Coffee

I like coffee. I like it a lot. I like it strong, hot, sweet and light. I like at least 3 cups a day. I get caffeine withdrawel headaches if I don't have some everyday (in emergencies, diet coke works as a substitute).

Last night Zelly and I went shopping and coffee was on the list. I pulled the cart up to the grinder so that Zelly could watch. She was fascinated all the different kinds of coffee, she wanted to smell them all. When the grind was complete, I let her smell it. "Mmmmmm, that 'mells good, mommy."

I related this story to wndl this morning. She remembered how disappointed she was with her first taste of coffee, when she discovered it didn't taste as good as it smelled. I remember being in high school and resolving that I would never be a coffee drinker. Ahhh, the idealism of youth. My parents drank theirs black, my dad without any sugar. It just didn't taste that great to me.

Obviously I did become a coffee drinker, started in college - no big surprise. It became a staple, a requirement for enduring long hours of studying. It also became a part of social interaction.

During the late 80s and early 90s, I sustained a two to three-a-day habit of double mochas/lattes (let's not calculate the money I spent, ok?) but my first exposure to espresso wasn't love at first sip. At some point in 1983 or '84, the brother and sister-in-law of a friend returned from Italy. The brother had been in the Army over there. The brought back various substances, including espresso and espresso paraphernalia. I was introduced to this form of coffee while sitting around a little coffee table in their apartment. I was a veteran coffee drinker of about 2 years by then and accustomed to drinking large quantities of brew. They brought out this little silver colored espresso pot and tiny little cups. I thought, sheesh, I hope they're gonna brew more, cuz that won't be enough. That was before I tasted it. They poured for all of us and invited us to taste. I looked around for something white and something sweet to add, but these were espresso snobs. They turned their noses up and said that if I *had* to, I could have some sugar, but that I should try it first. They were going on about the customary Italian way of drinking it and all the culture and social traditions, blah blah blah. I tasted it and stifled a gasp. Oh. My. Gord. That was the strongest thing going by the name of coffee I'd ever touched my tongue to. I wasn't tough enough for the real espresso experience, apparently, I had to add sugar. It still went down hard and I didn't ask for seconds.

I stopped drinking coffee while I was preggers because my stomach couldn't take it. I switched to drinking caffeinated tea, but not as much as the coffee I was drinking before. My coffee intake slowing built up again from there. At various points in my coffee drinking history, the 'wet white' in my coffee was a non-dairy, fat-free creamer. It makes sense from the caloric intake standpoint, but not from the taste standpoint. A non-dairy creamer is ok in a pinch, but the best thing is 1/2 and 1/2. Creamy, caloric goodness. It's one of the little pleasures I allow myself even in the midst of dieting. Cutting it out would reduce my caloric intake, sure, but it would reduce my coffee pleasure far too much.

Coffee Fantasy Moment:
I'm sitting on the back steps at home, it's not quite mid-morning, the sun is out and it's going to be hot later, but right now it's just pleasant. The air still has that fresh morning feel. I've got a cuppa in my hands, warming me inside and out. I'm looking over my immaculate yard to my lush garden. The birds are singing and I'm in no hurry to do anything but sit there.

Posted by buggy at March 27, 2003 10:46 AM