An office cubicle is a very personal space. Even though it is small, it can still reflect your personality and style. Some cubicle dwellers prefer to leave their cubicle dull and drab without enhancing the grey walls with any color or accessories. Others go out of their way to enhance every nook and cranny of their office cubicle to make it their own. I do my absolute best to make my cubicle as personal and functional as I can make it.
I realized many years ago that my destiny, as long as I am working for someone else, is to live within the walls of a cubicle. I knew I wasn’t going to have a corner office with big windows and a door I can shut. But I am definitely happy that I have a space to call my own. My cubicle rocks in many ways. I try to utilize the space that I have effectively as far as storage and function is concerned. One of my passions in life is coffee. Yes, coffee! My wife and I drink only great coffee and that not only pertains to our home but it also pertains to my office cubicle.
I have created my own little coffee corner within my office cubicle. The funny thing is that my company provides its employees with free coffee but I choose not to partake of that free coffee because I simply have high standards. I am a coffee snob amongst cubicle nation. So how is my coffee snobbery manifested within the grey walls of my cubicle?
One Cup Coffee Maker
Roughly three years ago I decided that I simply did not like the coffee that my company was offering me for free. So, I asked a friend who was a coffee blogger to recommend a single serve coffee maker that I could utilize within my cubicle each morning. He said that Black and Decker made a one cup coffee maker that should last and was very reasonable in price. So, I took his recommendation and bought a Brew N Go. It has served me well for the past 3 years without a hitch and continues to brew a great cup of coffee each morning.
What is so great about this single-serve coffee maker is that you can bring it with you if you go on vacation or just away for the weekend. My wife and I recently brought it to a bed and breakfast we stayed at on the seacoast for a weekend. It is small enough that you can bring it with you with no hassles. The only drawback, if you consider it a drawback, is that you can only brew one cup at a time. But, to be honest, it brews a cup so quickly that there really isn’t much waiting involved.
Pour Over Coffee
Another option when it comes to brewing coffee in an office cubicle is to brew it up using the pour over coffee method. If you are not familiar with this type of coffee brewing, it has gained a lot of popularity in recent years. All you need is hot water, ground coffee, a ceramic or plastic cone, and a filter. The pour over coffee cone looks like a funnel and rests on top of a coffee mug. Into the cone you place a filter and some ground coffee. You simply pour hot water on top of the ground coffee and the coffee drips into the coffee mug below the cone.
The best way to heat up some hot water in an office cubicle is with an electric kettle which is extremely popular today. There are so many different models from which you can choose and all they require is a plug and some water. They are not only great for a cubicle but also for a college dorm. If you don’t like coffee you can make tea or hot chocolate.
Manual Coffee Grinder
I decided that since I was a coffee snob, I should go all the way and grind my own coffee beans in my cubicle each morning. So I bought myself a manual coffee grinder because the automated versions were a little bit steep for my pocketbook. And, to be honest, I enjoy manually cranking my coffee grinder each morning before I brew my fresh coffee. It adds more of a personal touch to the whole process and the flavor of freshly-brewed java with coffee that has just been ground is far superior to coffee that was ground days or perhaps months beforehand.
One thing that you should remember if you decide to go the route of a coffee grinder is that you should always invest in a burr grinder. Some people use their blade spice grinder as a coffee grinder which simply doesn’t cut it, no pun intended. A blade grinder will slice up your coffee beans into tiny bits which will basically remove the flavor from the beans. A burr coffee grinder will maintain the aroma and flavor of the coffee beans since they don’t produce as much heat as a blade grinder. Burr grinders do not create as much friction as blade grinders and, as a result, yield a much higher flavor profile in the coffee.
Coffee, especially in the office, is very important since this is probably your first drink of the day. If you are like me and love high quality coffee, you may also want to consider brewing your own coffee each morning. Don’t forget that the quality of your coffee is not only based on the quality of the coffee beans that you are brewing but also the water. I always use the highest quality water that I can find and fortunately my place of employment provides us with filtered water.
If you want to start your day off the right way, you might want to consider manually grinding your coffee beans in your own little cubicle coffee corner. Not only will your day start off the right way but your work productivity will be supercharged because of your own hand-crafted cup of Joe.
