PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES

I rely on morning coffee so heavily I’ve begged my girlfriend to let me put a coffeemaker next to the bed. Girlfriend says that if I put one there, I should buy a new bed—for my new apartment. So instead each morning I wake up just like everybody else, do my oblutions and then drag my lazy behind all the way to the kitchen. Most consumption takes place here, because coffee shop caffeination requires entrance into the outside world—not much of an option without coffee, as you know. But there are times when I am forced to take off the pajamas for morning business meetings, which is how I discovered the drip coffee available at the Village Grind. After ordering what I figured would be a traditional, no-frills medium Guatemalan blend, I was thrown off by the process: First, an empty cup is placed underneath a large filter packed with grinds. Then, a barista pours scalding water into the filter. And finally, slowly, the coffee drips from the filter to the cup. I’d never seen this done before, so I asked the girl behind the counter if this method had a fancy name. She didn’t know and asked another employee. That person didn’t know either and they told me they merely called it drip coffee. That might not sound very exciting, but my one cup delivered a gnarly buzz equivalent to four homemade cups. Might be time for a new bed after all.

THE VILLAGE GRIND 443 E FIRST ST | LONG BEACH 90802 | 562.432.4033 | THEVILLAGEGRIND.IN-LONG-BEACH-CA.COM

Tags: Drink of the Week, drip coffee, Long Beach, village grind