Dear Coffee: Friends ?

I have something to say.

I have decided to keep coffee in my life beyond this week. I vow to research and find a cafe in the area that I’m in. One that I deem “good” using the information I’ve learned during my time with Coda Coffee Company, of course. I’m doing this because…I want to, and that’s always a good enough reason, in my opinion. But let’s go over the change in reasoning:

Reasons I Wasn’t About Coffee Then:

1. The need. I figured I would probably develop a dependency on the caffeine, and I didn’t want to waste time in my life feeding an addiction. Let’s ignore the fact that nearly EVERYTHING has caffeine, including medications, some ice creams, and even decaffeinated coffee! So, in theory, I could get “hooked” on anything if I ingested enough of it. Bummer thought process.
2. The taste. It’s horrible. Either I get my coffee “black,” a state I always personally described as “black-nasty,” or I get to put a ton of stuff in it (cream, sugar, and/or what have I) to alleviate the bitterness of the “black-nasty.” Again with the wasted time and effort. I had one moment where I thought that I should be more open to coffee additions to ease into the drink, maybe go extreme in a sort of bandaid-ripping motion, but as I said, it was only one moment.
3. The trend. I was a Psychology major in college. I like to know what’s up, why people want what they want, why people choose to do what they do. I can’t begin to count all the times that I’ve been with someone in the morning hours and I’ve heard variations of “I. Need. My. Coffee.” or “Can we drop by Starbucks real quick?” or “If I don’t get my cup of Joe, [insert name here in third person] is not going to be a happy camper today…” You get the idea. Me being me, I immediately ask what the point of coffee is, and why the person who is in desperate need loves this “coffee” thing so much. I usually get extremely poor and insufficient responses, most of which end with “I guess I don’t know. Everyone seems to drink coffee, so I just started drinking it too, and now I can’t stop.” In my mind, I’m thinking…I think I get it now. You start a busy day (or at some point, any day at all), you drink coffee to get you through it. You end a busy day, you drink alcohol to celebrate getting through it. You wanna meet with friends or make new ones, you go out to eat. Consume, consume, consume. Not me! Also, while at a New York Starbucks, I saw a small child ordering a cup. The barista (thankfully) asked the girl how old she was and if the drink for was for her. The girl said she was eight, and that yes, “duh”, the drink was for her. EIGHT! I was too shocked to wonder why her mother wasn’t around. But please note that once upon a time, an eight-year-old girl ordered a venti chai tea latte at Starbucks. For herself. Small children drink coffee. Okay, what happened to soda and juice? WATER?
4. The illness. For some reason, I believed that coffee was riddled with malady-causing agents. Whatever you can think of, coffee had it. Still not sure where I got this idea from…
5. The upbringing. My family isn’t about coffee, so I just never had the desire for the beverage. I suppose this reason alone would’ve sufficed. Sorry about that.

(Thinking back to periods of close-mindedness is always amusing, isn’t it?)

Reasons I’m About Coffee Now:

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Coffee cupping setup with ground coffee, no water.

I could talk about the health benefits of coffee, how the taste of “black” coffee is an acquired taste that I’m already beginning to appreciate thanks to a good “cupping” experience I had this week (and lately the idea of acquiring acquired tastes is a fun challenge to me…maybe I’ll try sushi again for lunch?),  and how I feel a connection to the culture of coffee producers, making me appreciate coffee even more.

I could even talk about how it’s important to drink other beverages (gatorade, tea) besides water because the variety will make your body stronger, as long as it’s in moderation (1 cup of coffee a day would be my personal limit), how the people who have mentored me and been so kind to me through this Program have lives that revolve around coffee, and how I owe it to them to at least try and understand their passion more. I could talk about all of this. In detail. But I won’t.

Simplicity should prevail here. I’m “about” coffee now because once more, I’ve found out that assumptions are life-drainers, and that we should seek to experiment, and experiment fully. More often than not, we may learn that we like way more things than we thought we did. We may learn that there is more richness to be had within something we had previously and so surely written off.

So that’s what I’m doing here. I’m opening myself up even more and making a new friend. Coffee, when we first met…well, before we even met, I thought you were trouble. But I see now that I was wrong. You’re not so bad. I could see us becoming good friends. Hopefully dogs, swimming, and many others can join us soon. You know how we humans can be. Sometimes it’s hard to trust, but we’re made to trust. So here I go. Please, forgive me for the pre-judgment.

So What About You?

What’s so great about coffee? What’s not-so-great about coffee? Explain your thoughts!

Gotta pack again…and I think I’ll get a bagel and some “black-nasty” too …Talk Soon!

-M

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