High school teacher goes viral for his spot-on impression of Keurig coffee maker
A high school biology teacher is getting a lot of attention for his impression of a familiar morning noise.
On July 3, TikTok user Devon Bowker (@devonthenatureguy) posted a minute-long video that quickly went viral. In the video, which has already garnered 1.4 million views in less than 24 hours, Bowker sits in the front seat of a car as he transports us to the sound of a brewing cup of morning joe.
“This is my impression of a Keurig coffee maker,” Bowker says at the start of the video. What follows is his imitation of the low groan of the water being drawn into the maker, followed by the water being heated up and finally the brewed coffee being dispensed. It's uncanny.
After Bowker finishes his impression, he looks into the camera and breaks a calm smile. And the comments section is filled with unanimous praise for the funny impression performed with the utmost seriousness.
“Amazing no notes,” wrote one TikTok user.
“Breathtaking performance,” commented another.
“Idk what’s more impressive, the accuracy or the fact that you did that for so long while maintaining a straight face,” wrote someone else.
“You transported me. It was early. I could smell the coffee. Bravo,” commented another TikTok user.
“If you listen with a mug in your hand it’s more immersive,” wrote someone else.
“That was perfect. looked over to make sure my keurig wasn’t in,” commented yet another.
One TikToker even put Bowker’s impression to the test, dueting the video with their own Keurig machine brewing a cup.
“8/10,” the TikToker wrote in the video's on-screen caption. The duetter even took great care to match the mug in their clip to Bowker’s sweatshirt — a truly inspired choice.
For Bowker, all this attention on his funny little impression is surprising, if not a little perturbing, given what he usually posts about on his social media channels.
“I’m a biology teacher, and that’s the funny thing: I post a lot of science and educational content and it seems to be that every time I have a video get kind of big, it has nothing to do with it,” Bowker, a 10th grade teacher in Minnesota, tells TODAY.com. “It’s the stuff that I do as a one off just thinking, ‘Oh, this is kind of funny.’ And then all of a sudden, it’s like a runaway train.”
Although his students are currently on summer break, Bowker says he has seen some of them leaving comments now that the video has made it big.
“I’ve seen a few of them in my comment section, that’s for sure, like ‘Why is Mr. Bowker on my FYP?’” he says with a laugh before adding that he’s actually done the impression for them before. “There’s been times where I’ve forgotten my Keurig wasn’t plugged in my classroom, and I’ll do that whole thing: Act like I’m filling up my cup and say, ‘Oh, wait, I’ve got to plug it in.’ They usually just kind of sigh.”
Bowker, who says he's "a sucker" for the Pacific Bold roast from Kirkland/Costco or a "classic Starbucks Pike Place," also notes that his video proves something he tries to express to his students in the classroom.
“It’s funny, but it speaks to the factor of authenticity, not being afraid to be kind of off the wall and silly. People respond to that,” Bowker says. “I think a lot of people are afraid to go there and are worried about their brand and image or being made fun of.”
As for whether or not he’s taking his show on the road, so to speak, by doing impressions of other household objects, he may have another coffee machine up his sleeve.
“I’ve gotten a bunch of requests for an espresso, which to my understanding from hearing espressos is they’re a lot more abrupt and a lot more deep and rumbly at the beginning,” Bowker says, adding that he thinks his vocal chops can handle that.
But what about the French press? We think, beecause it makes an oh-so-specific gurgle, Bowker could probably make it sing.
“Yeah, I could pull that off, I bet,” he says.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
