For as long as I can remember, I have loved coffee. My first memory of it was when I was about three or four years old. My mother and grandmother were sitting there having a cup and I wanted some too. So my grandmother got out one of her cute little demitasse cups, she had a beautiful collection of them, and made me a cup that was mostly milk and sugar with just a little coffee in it. That was it! I was hooked! After that day I remember that I would beg for a cup of coffee every chance I got. Occasionally I would get my little cup’s worth, but not very often. They kept telling me that it really wasn’t good for me, and that it would stunt my growth. But I didn’t care, I just wanted to taste that wonderful nectar of the gods.
By the time I hit my teens, my mother pretty much gave up and let me have a cup every morning. I still drank it with cream and a couple teaspoons of sugar. But I loved it, everything about it; the smell of the grounds and when it was freshly brewing, the warmth of it going down, the taste of that first sip in the morning. And, of course, I loved the caffeine buzz. I am not, and never was, a morning person, so I need my coffee kick to get my motor running.
Well what started out as a little morning kick has now become a full blown addiction. The first thing I do every morning is make a pot of coffee. I drink it from the time I get up until I go to bed, and I drink little else. And yes, I can and do have a cup right before bedtime, with no problems sleeping at all.
And not only am I addicted to coffee, but I’m addicted to Starbucks coffee. That started about 15 years ago when the first Starbucks came to our area. Or should I say, the area where my daughter took daily dance lessons. You see, the dance studio was on the second floor, and the Starbucks was right below it. Now wasn’t that convenient? Then we moved to Wisconsin and the place we live now has a Starbucks exactly one block away from us. We’ve been here 11 years and I still have no intention of moving. Yes, I do love where I live, but part if it is being close to “my” Starbucks. I’m there so often that they know me by name and usually know what I’m going to drink.
Now I’m not a fancy coffee drinker. I just like a good strong cup of great coffee. Yes, occasionally I will have a mocha. But that’s not really coffee. It’s hot chocolate with a kick. And once in a great while I’ll have a latte, probably because it reminds me of the coffee my grandma used to fix me long ago. But my usual order is the coffee of the day and I still put cream in it. I did give up the sugar many years ago. It just has too many calories and is bad for you. Hahaha!!! And in the summer, I usually drink Iced coffees or coffee fraps. But not until after I’ve had my first cup of hot coffee in the morning in front of the air conditioner. Yes, I know, I’m crazy. So what else is new?
I’ve even become somewhat of a coffee connoisseur. Like a wine connoisseur, I understand all the flavors and subtleties that are in specific types of coffee beans. I know which beans I like, and I know exactly why I like them. My preferences are a clean, smooth coffee, usually from the south and central Americas. As opposed to the African and Indonesian blends that, to me, taste like dirt. And I’m not 100% sure if this is true but, a barista at Starbucks told me that is because those regions do not wash the beans before they roast them. As a matter of fact, I’m so obsessed with my favorite blend, which is only out for a limited time each year, that I buy 10 to 15 pounds so that it will last.
You’re probably thinking right about now that I must have terrible health. But the truly funny thing is that I’m the healthiest person I know. I almost never catch anything that is going around, and if I do, I don’t get it as bad as everyone else. And actually coffee can even be used for medicinal purposes. It can get rid of a headache, increases the strength of pain killers, is a natural bronchodilator, help with weight loss, and reduce your risk of diabetes. And I think it’s funny how medical science has a different report out almost weekly saying, coffee is bad for you; no, now coffee is good for you. I don’t know and I don’t care. Either way, what I do know is that I love it and I will drink it until the day I die.
4 comments:
THANK YOU, dear friend, for introducing me to the 1st coffee (Starbuck's of course) that ever tasted as good as it smelled.
I spent the 1st 50 years of my life as an NDC (non-coffee drinker). When I told dear friend's (author's) daughter, she looked at me incredulously & asked, "Why?"
It was easy, I explained: Maxwell House was not good from the 1st sip let alone to the last drop. The best part of waking up did not include Folgers in MY cup. They all smelled great while brewing, but without fail, every one failed to satisfy my need for a flavor that the aroma promised. All tasted like bad-tasting water.
Dear friend gently coaxed me to try a sip of her favorite Starbuck's brew. My paradigm shift began in my mouth & at the speed of light, changed my brain.
My next cup was espresso. I sowed my wild oats & eventually settled down to double-strong doses. I learned how to increase the taste by using an espresso maker. I discovered flavored coffees, which is all I consume now.
I don't need it 1st thing in the a.m. I wait & savor my single cup after I've had my morning water (3 pints b4 breakfast).
And now each day when I take a break from house work, farm chores & eBay & settle down with my little coffee-filled green w/ white daisies teapot & a Nonni's biscotti for dipping while I do my Sudoku, I think of you each.
And from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.
bonneebee
Excellent blog! I love coffee but certainly not as much as you! I, too, love the smell of the grounds. When my coffee pot at home is brewing, it's the longest 5 minutes of my life! Great writing, can't wait to read more!
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