COFFEE & ME...A LOVE STORY

My first experience with coffee was not a particularly pleasant one. I was eighteen years old, working in an office with several "older" women in their twenties and thirties. We got a fifteen-minute break every morning, at which time we would go to the coffee shop next door for coffee and donuts, and to catch up on the latest office gossip.

In the beginning, I ordered my donuts with a tall glass of cold milk instead of coffee. I'd never actually had a cup of coffee; but one morning as a child, I took a sip of my mom's coffee and hated it. It tasted stale, burnt, bitter, and extremely unappealing. 

Hence, I was a confirmed dairy queen. My co-workers teased me about my milk habit, calling me "the Baby." Every day they chided me to grow up and at least try the coffee. So one morning I did. And it was dreadful...

I poured a little "whitener" into my cup of coffee; then another; and another; followed by a packet of sugar; then another; and another; until it was drinkable, albeit transformed into a sticky sweet, vaguely milk-like, java tinged liquid; lukewarm because there was so much additive, and almost as white as my slightly stained ceramic cup. It was still pretty awful; but bearable. And it became my morning go-to beverage for years.

To be fair, the coffee shop next door wasn't actually a coffee shop; at least not like the high quality specialty shops of today. No, it was a diner; with biscuits and gravy, country ham and eggs, pancakes, donuts, and stale, burnt, bitter coffee, just like Mom's. But it was cheap; and it was bottomless, assuming you could stand to drink more than one cup.

In the seventies, I was introduced to Café du Monde in New Orleans. I fell hard for the warm, powdered sugar dusted beignets and the milky/chicory wonderfulness of their world famous café au lait. Later at Starbucks, I developed an appreciation for frothy cappuccinos and creamy lattes, although I was never a fan of coffee drinks; confections topped with whipped cream and flavored syrups. 

These days, numerous chains and independent coffee shops and premium coffee roasters are paving the way for an enlightened coffee culture that values quality coffees as refined and nuanced as fine wines.

Over time, my coffee shop drinking experience has become more sophisticated, however my coffee drinking experience at home hasn't advanced much beyond purchasing better quality coffee beans and using a French press. But now I'm ready to up my game, by trying more brands and varieties of coffee at home, and experimenting with different brewing methods. 

And of course, I will continue to go to great coffee shops, and enjoy (and write about!) fine quality, personally and professionally prepared coffee. ☕

I ❤ Coffee!