7 Ways to trick yourself into becoming a morning person

7 Ways to trick yourself into becoming a morning person

Three Questions with IWCA Executive Director Blanca Castro

When International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) Executive Director began her job years ago at the Guatemalan coffee association Anacafé, she knew next to nothing about coffee.  “I just pretended that…


The Slingshot Chalice Puts a New Spin on Espresso Dosing

Hong Kong and Australia-based coffee equipment maker Slingshot Technology recently launched the Chalice Distributor Cup, a multipurpose espresso preparation tool for baristas. Displayed in its final production form at the…


Ukraine’s Soloway Coffee Opens First US Shop in Chicago

A specialty coffee roasting company based in western Ukraine called Soloway Coffee (Instagram link) this week opened its first location in the United States. Beans roasted in Ternopil, Ukraine, using…


4 Coffee Shops Worth a Visit in Madrid

In recent years, the Spanish capital has developed a vibrant specialty-coffee scene. Here are some cool cafés to visit for a caffeine fuel-up. BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Featured photo by Jorge Fernández Salas via Unsplash The espresso bar at HanSo. HanSo Café, a Perfect Spot for Breakfast   In Chinese, HanSo roughly translates to “a […]

7 Ways to trick yourself into becoming a morning person

Philadelphia’s Café Don Pedro Seeks to Build Up Small Businesses

A Dominican-owned coffee roasting company called Café Don Pedro recently launched in Philadelphia with ambitions for direct trading and boosting more Latino-owned small businesses throughout its supply and distribution networks….


Out Now: The February + March 2024 Issue of Barista Magazine!

In our new issue we feature Lisa Lawson from Glasgow, Scotland, take a look at the newest grinders, explore spring drink inspiration, see how more women are getting involved in coffee tech, and much more! BY SARAH ALLENBARISTA MAGAZINE We’re stoked to announce the release of the February + March 2024 issue of Barista Magazine, […]


Competition, Cold, and More from the 2024 U.S. Coffee Competition Qualifiers in Houston

The first round of qualifiers for the 2024 season of the United States Coffee Competitions featured the U.S. Barista, Cup Tasters, and Roasters qualifying competitions. BY KATE VAN PETTENSPECIAL TO BARISTA MAGAZINE Photos courtesy of U.S. CoffeeChamps The first round of qualifiers for the 2024 season of the United States Coffee Competitions took place January […]


An In-Depth Look at Gruppo Cimbali’s Coffee Technician Wheel

The Coffee Technician Wheel is a new tool that helps technicians understand the complexity of coffee extraction. BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Edgardo Ferrero and Espresso Academy Coffee technicians are responsible for a complex set of tasks related to the production and extraction of coffee. They manage customer requests and need to […]

7 Ways to trick yourself into becoming a morning person

3 All-Women Coffee Roasting Companies that Are Changing the Game

The world of specialty coffee is still largely governed by men, but these all-female specialty-coffee roasters are helping to close the gender gap. BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Feature photo courtesy of Lot Zero/7Gr As is the case for many commercial sectors, the world of specialty coffee continues to display gender disparity along the entire […]


Bypass coffee brewing: How can it improve extraction?

There is a lot of science to brewing coffee. Whether knowingly or unknowingly, we trigger – and try to control – an almost endless number of chemical reactions to achieve the perfect extraction. To do so, we have to tweak different variables – such as grind size, temperature, and coffee-to-water ratio – to get the […]


Breaking New Ground: A Sicilian Coffee Plantation, Part 2

The Morettino family has successfully cultivated a coffee plantation right in Sicily. Next on the agenda: making the island an international coffee hub. BY JOSEPH PHELANSPECIAL TO BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Feature photo by Tomas Anton Escobar via Unsplash Editor’s note: Check out part one of this story here. Andrea Morettino’s family has proven that coffee […]


4 Cool Cafés to Try Out in Kuala Lumpur

The Malaysian capital is often visited in a hurry, but visitors who take the time to explore will discover a welcoming city, thanks in part to its friendly specialty cafés. BY TANYA NANETTI SENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos by Tanya Nanetti Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, is often a stopover on vacations, quickly left behind […]

7 Ways to trick yourself into becoming a morning person

7 Ways to trick yourself into becoming a morning person

minimum dose size?

Jan 31, 2024 |

I use the Hario switch to brew my coffee and am trying to reduce my caffeine consumption. Hence I would like to brew smaller cups of coffee. I am currently using 10g of coffee with 160g of water. (1:16 Ratio) I am wondering if there is a minimum amount of coffee...

7 Ways to trick yourself into becoming a morning person

WAKE UP, SLEEPY HEAD

By Lisa Frania, Guest Blogger

Mornings—for so many of us—can be rough, to say the least. Talk about waking up on the wrong side of the bed.

Unfortunately, society tends to reward early risers due to much of the world operating on an insanely eager “get-up-and-at-em” schedule.  Rushing your way to an 8 a.m. meeting or attempting to shuttle your kids to school before the tardy bell, most of us just have to get on board with early morning realities.

Mug that reads "Black Coffee Master of Vitality" sitting on top of a Death Wish Coffee towel

Doing so, however, can leave us feeling desperate for some zzz’s.

So whether you’re a night owl or you just can’t turn your brain off when you crawl into bed—in a perfect world, we’d all wake up feeling calm, refreshed and ready to face the day head on.

According to Shape, it’s possible to change your ways and become a “morning lark” by following these tips.

Here’s how:

  1. Get enough sleep and let “bedtime” take care of itself.

Getting the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep each night will make waking up so much easier. So get your mind ready for bed but don’t overthink it or “plan” on a bedtime. Simply lose the devices and create a bedtime routine about an hour before. Run a warm bath, use our self-care kit, read a good book, or find something else that soothes you.

Death Wish Coffee's Empowermint Self-Care kit

Then…Enter Sandman 🤘🏼

  1. Skip the snooze by setting a smart alarm.

Hitting “Snooze” four times and surfing your phone for an hour won’t help you become a morning person. Set the alarm for the same time every morning—weekends too! Set one alarm (maybe one other for back up in case you sleep through it)—not a beep or blare but something soothing and fun. Remember, the faster you get out of bed, the faster you can enjoy your morning cup of coffee.

  1. Let the light in!

Wherever you are, make it bright. Keep the blinds open during the night or head outside as you swig your morning cup of joe. Light tells the brain the day has started and pumps up your vitamin D too.

  1. Eat a good breakfast—high in protein and low in carbs.

Go for eggs and yogurt or a protein shake with your favorite cup of coffee versus that bagel! Protein will help make you ready for the day, boost your brain power and provide energy and motivation to knock your day out of the park.

Woman wearing a "The only thing I don't burn is my coffee" holding two strips of bacon
  1. Exercise right away in the morning.

Relax—you don’t have to run a marathon to feel the positive effects of a morning calorie burn. Take a spin on the bike, jog a little, walk the dog. Any exercise will boost your energy for the entire day, lower blood pressure, reduce stress and anxiety and help you get your shut eye at night.

  1. Squash that urge to nap.

While you’re trying to change your habits, you may really have to fight heavy eyelids, but if you can save the cat nap for the feline in your life, you’ll doze off at a good time at night. 

  1. Make the mornings pleasant with “you time.”

Reward yourself with something that will motivate you to get out of bed. Brew your favorite coffee, sit by the fireplace or jam out to Metallica. 🎸

You might never really love seeing the sunrise, but with a little effort, mornings will be much less painful, you’ll feel really good about yourself and wake up ready to take on the world!

And just remember that it doesn’t have to happen overnight—literally.  

RELATED: 5 tips for strong coffee 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 Ways to trick yourself into becoming a morning person

Perfect Little Beans

Chinmey Hill Coffee uses specialty-grade beans with zero primary defects (such as black beans or sour beans) and less than five secondary defects (such as broken beans). This is important because primary defects will greatly affect the taste of the coffee. Having zero defects allows the coffee to be the most optimal flavor.

Window for Optimal Flavor

Chimney Hill Coffee ships our coffee the same day it was roasted, so you will receive it before it enters the window of optimal flavor.  This means you’ll never miss the opportunity to enjoy the coffee’s peak flavor.

Coffee Ratings

Coffee undergoes many scoring processes by professionals who achieved their Q Grader certification. Coffee is first graded when it’s green. If there are defects the coffee is determined to be “not-specialty grade”. For those coffees that pass green grading, they are sample roasted and cupped. (Cupping is the official term for critically tasting and scoring coffees. The official cupping form is standard worldwide, and where the 100-point scoring system comes from.) A coffee’s dry fragrance, wet aroma, flavor, aftertaste, body, acidity, balance, and overall impression are taken into consideration while uniformity issues and defects, will lower the overall score.

Specialty Coffee

Specialty coffee, coined by Erna Knutsen in 1974, refers to a coffee that receives a quality grading score of 80 percent or higher. While “premium” or “gourmet” seem like they’re synonymous with “specialty,” they simply are marketing terms with no defined standards. Specialty coffees are grown in specific and ideal micro-climates, and have distinctive and unique flavor profiles, with little to no defects.

Third-Wave Coffee

We’re currently in the third wave of coffee. The first wave of American coffee put pre-ground, vacuum-sealed cans in kitchens across America. The second wave started with the late ‘60s introduction of Peet’s coffee (by Alfred Peet) through the proliferation of Starbucks. The third wave of coffee focuses on origin transparency, nuanced flavors, and artisan roasting. The term “third wave” is synonymous with specialty coffee.

7 Ways to trick yourself into becoming a morning person

Shopping cart0
There are no products in the cart!
Continue shopping
0