A Catalog of My Coffee Writing

I'm looking back on more than a decade of coffee writing, and sharing some of my most notable articles and interviews.

Photo by Hoa Lam on Unsplash

In my recent Boss Barista piece about finding joy in coffee, I recounted one of the most pivotal experiences in my life: the moment when a manager observed that I liked to organize and consolidate things at work, and later put me on the leadership track in our coffee shop. My entire career in coffee has grown out of that small but life-changing interaction.

I consider that story so foundational—not just to my working life, but to my entire being—and yet, I don’t think I’d shared it here previously.

That gap made me wonder what else I’d assumed I’d shared with Boss Barista’s readers but hadn’t, and so I decided to catalog some of the key articles from my freelance career. (This list is also somewhat motivated by spite: I still remember someone on Twitter saying years ago that no one writes about coffee; at the time, I was the online editor at Barista Magazine, and had written more than 400 articles about coffee. I wanted to reply, but I think I just stewed in my own anger instead.)

In the process of putting this list together, I realized I’d written my very first coffee article, which covered a Guatemalan coffee event, almost exactly 11 years ago. Just to hammer home how early I was into my career—and to illustrate the internet landscape of the time—I basically doxxed myself by writing in my bio where I worked and how people could find me.

It’s incredible just how much has changed about coffee, media, and journalism—and my working life—since then. With that in mind, please scroll down to find a catalog of some of my most notable coffee articles, divided by category and format.

But first, some stories I've republished here

I’ve been happy to republish a number of articles originally written for other outlets on Boss Barista. My editors at Tone Madison have been generous enough to let me republish stories about the union efforts at Madison Sourdough. I’ve also shared stories originally written for Standart, a global print publication that lets me explore my wackier ideas. Think the legacy of the hipster barista meme, what democratic lotteries have to teach us about coffee, and my recently published piece on family language at work (this is literally my thesis statement, and quite possibly the best thing I’ve ever written—please read!).

I also republished a story about coffee beers and why I hate them, originally written for Burum Collective; in the process of reporting that, I think I might have accidentally discovered the person responsible for combining coffee and beer into one drink. More investigative work to come.

I’ve reviewed a lot of coffee equipment

Primarily for Serious Eats (you can see my author page here), I’ve reviewed milk frothers, French presses, temperature-controlled mugs, coffee brewers under $150, gooseneck kettles, and at-home cold brew sets (some of these have a shared byline, and many have been updated over the years).

I’ve also compared specific machines, like the OXO 8-cup versus the 9-cup (both are incredible brewers) and highlighted the virtues of the Baratza Encore, a perfect introductory burr grinder. (Here’s a bonus piece about why a burr grinder matters.)

Coffee science is cool

What happens when you stick your cold cup of coffee into the microwave? I talked to experts and tested it out myself. What are those little bubbles that appear when you’re brewing? I explained here that they can tell you a lot about your coffee. What’s robusta coffee? Let’s dig into the varietal that’s sometimes maligned by industry pros. Did you know hotel coffee brewers are icky? Here’s why.

Coffee is nearly 99% water, and I talked to some folks who went on “Shark Tank” about water crystals, and how water and coffee grounds work together to make your favorite beverage. Inevitably, coffee gets compared to beer, so I looked at nitro cold brew and what coffee borrows from the beer world.

I’ve given tips about how to make better coffee

Should you store your coffee in a coffee canister? Based on testing, I’d say no; here’s why. In another piece, I argued that cleaning your machine is the single most important thing you can do to make your coffee taste better.

A few how-tos

Coffee is full of weird equipment that isn’t always easy to use, and maintaining your tools isn’t obvious. So, I’ve written how-to guides on how clean your grinder, how to brew with a French press, how to make cold brew, how to get the most out of your espresso machine, and how to clean a coffee maker. I’ve also looked at more esoteric topics, like how to think about coffee within the confines of (and beyond) tasting notes.

I’ve been lucky to interview some cool people

Interviewing is my main source of excitement. I’ve had the honor of interviewing so many incredible people for Boss Barista’s podcast and newsletter, but I’ve also shared interviews in other outlets with folks like Sahra Nguyen, James Hoffmann, and Morgan Eckroth.

I’ve also talked to a lot of non-coffee people. Natasha Feldman told me to have more dinner parties (and put me onto online escape rooms). I interviewed Yasmin Fahr right when she moved to Miami, my hometown, about her cookbook encouraging people to make more meals on boards. Kevin Bludso’s book on barbecue is so special, and I always have a Tupperware full of his chicken rub in my pantry. I fell in love with cookbook author Odette Williams within moments of talking to her: She spoke to me in a Victorian-style room in the middle of the summer, and her background was an intricate wallpaper that made the room feel like the stuff of dreams. I had to make Frankie Gaw’s Cincinnati chili with hand-pulled noodles the moment we got off our Zoom call.

If you take anything from these articles and interviews, know that I think you should get a porrón. I’ve also had a lifelong obsession with the Chemex on “Friends” and how the brewer ended up on the show. (You might see another article about this soon, although not for the newsletter.)

I hope this is a helpful resource, and thank you for reading my work! With all that being said and shared, I’m wondering if there’s anything else you’d like to know: What other coffee topics would you like to see covered? What kinds of stories would you like to read here? Comment with your thoughts!