Redefining Everyday Classic: a Coffee Break at the Seaside

On the occasion of our trip to Jarosławiec, where we were preparing the launch of our Baltic Poszetka x Mr.Vintage collection, we took a short break for a morning coffee in a quiet, empty fishing harbor. A quick, somewhat spontaneous AeroPress made outdoors resulted in a moment of honest conversation about style, coffee... and, above all, life. We finished it after we returned home, finding an excuse to break out of our daily routine and gather our thoughts in a slightly more organized form

We ended up with something more than just a short conversation. Still remembering the recent difficult decisions and slowly enjoying the new opening, we thought about what is most important to us - personally and as part of Poszetka - and what the Everyday Classic philosophy actually means to us.

Mateusz Tryjanowski: I gave up the coffee [industry], but it quickly came back to me anyway… I didn't expect that this particular topic would become a pretext for our conversation, but it did!

Tomasz Godziek: Coffee never gives you up! I was off for the weekend, I went to the Tatra Mountains. Such a reset - as you know, given the intensity of life in Poszetka, this is crucial for taking care of mental hygiene - and a shared adventure with my son (there are already different role models for a 14-year-old). My duty in the team, as we were traveling as a group of four, in a camper, with a friend and his son, was pickles and... well, coffee. :)

There are important things and more important things, and a moment of peace is definitely among the latter. Freshly ground, poured coffee in the morning gave us a nice kick. And you know, the taste in these natural surroundings... overnight stay in a camper with a view of Gubałówka makes everything better!

M: So now your travel package includes a jar of pickled cucumbers, an AeroPress, a grinder and beans? I admire that! I'm no longer willing to carry all my equipment with me, so on such trips I either skip the coffee altogether or drink what my friends bring - like you did recently on the Baltic Sea.

In general, I remember this morning at the Seaside very fondly. It was a short moment amidst the rush of work, but seemed so special. Off-season emptiness, nice company, good coffee in hand - sometimes it's good to add a little magic to the reality.

T: Magic to reality - like Maggi to the broth, Magee to the collection!

M: Okay, leave that Donegal Tweed, let’s not rush to the future collections right now! But sure, we will come back to the clothes (today) and Irish fabrics (next autumn).

T: There is another personal topic, probably not for the blog, but I will mention it anyway: the thing about coffee is that I like to look for [beer] alternatives. It is right at the top of my personal ranking, right there, next to the pickle juice. I highly recommend drinking both!

M: Oh, you actually brought up two threads that I wanted to ask you about.

First of all, speaking of this magic, I remembered the lofty-sounding "love of everyday life" that you once told me about - could you please explain? Where is the place of coffee in this joy of small things, what else does it mean to you on a daily basis?

Secondly, some more prosaic matters - where did your coffee hobby come from, when did it start and how did it happen that it got to the point where you are the one who serves me specialty coffee in the morning, here at the harbor, in Jarosławiec?!

T: I'll start from the end: the first coffee for me was the beginning of high school. Different timing, pressure, duty, excitement. The beautiful 90s with less-than-average beans quality, but also a good filter coffee machine. Then I exchanged it - condensed, you might say! - for a moka pot espresso maker (the iconic Bialetti, of course). After that came an interesting love affair with yerba mate. Finally, I came across specialty coffees, first from HAYB. The grinding, brewing and tasting began. Shopping for equipment; including the inseparable thermos flask bottle that now follows me everywhere. Finally, taking your habits with you; a men's trip to the Baltic Sea, sleeping in the wild, climbing Rysy = doesn’t really matter where, Godziek always takes his coffee... and a loudspeaker, but more about that another time!

In my case, loving everyday life is learning to be cautious. You know, in this intense world of screaming headlines and constant stream of information, it's a forgotten skill. Coffee is the element that accompanies me and helps me in contemplation - watching the outside world. A child's signals, a worried passer-by, a bird sitting on the windowsill - these are the moments when the shutter in your camera (the one in your head) closes, worth capturing.

M: So it's a bit of this trendy mindfulness thing, but named differently - I like your version. Careful observation is a useful skill, you don't have to meditate, just a moment of concentration is enough. Even a cup of warm coffee can be an excuse to think instead of mindlessly scrolling through social media, a stimulus that brings better ideas to mind. Do you have a daily ritual related to this, a specific time for yourself?

T: You know, I could say that this fashionable mindfulness is over 2000 years old and is called faith in Jesus! Yes, it's a very cool concept and you're right, you don't have to resort to meditation, for me it's enough to delve into Christianity - but this is probably also a side topic, although important to me. The fact is that the result of my conversion years ago was this extra caution/mindfulness, I went out into the streets and saw more (poor, homeless, needy people) than before.

As for rituals, I love morning coffee and working alone at Poszetka, before our shop opens. Around 9 a.m. I can be focused and most productive - but this is operational work. Sudden and unexpected ideas often come to my mind while taking a sauna, this is the most creative time!

M: Okay, we already talked about the mind, time for the body - if you can classify sensory skills as that - and the question about your favorite coffee. Once you are already deeper into the topic, what guides you when choosing the beans? What are you looking for: a specific country of origin, interesting flavors in the sensory profile, favorite processing method?

T: As for my choices, I often try what we order for Poszetka Concept from HAYB. Among the classics, I liked Sie Przelewa Kwiat the most and I choose it all the time, but I also repeat the Klasyk from this series.

Other coffee that made a huge impression on me was a roastery from Denmark - Coffee Collective - and their Peru washed. I don't remember exactly what the beans were, but they were great.

M: Okay, I think it's time to change the topic, because soon we'll probably have to issue an invoice to HAYB for advertising them, haha! But what can we do if this recommendations are true, I agree with you - I can only praise the Sie Przelewa series and I admire Coffee Collective’s quality. However, if someone is looking for other speciality coffee recommendations, I will add another two roasters from Poland - Heresy and Good Coffee - who have consistently high quality and good selection of beans.

Also, I still think that our readers - and I - would love to hear your recipe for AeroPress, how do you do it every day.

T: Hehe, maybe they also say good things about us? Who knows!

As for the recipe, I don't count down to the second or measure the angle at which I mix the AeroPress. I use the reverse method - after stirring, I brew the coffee for about 40 seconds and press with a constant movement, not too hard.

Question: what to do if you don't have a grinder? I recently had a situation where I couldn't pack it, so I grounded coffee for 3 days ahead and portioned it into separate bags. It was a trip to the Rysy mountain, we slept in the highest mountain shelter in the Tatra Mountains. That AeroPress tasted the best ever, although I guess it was some kind of coffee sacrilege?

M: You know what, it wasn’t anything that bad. Sure, the pre-grinded coffee will probably lose a bit of flavor, but the natural circumstances will make up for it anyway, so there's nothing to worry about. Equipment is not everything, there is also water; you can grind the best beans with the best grinder, and the coffee will still be too bitter if you use bad water... Or, on the contrary, you can make surprisingly drinkable pour-over using poor equipment and average beans under favorable conditions. There are so many variables that sometimes you have to give up on analyzing them.

I have already cured myself of being a coffee orthodox, I drank too many different things - both good and bad ones - that I felt like carrying all my equipment with me every time. Chasing the perfect coffee and taking care of the smallest detail spoils the fun and teaches you to find faults in the whole thing, instead of enjoying the result. I think it's like with clothes - at some point you stop caring about always looking perfect, the crease being razor-sharp, the shoes having a mirror finish. When you let go, you suddenly discover that you look better and more natural than before.

T: You're right, the same can be applied to fashion and clothes. Interestingly, at the beginning we (together with Asia) were more orthodox fashionistas, and over time and with the course of Poszetka's life, we discovered our Everyday Classic philosophy. Everyday clothes, rooted in classics, but still comfortable and practical, and therefore - a bit wrinkled, worn-in, natural. You know us and you know what the pace is like in this family. Three children, a dog, running our own company - comfortable clothes are a matter of survival in this urban jungle!

M: So - it turns out that we can put all of our today's reflections into the concept of the Everyday Classic philosophy? All this ease, but also mindfulness; good taste, but without a fuss; everyday life, but with a pinch of magic?

T: It seems like it - it's a broad and universal concept, I enjoy it!

By the way, I remember the moment years ago when I saw dirty shoes at a photo session of a famous fashion company. It changed my life - it should have spoiled the impression, but I really liked it. That's when the talk about the Everyday Classic began, the idea evolved... and you know what it's like today.

M: Well, Tomek, we have naturally summarized our today's topic. It was supposed to be a casual conversation over coffee, but it turned out a pretty good summary of Poszetka's philosophy - that’s it, thanks!

T: Thanks, see you soon!