Let’s talk about those days none of us like to talk about: the bad days.
Those days when daily tasks like brushing your teeth, getting dressed, taking meds, and even making coffee seem like the biggest uphill battles. For those with chronic conditions, this can look like days where either you are too weak or in too much pain to do daily tasks. Bad mental health days can also make the day and what you need more tedious and difficult by distorting priorities and zapping energy.
Even for coffee people.
For those rough days, this is where easier ways to brew coffee can help someone still stay caffeinated while not using too many spoons. Instant and low-fuss ways of brewing coffee have come a long way in recent years. No longer do we have hardened black sugar-granule type powder that may or may not dissolve in your cup. With so many companies taking on the challenge of specialty coffee and making it easier to brew, let’s take a look at quick ways to make coffee on bad days.
Prepped Iced Coffee
While most bad days do not happen on a schedule, having some prepped iced lattes or cold brew in the fridge can be an easy go-to drink when you only have the energy to pour coffee in a cup. I like to keep old kombucha glasses and sauce bottles in my cabinets so I can prep them ahead of time to be grabbed when needed. Sometimes I’ll even brew hot coffee the night before and let it cool so I have iced coffee ready to go in the morning. Do I know that flash brew will produce a better cup of iced coffee? Yes, but we’re talking about ease rather than quality here (and when I’m not feeling my best, it’s not as though my palate is up to Q-Grader status in the moment anyway).
Coracle Coffee
I first heard about Coracle from my friend, Hana, and then I started seeing it pop up everywhere. The premise is simple, it is specialty instant coffee in a dissolvable pouch that you drop in a mug and pour hot water in for the simplest cup of coffee ever. When I asked the owner, Tyler Duncan, if I could buy a sample pack, he very kindly sent me all four origins they offer for free and it has saved me on many mornings when a migraine made me incredibly sound sensitive that running my grinder would send me spiraling. Even during Expo and all my overwhelm, I was so thankful for Coracle on a couple of the mornings where I needed to stay at my Airbnb and decompress before seeing people. What I love about them is that they come in a small tin that you can carry in your bag or luggage to have whenever you need it.
Coffee Tea Bags and Instant Packets
For more easy brew options, other specialy roasters have started featuring coffee in tea bags such as Steeped Coffee as well as packets of instant coffee like Swift Cup Coffee for more pour-and-brew options. Just grab a cup of hot water, plop the tea bag in or empty the packet contents, and pour hot water in your mug. Boom, done. Coffee is ready in a jiffy.
The first time I ever tried one of the coffee tea bags, I treated it much like tea and did not steep it for long enough so read through the directions before you try it. Coffee does not extract in the same way as tea and will need a longer steep time.
Low Maintenance Brewers
When I am having a low energy day, I have my recipes for lower maintenance brewers dialed in just right so I can grind and brew without having to think much about it. For me, it’s my auto-drip for mornings when I’m not rushing off to work and my Clever Dripper when I only have time for one cup of coffee. Both don’t require much hands on attention but still produce solid cups of coffee. My regular aeropress recipe is also pretty full-proof but, if my chronic pain is flaring up, it isn’t a great option due to the angle that the plunger needs to be pressed down.
My Clever Dripper recipe is from Neichelle Guidry of Black Girl.Black Coffee: 16g of coffee ground on my Baratza Encore at 18, 256g of 96 degrees celsius water, and a wet V60 filter. Dose and grind coffee, and wet your filter. Once all set up, pour 45 grams of water and let bloom for 45 seconds. Then pour the rest of the water. At 3 minutes, give it a stir. At four minutes, drain and enjoy.
Soul Chai
Not all mornings are coffee mornings, and, for those days, I reach for iced chai lattes with Soul Chai powder. It is so flavorful and can be made easily, plus the people that run the company are the sweetest people ever. To make, all you have to do is drop a teaspoon of chai powder, mix with a whisk or milk frother and a little hot water, then add your milk of choice. I always add a little sugar or syrup too but that’s all there is to it.
Rough days happen, especially for those of us that are chronically ill, disabled, and/or neurodivergent. Having ready-to-go options and back up plans when the care of a pour over or the steps of a latte can seem like too much when the day is long and everything feels out of sync. On these days, the most important thing is to be gentle with yourself and manage your energy and wellbeing as best you can. Coffee can be healing but it can also be another step in getting through the day, so brew coffee in whatever way you need on a rough day.
The Non-Binary Barista 