For me, it sort of began with a combination of thrift stores, boba tea places, and my fascination with Canada/Tim Hortons. I kept trying new boba tea places in Chinatown, here, and eventually I moved from taro and matcha to coffee. I didn't like the taste initially, but when mixed with syrups and sauces, I enjoyed it.
So I tried to replicate how they were making it there. But that required a high end espresso machine, and all sorts of tools. So I watched a bunch of YouTube videos and found that either a Moka Pot or Aeropress would get sorta espresso, without the cost. I bought a bag of Tim Hortons coffee, cuz one had just opened in Texas, and found a used Bialetti and a sealed Aeropress for less than the cost of the grounds. Neither really impressed me and the moka pot coffee always tasted so intense that it was hard to handle.
I sold the Aeropress for more than I bought it, and purchased a cold brew pitcher. For a while, that was my favorite way to make coffee. You can make it super concentrated and dial it back with water or milk, perfect. I still use it a lot. But that just hurtled me further down the rabbit hole.
What really set things off was finding a Breville coffee grinder at Goodwill, still in the box and everything. Retails for $200--no way would I buy that on my own. Goodwill wanted iirc $9. However, the burrs were totally worn down. I contacted Breville support, and they said if I had my original receipt, it was still covered by warranty. Obviously, I didn't, so I miiiight have "made" one. They promptly sent me a brand new grinder once I'd sent the Goodwill one back, postage paid for.
So then I had a $200 grinder and a $15 cold brew pitcher. Overkill. So I thought, why the heck not, let's go all in. I got the matching Breville Bambino espresso maker, and that was perfection. The shots weren't pulling without a lot of finesse, so I had to add a WDT brush and a little grind catcher so they wouldn't scatter, but I've got it dialed in now and I love it. Super worth it.
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