promising – it's in Indiana, in West Lafayette, and I just got to the next interview stage. I'm excited about this, but I'm keeping my excitement controlled because nothing's safe until you've signed the contract.
My dad is really happy that I'm back, and he's doing so much for me right now. It's in these quiet moments with family that you remember what actually matters in life.
The Coffee That Started Everything
Every morning, my dad's favorite coffee is incredibly simple: just a basic pour over with some milk. Nothing fancy, no expensive equipment, no complex brewing ratios – just coffee and milk. But it's literally so good, and it carries more meaning than any specialty coffee I've ever had.
My favorite coffee is usually a cappuccino, but my dad's simple milk coffee has become something special during this visit. It's actually the first way I ever got introduced to coffee. Every day in the morning, even as a kid, I would smell that wonderful roast of coffee wafting through the house, and I always felt so comfortable and at home. Even though I didn't drink coffee back then, I just loved the smell – it represented warmth, routine, and my dad starting his day.
I remember when my dad first asked, "Do you want to taste it?" I was introduced to coffee with a lot of milk and sugar, and it was tasty for me as a beginner. But the more I drank it over the years, the more I actually came to love black coffee. Studying engineering played a role in this transition – there's something about the mindset that if you want to be tough, you have to do tough things. It sounds silly, but drinking black coffee became part of that mentality.
Though honestly, I only drink black coffee when I'm being lazy about making fancy coffee. When I have time and energy, I still prefer something with more complexity and care put into it.
What This Simple Coffee Ritual Teaches Us
There's something profound about sharing coffee with someone who introduced you to it in the first place. My dad's pour over isn't about impressing anyone or following the latest coffee trends. It's not about perfect extraction times or expensive beans or Instagram-worthy presentation. It's about consistency, comfort, and starting the day with intention.
This simple ritual has remained unchanged for decades. While I've been exploring different coffee cultures, trying specialty shops, and overthinking every aspect of coffee preparation, my dad has been quietly perfecting something much more valuable – the art of making something simple really well, and sharing it with people he cares about.
Watching him make his morning coffee is like watching someone meditate. There's no rush, no stress about getting the perfect brew. He knows exactly how much coffee, how much water, how long to let it drip. It's muscle memory built over years of the same loving routine.
The Comfort of Familiar Routines
Being here and relaxing makes me forget about my worries for a while. There's something healing about stepping back into routines that existed before all the complexity of adult life took over. Before job applications and visa status and career anxiety, there was just the smell of coffee in the morning and the comfort of knowing someone who loved you was starting their day.
Coffee has this incredible ability to anchor us to specific memories and people. Every time I smell coffee brewing now, part of me is transported back to being a kid in this house, feeling completely safe and cared for. That's a kind of magic that no amount of specialty coffee knowledge can replicate.
It makes me think about how we sometimes overcomplicate things in our pursuit of the "best" experience. Sometimes the best coffee isn't the most expensive beans or the most precise brewing method – sometimes it's the coffee made by someone who loves you, in a place where you feel completely at home.
Coffee as Connection Across Time and Distance
The year I spent away feels both incredibly long and surprisingly short. Long because so much has changed in my life – graduation, job hunting, visa stress, all the uncertainty of early adulthood. Short because falling back into these morning routines with my dad feels effortless, like no time has passed at all.
This is what great coffee culture really is – not just the pursuit of perfect flavor, but the creation of moments that connect us to each other and to ourselves. My dad's simple pour over with milk represents decades of consistent care, of showing up every morning with the same attention to something that might seem small but actually creates the foundation for everything else.
When I think about all the coffee shops I've explored and reviewed, all the brewing methods I've learned, all the different coffee cultures I've experienced, this simple morning routine with my dad still stands out as one of the most meaningful coffee experiences I have.
Simple Lessons from Simple Coffee
There's a lesson here for those of us who sometimes get caught up in the complexity of coffee culture. Excellence doesn't always require complexity. Sometimes it just requires showing up consistently with attention and care.
My dad's coffee routine has remained essentially unchanged for decades, and that consistency is part of what makes it special. In a world where everything seems to be constantly evolving and optimizing, there's something beautiful about a simple practice that works and doesn't need to change.
This isn't a argument against innovation or exploration in coffee – those things have value too. But it is a reminder that sometimes the most meaningful experiences come from simple things done with love and consistency over time.
Gratitude and Perspective
Right now, I'm just happy to be here and to relax. These quiet moments with my dad, sharing his simple coffee routine, remind me of what actually matters when everything else feels uncertain and stressful.
The job search will continue, and life will keep moving forward. But these mornings, drinking simple coffee with someone who's been making it the same way for decades, these moments are what I'll remember when everything else fades.
Sometimes the best coffee isn't about finding the perfect cup – it's about recognizing the perfect moment you're already in.
Tomorrow I'll probably be back to my usual coffee adventures and existential overthinking. But today, I'm content with simple pour over, warm weather, and the comfortable routine of home.
Thanks for letting me share this more personal side of my coffee journey. Sometimes the most important coffee stories aren't about discovering new places or techniques – they're about rediscovering the value of simple things done with love.
What's your foundational coffee memory? The person or place that first introduced you to coffee in a meaningful way? I'd love to hear about the simple coffee moments that shaped your relationship with this drink we all love.