Cuppa

It’s early morning, I’ve made my pot of coffee, checked personal email, checked for comments here in Redacted Recipes (oh, how lonely it can be to keep publishing to silence!), and now it’s time to fire up the work email and deal with the issues I shut out at the end of the day on Friday. I should be working, but I’m enjoying this first cup of coffee and the quiet before the conference calls and meetings start.

Coffee is an acquired taste. As a child I loved the smell of fresh brewed (or percolated) coffee but found the taste bitter and indescribably terrible to my limited palate. I bought and drank my first entire cup of coffee early one chilly morning when I was about fifteen. I added plenty of cream and sugar and bought a glazed doughnut as well. I quite liked that first cuppa, as it basically tasted like hot coffee ice cream, something I’d developed a real taste for. Down it went, along with the doughnut, and I soon noticed that I was completely buzzed. "…so this is what people are talking about..."

I pretty quickly gave up the addition of sugar, but stuck with cream for years. I’d probably still be drinking my coffee with milk if I hadn’t hit a rough patch during which unreliable finances meant that having fresh milk on hand was not always a sure bet (there is nothing worse than watching milk curdle in your just poured cup of coffee). Switching to black simplified matters--at home, anyway. I've always thought it odd that I have to specify "black, no sugar," at every convenience store counter in the United States. Why isn't the way it comes out of the pot the default?

I’ve never used instant coffee. My parents did, of course--hardly anyone brewed coffee when I was growing up. I don’t know if instant was less expensive than grounds, or if it was just the love affair with convenience foods so pervasive to American society back then. I do know that brewed coffee was a special occasion thing. My first coffee maker was an electric percolator. To this day I find the sound of a percolator doing its thing very comforting. My next venture was a Melitta system made directly into a thermos carafe to keep it hot all day. I was married, had a small child and my ex-husband was finishing his doctorate, so coffee had become a daily necessity to keep us going. Eventually we moved on to buying whole grounds and a grinder. I’m not sure when we switched over to a French Press, but it’s been my method of choice ever since. I also own a lovely stovetop espresso maker, which I pull out when I’m in the mood for it.

I’m not an expert on coffee… I can’t identify types of beans in a blind test, but I know the difference between a good cup and a bad one. Knowing the difference doesn't keep me from drinking bad coffee when that's all there is, though. I like to get my beans from Porto Rico or Orens when I can, but I will also happily drink the swill supplied by the corner convenience store—especially if it comes in the classic blue and white cup with faux Greek styling.

Whoa, look at the time. I need to pour another cuppa and get to work!

Comments

[scully]

I may be silent in the comments but I read every word you (or Jack) write. Keep up the great work!

[Tonia S.]

I can't kick the sugar/cream thing. I will drink it black if in a rush or the sweet and creamy are conveniently available, but for the most part I love the hit of sweet followed by the backlash of bitterness all dressed in silky cream.

Okay, now I need a cup ...

[Sophie]

I've never been a fan of coffee, but this description made me want to try again and pick up a cup!