About the Author
When you think about it, coffee is the common element that ties together many impactful moments in life: from something as simple as the first thing you do when you start each day, or the lunch date you have with a friend, to bigger moments like weddings, business meetings, and holiday gatherings. It’s also worthy to note that coffee is often enjoyed with other people, making it one of the most universal ways to bring people together all over the world.
Hello! I’m Joe and I love coffee. My mission is to help you enjoy the best tasting cup of coffee every day.
I wasn’t always team coffee. My love of joe was a slow burn that happened over a couple of decades. The first association I had with coffee was to use it quite simply as a tool. A mindset born from serving in the military in the early 2000s where late-night patrols and extended exercises forced me to pack only convenient forms of the drink – namely, cheap instant coffee that I could smoosh into my field meal pack. At this stage of my life, all coffee was to me was fuel whenever I was feeling worn out or tired. I wasn’t at all interested in taste; it was function over form all the way!
Later still, while working night shifts in the emergency services, I found myself still needing that caffeine fix but not wanting to settle for the freeze-dried variety which I always found tasted fairly frowny-face, I turned to my neighborhood coffee shop and ordered myself – wait for it - a half coffee, half hot chocolate. Yes. You heard that right. This went on for several years.
That is, until I met my wife. Being of European descent, she looked at me like I had five heads when she first heard me order my usual. She didn’t approve of my concoction, nor did she believe what my coffee shop called “coffee” was actually allowed to be called that. The next time I was over at her place, she forced me to drink an espresso with hot water –an Americano. I was fairly dramatic about the whole thing, assuming immediately that I would hate it. She rolled her eyes, thrust some creamer my way and suggested I “soften it up”, since I was a beginner. Well, ladies and gents, I was blown away. THIS was coffee and it was love at first sip.
Since this moment, we’ve happily been exploring and learning about coffee just about any opportunity we can. I’ve even managed to graduate to drinking coffee black - although I do still enjoy a nice creamer or flavor shot from time-to-time. Inspired by having some extra time on my hands, I launched the community of Joepicksjoe.com in 2020 to share my experiences, experiments, taste tests, and ever-expanding knowledge on what makes brew so special.
If you enjoy drinking, brewing, or roasting coffee, joepicksjoe.com is where you’ll find a collection of articles breaking down the best coffee blends, machines, accessories, and hacks, all hand-picked by your friend and ally – Joe!
If you wish to contact or have a collaboration idea for Joe, you can contact him through email: hello@joepicksjoe.com