Hi, I’m Zak, and I love coffee, espresso, and really all things caffeinated.
That part was probably obvious from the fact that I started Easy to Espresso (E2E).
But let me tell you about my quest.
I’ve always been curious about what makes for a great cup of coffee. Then again, I’m just a curious person. I devoted that curiosity to my academic career early on, culminating in my PhD degree, which I immediately left behind to pursue a career as a data scientist.
I won’t bore you with all of the details, but I wound up as an entrepreneur after that, and then a writer.
What do all those fields have in common?
Not much. But they are all filled with coffee-loving people.
At my first data science job, the best discussions were had over our tiny espresso machine. It brought people together better than any networking tool I’ve ever seen.
Whether I work from home, a lab, or an office, the coffee machine is always my first destination in the morning. It’s a small joy that I know will always be there for me.
Coffee has always been a part of my life, and I also enjoyed the occasional latte or cappuccino from Starbucks back in college. Espresso, though, didn’t become a part of my vocabulary until grad school.
Espresso intrigued me because it was like a calling card for my particular field of chemistry. As a chemist, I was focused on a field known as physical chemistry. Basically, we studied the effects of things like temperature, pressure, and time on chemical systems.
And guess what makes espresso different?
That’s right: time, pressure, and temperature.
(We also did a lot of quantum mechanics, but I think I’m going to have a harder time tying that to coffee stories.)
This got me to spend a lot of time thinking about how to make an even better cup of coffee.
And that’s where Easy to Espresso came from.
This is my journey to find the best cup of coffee, the best shot of espresso, the best cafe au lait, and much more.
Oh, and don’t expect to learn about complicated processes that take hours of work either, because curiosity is only one of my two driving forces — the other is convenience.
You can call it laziness if you prefer.
I don’t want to spend hours each morning prepping my coffee. It should be an oasis, not a chore.
What I’m looking for is the ideal way to enjoy all the variety that the coffee and espresso world has to offer without sacrificing either quality or simplicity.
If that is a goal you share, then I invite you to join me on this journey.
We’re gonna have a latte fun together!
