When I brew a cup of coffee in the morning, I start the process by measuring out 21 grams of coffee beans and dropping them into the hopper of my coffee grinder. The grinder takes about 15 seconds to evenly break down the beans. I will then place the small mound of freshly ground coffee into a filter I washed a few moments before, and then I'm ready to brew. I'll then gently pour 310 grams of hot water over the coffee. First, a small amount to let the coffee "bloom", which is a small cloud of coffee that appears when hot water interacts with recently ground coffee. Once that bloom has died down, I follow up with 2-3 water pours at different intervals. If I've done it right, the process takes about three and a half minutes. At first, the coffee will taste like... hot, so I'll usually let the coffee rest for a couple of minutes before drinking it.

At this point, the coffee I've just brewed will be full of flavor and satisfying. Any morning fog in my brain will be clapped away with a lightning bolt of power. KER-CHOW!!! I feel the power!

I buy my beans from a roaster here in Edmonton that makes fantastic coffee, and they print tasting notes on each bag. The tasting notes help you interpret what you're experiencing as you drink the coffee. These notes might be hints of raspberry, plum, peach, cherries, honey, or even apricot. My pallet needs to be more experienced to identify these flavors independently, but if I read the tasting notes beforehand and slowly drink the coffee, I will recognize the fruity flavors the roaster has noted on the bag of coffee. This experience is less expensive than it sounds; each cup like this at home will cost me about 40 cents. All you need is coffee, the right equipment, and a few easy-to-learn skills.

Recognizing the flavors that come out of a quality bean is fun. Quality coffee stands on its own without the crutches of cream or sugar dumped in to make it reasonable to drink.

I've been thinking a lot about my life and character quality. I'm also doing my best to evaluate my levels of self-awareness and the impact I make in any given setting. This is an ongoing process, and I need to keep working on it. I want the evidence of my life to be, as the scriptures say, "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."

Anyone with these qualities will be: a good family member, a great neighbor, and a fantastic co-worker. I want to be all three.

I am drawn to communities, cultures, artists, and businesses that have pleasant flavors about them. Places where all those great qualities live and thrive. I don't have time for groups of people or leaders who want me to be afraid, angry, or paranoid. Those flavors are foul. And yes, beverages like coffee, beer, or wine require a slight amount of bitterness to add a bit of dissonance and intrigue to the experience, but they don't dominate. With that in mind, I am careful about the people I keep company with because I recognize that our communities have a way of shaping our values. They can help us become loving, joyful, peaceful, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and disciplined. Conversely, a community can also make us fearful, angry, and even hateful.

A good cup of coffee doesn't just appear on its own. There's a process behind it, and it requires an entire community to bring it to your table. My best qualities have come from being around great people. My hope for you is that you can find a good tribe of people to grow with. Choose your community wisely.

Thanks for reading, friend, may the flavors of your life be good.