Una Tacita De Café

The title of my series “Una Tacita De Café” roughly translates to a cup of coffee. However, I say roughly because it doesn’t just mean “a cup of coffee”.

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The actual word for cup in Spanish is “tasa”. In Colombia, specifically, Medellin, where my family is from, the

“-ita” at the end of a noun is seen as a term of endearment. It is meant to make a word more gentle and loving. This series portrays how an ordinary cup of black coffee can become a cultural celebration and meditative practice.

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As a high school student, I wake up at 6 AM every morning and begin the coffee-making process. Each morning I repeat the same cycle. I grab the coffee beans and begin my ritual.

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This ritual isn’t new to me. Growing up, I witnessed my mom perform it every day for as long as I can remember, just as she did from her mom. With my whole family being from Colombia, it was normal, in fact, expected, that I would soon love black coffee, as it practically runs through my veins and all those before me. With each cup of black coffee, I feel a tether of connection to my family living in Colombia.

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Each morning, it is the physical and emotional act of making my coffee that appeals to me even more so than drinking it. Performing each step in the process undoubtedly constitutes the most peaceful moments of my day. It grants me a moment of being present in my life; a moment of absolute stillness.

 

I used to view making my coffee each morning as a chore; just another reason I had to wake up earlier for, as if I didn’t already wake up early enough for school. However, as my days became busier, and the moments to myself lessened, I found myself deeply appreciating this meditative daily ritual of solitude. 

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With this body of work, I want the viewer to wake up; to appreciate the simple moments in life no matter how insignificant they may appear. To show that one can find stillness in the most unexpected moments, ironically even when making one's daily caffeine. 

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In creating this series, I printed each image and individually soaked them in coffee for different amounts of time, ranging from 5 minutes to 40 hours. My goal was to create various tints of sepia/ textured paper to resemble that familiar early morning light. I also wanted the tones to represent the different strengths of coffee.