I am an admitted drug addict. Don’t start planning an intervention just yet. I have it somewhat under control. I am not alone in this, by the way. In the U.S. alone, more than 75% of the population shares my obsession.
I love coffee. I need coffee. I would not want to live without coffee. I got it bad and I don’t want to be cured. I won’t go to rehab... no, no, no! It is the last of my vices and I am not changing. For the record, I am half English and my maternal grandmother made certain that I had a rich appreciation for tea. I have at least one cup of tea every day, between my cups of coffee.
I am not a connoisseur by any means, but I know good coffee when I taste it. I don’t have the foggiest idea what the difference is between Arabica and Robusta beans, but I can tell in a second if coffee is swill or nectar of the gods.
Coffee makes the morning special. This is probably way too much information, but I actually get the coffee going before I even go to the bathroom. I am often dancing in my pajamas, but I don’t want to wait any longer than necessary to take that first intoxicating sip. Speaking of dancing, did you know that coffee was discovered because of dancing? It was dancing goats, to be exact. Legend has it that centuries ago in the Ethiopian highlands, a goat herder named Kaldi noticed that his goats became very spirited and began dancing when they ate the berries off a certain tree. Being a good religious man, he reported his findings to the monks in the monastery. The monks made a drink from the berries and found that it kept them awake and alert for the long hours of evening prayer. The rest is history. Let’s fast forward to 2013. There are more than 20,000 coffee houses in the United States alone. There’s everything from mom and pop shops to Starbucks and everything in between.
Coffee is a powerful drink. It’s actually a commodity. Only gasoline ranks higher. It’s important in other ways, as well. People get acquainted over coffee and fall in love. Couples plan their future, business deals are made, tests are crammed for and beautiful dinners all involve drinking coffee.
Coffee is so important to me that a few years ago I invested in a single-cup machine. It’s one of the best things I ever did for myself. I don’t want to sound like a commercial, but every time I brew myself one perfect cup of coffee, I feel like a celebrity. I have my Keurig set to turn itself at 6 a.m. The blue “on” light illuminates my dark kitchen and greets me each morning like my own private sunrise. With a hot cup of coffee in hand, it isn’t long before I am snuggled on my outdoor couch with my puppies, communing with the birds and admiring the great outdoors. Coffee makes mornings an event.
Even though I am a devout coffee drinker, I am not an extremist. There is plenty of great coffee out there without spending a fortune. In fact, some of the best coffee comes from little hole in the wall places. I am not a snob. Good coffee is good coffee, whether it is served in a paper cup or Rosenthal china. My only rule is no Styrofoam. I won’t eat or drink out of that crap and you shouldn’t either. It takes 500 years to disintegrate.
Have you heard about the most expensive coffee in the world? It comes from Indonesia, but more importantly, it comes from weasel poop. This animal called a palm civet eats the soft outer part of the coffee “cherry”, but does not digest the hard inner beans. It then excretes them and they are gathered and roasted to make Kopi Luwak coffee. It is believed that the journey through the animal’s digestive system adds a unique flavor to the brew. I bet! It sells for $600 a pound and sometimes $50 a cup. And I thought Starbucks was expensive.
So now you know about my habit. If you ask me, I consider coffee drinking to be an art. I have included a photo of the LoveFifi.com coffee bar here at the office so you can see where all my dancing goats and I grab a cup before our morning meeting.
And just for fun, in case you haven’t had enough yet... I am including an incredible array of photos from the premier coffee artist of the world. I will never be able to drink a plain cappuccino again! Enjoy!
