my new coffee grinder

man, it's not easy to find real coffee in this place. they sure do drink plenty of it because there is a coffee shop (starbucks, coffee bean, etc) on almost every corner..... but they obviously don't make coffee at home. the only kind of coffee you can find anywhere is either a really sweet and milky pre-made coffee in a can or a package of the instant mix, which consists of mostly powdered creamer & sugar. however, i found out you can get the big bags of starbucks-roasted coffee at costco, but i don't have a membership. one day, i came across a couple of these big bags of coffee at a foreign food market in itaewon, the gringo part of town. all they had was whole bean, so i said, what the heck. i planned to just take it to a nearby starbucks and have them grind the whole thing, but i never got around to doing that, plus i'm stubborn. so i started grinding it myself. i thought about buying an electric grinder, but at $40 and up, i'll pass. the apparatus in the picture, a nice wooden mortar & pestle, is actually an upgrade from what i initially used (a ceramic bowl & a glass jelly jar). drinking my coffee every morning takes some work, but now i appreciate its goodness all the more. who needs a gym membership, really? i need to work on using my left hand in this daily grinding and pounding task. if i don't, a difference might be visible in my arms after a whole year. ;)