Happy 4/20 everyone! I recently started drinking coffee in the last year after never really liking it. Growing up I would try my mom's coffee every once in a while but it always tasted burnt and bitter. Looking back I realize that I didn't like that coffee due to my mom usually steeping it in a French press for 15-20 minutes.
I got into coffee in the last year due to my roommate who worked as a barista making me some and it being actually flavorful. But we were using a drip coffee machine and it wasn't strong enough for my liking. Before I actually started drinking coffee I liked to watch coffee gadget reviews cause I thought they were interesting? Which is how I found out about the aeropress which is my way I make my coffee in the morning.
The aeropress is kind of a three one thing cause it's a pour over, French press and manual espresso machine all in one, in addition I use a hand crank burr grinder to grind my beans and typically only add a bit of creamer as I want to taste the coffee as much as possible I also usually use medium roast beans.
How do you take your coffee/tea?
I wish I could like coffee black, but I hit a wall where I need just a bit of splenda or I don't enjoy it. I wonder if I should just push through the wall by not enjoying my coffee for a week or so? Maybe if my fatigue goes away enough for me to feel like learning how to make a proper pour over it'll be easier. For now I just hand grind 18g of beans and mix with ~360ml of boiling water in my clever dripper and let it sit for six minutes 1-3 times a day. There is a local roaster that makes an incredible half-caf blend that I'm too addicted to, because its twice as expensive as the beans from Aldi.
I have an appointment to get on HRT (mtf) next month from a med student clinic here and I'm scared/excited. My nail polish had gotten too chipped to continue with so I just cleaned it off the other night, and I read you should give your nails two weeks without polish on them, but that was the only bit of euphoria I had in my appearance. I bought a new shaver on the recommendation of a transwoman on youtube but it didn't get my skin particularly smooth and still caused razor burn. Wondering if I should get a safety razor? Shaving is so dysphoric though, I wish Nair was safe for the face.
I think the biggest part of enjoying it black is whether the beans are any good. I'm not sure drinking more black coffee will necessarily make you like it more. Plus, there's nothing wrong with adding other stuff :)
I hope your appointment goes well! I'm so happy for you :) I just use an electric razor so I can't give any advice there