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Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

Coffee: Addiction or passion?

I grew up loving the smell of fresh-brewed coffee every morning. One parent was a coffee-lover, one parent wouldn't touch the stuff.

My household now is the same way. I love it, my husband will proudly say he has never let it touch his lips.  (I have no idea why he is proud of this, but he is.)  Occasionally he will burst into a song from his childhood piano lessons, "C - O - F - F - E - E;  Coffee is NOT for me..."

I remember when I started drinking coffee somewhat regularly. I was in college. (No, not for late-night studying...those nights were why Mountain Dew was invented; the soda with one of the highest caffeine contents available.) The very brisk walk to the cafeteria for breakfast before 8 a.m. class in the extreme northern Iowa cold winters was made more bearable while smelling, then consuming, a delicious hot cup of joe.

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Friends mock my coffee maker.  I have a small one; it only brews a maximum of 5 cups at a time. But for me, it is perfect. As I said, I am the only coffee drinker in my house, and I don't care to consume more than 1 or 2 cups at a time. And I do not drink it every day. Almost, but not quite.

Recently I splurged and purchased the Mr. Coffee Cafe Latte maker.  (It makes only two servings, by the way.) I love this thing.  It allows me to "Save over $500 a year!" as boldly stated on the box, by reducing my trips to Starbucks drastically.

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My friend Cheryl, a voracious reader, told me recently that she read in a book the assertion that Starbucks isn't really selling coffee, they are selling you a "treat." That what we are all looking for, truly (warning: this is about to get kind of gross), is mother's milk. Warm drink, made for you, served to you. In a cup. There you go.

Maybe the author is correct. I know that I do look forward to my warm treat, whether made by my own hand, or Mr. Coffee or Starbucks. Coffee makes me think of family and friends. I remember that I gave my grandmother a four-cup coffee maker when I had just graduated from college, after she complained that she did not need a 12-cup maker just for herself. She loved it. I still use that same coffee maker, as I inherited it back after she died. Coffee makes me think of my dad...that coffee maker is the brand Krups, and my extremely-biased German father recommended it as the best brand of coffee maker to buy.

I also remember the times I've gathered with family and friends at our local Kirkwood coffee shop, . I've met there with local Kirkwood friends and also family visiting from as far as Seattle. It's great to have a local shop nearby where both the coffee and the ambiance are warm.

I think I'll go make myself another cup.

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