My friend Cheryl sends tweets every morning with her coffee joint of the day. I used to live in Seattle, where the opportunities for self-caffeinating were as endless and varied as stars in the sky, so these tweets evoke a slight twinge of green-eyed envy within me.
My Jersey friends all live and die by their WaWa coffee, but any true coffee lover knows that you have to come to the Pacific Northwest to become a true brew snob (and this applies to beer as well - there are no good microbreweries East of the Rocky Mountains to my knowledge. If you know of one let me know, please).
I've loved coffee for as long as I can remember being an adult. When I was in college (yes, back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth and people commuted to work on the backs of mammoths and pterodactyls) I used to go to Starbucks for my caffeine pickup when there were only TWO Starbuck's storefronts in existence. IMAGINE THAT: TWO STARBUCK'S. Nowadays it seems like every municipality planning code requires a Starbuck's on every second block. I went to the University of Washington, and there was a store on The Ave. That was back when the Starbuck's Mermaid was a lot bigger and you could still see her boobs.
(In later years, when they wanted to enter the Saudi market, the logo got politically correct and the boobies went into hiding. Sad day.)
In my life BK (that's Before Kids) I used to go get my caffeine from the cafe's and the espresso stands. When I lived in Seattle I was just a few blocks from a little roastery called Cafe' Appasionato. The cozy setting with soft chairs and sofas, warm fire, newspapers and fresh pastries tempting me from the display case was no different than millions of other such coffee houses, but it was my neighborhood and therefore MY coffee house. Coffee here was reserved for weekends, when there was time for a leisurely morning stroll, past the corner store to grab a Seattle Times and then spend a quiet hour doing the crossword puzzle and enjoying my cafe au lait.
Workdays meant a quick run in for a latte (20 oz, triple shot, nonfat milk). Yes, back then you actually had to GO INTO THE SHOP for your coffee drink. It took a few years for the drive-through concept to catch on, but once it did, Boy-Howdy! You could get a latte ANYWHERE. Latte stands popped up in almost every location imagineable. My main requirements were that the barista's be personable and talented, and that the owner of the stand at least KNOW how to spell "Espresso" on the stand-up signs. (I refuse to buy a latte from anyone who refers to it by spelling or pronunciation as "Expresso." SHUDDER.)
Now that I have kids and the logical consequence of a budget, I have to settle for making my coffee at home. Nonetheless, there are rules and standards for this too. I like my coffee fresh ground. Canned coffee grounds are a no-no. In 1998 when I moved to New Jersey to live with J, it was a terrible shock and disappointment to learn that my new partner and his parents needed to be schooled in the intricacies of good coffee. When I woke up the first morning and found the only coffee in the house was a big fat blue can of Folger's - and that the only coffee pot was an old percolator - I nearly sat on the kitchen floor and wept.
The one area that I currently compromise on, mostly out of financial necessity, is my beans. I can't afford the beans I would like to have, so I buy mine at Costco. Starbucks roasts for them, so its not as bad as it could be, although if I were buying the beans I really wanted to get I would be getting Torrefazione Napoli*, but I really can't justify the expense. Or can I? Mama needs her caffeine.
My coffee is made every morning with filtered water and freshly ground beans. I drink it with organic 2% milk, no sugar. The first cup is enjoyed while I check email and read the blogs I follow. Cup two assists me with getting dressed and putting on my "work face." Cup three travels in the car with me and gives me that last infusion of LIFE needed to face the day.
Coffee. Love of my life. How do you take yours?
*I have not been paid or requested to provide endorsements for Cafe Apassionato, Starbucks, Costco or Torrefazione. These are my personal preferences and are only represented as such.
