T
hose who know me are well aware I'm a coffee fiend. And by coffee fiend, I mean my pour-over set is one of my closest companions. It wasn't always this way, however, and mastering the perfect cup of at-home coffee took plenty of trial and error.
In fall 2019, I made my first adult kitchen appliance purchase. My new Nespresso machine made me quickly grow accustomed to pampering myself with coffee, both for luxury and functional purposes.
Last March, the first task on my spring break bucket list was getting pour-over coffee from one of my favorite coffee shops back home in Fullerton, California: Philz Coffee. But then COVID-19 hit, and pandemic life became my new reality. I resorted by day to my family's tried-and-true Keurig to survive my 8 am Zoom classes. By night, I dreamt of the luxurious Nespresso that was oh-so-lonely back in my college dorm. My lavish latte lifestyle was put on temporary delay.