Coffee...Ah, The Memories

Whenever I enjoy a nice cup of coffee, it conjures up many a nice memory. I remember the first trip I made to a coffee house. I was in high school...either a junior or senior (you can see how well my memory works!)...and my friends and I made a trip to the MT Cup on the Ball State University campus. We all tried to play it cool...like we knew what we were doing. I'm sure we weren't fooling anyone...We were just a bunch of skater punks that had noticed a new business was open where we could loiter and perhaps use their restroom facilities.

So, we walked into the MT Cup and there were all kinds of college students around...and they all gave us that annoyed "here come the skaters" look. We walked up to the counter and started placing orders like we were coffee pros, which none of us were. At this point in my life, I had tasted coffee candy and coffee ice cream...I thought both were disgusting! As I stood in line and listened to my non-coffee drinking friends order mochas, lattes, grande machiattos, and other drinks with grand names, I became slightly intimidated. It was at that moment that I remembered reading in a book or a magazine (I think it was in Cigar aficionado...my friends and I were in to cigars!) that ordering and drinking espresso elevated ones level of coolness.

As I ordered the double shot of espresso, the girl at the counter looked at me and said, "Do you know what you're doing?" I answered, "Of course! I drink this stuff all the time...ALL THE TIME!" My friends were impressed...I ordered a double shot of thick, pure, unadulterated espresso...and they had just ordered these sweet girlie drinks...wimps. Of course, at this point, I still had no clue what a double shot of espresso was...and then the drinks came out.

My friends "girlie" drinks were pretty! They had whipped cream, chocolate and caramel dripped all over...oh, and they were HUGE. Then came the double shot of espresso...Originally, I thought the drink would be ridiculously huge, given the size of my friends drinks and that I had ordered a double. So, imagine my surprise when I was handed this tiny cup on a saucer...It looked like a three year old girls tea set...and a double shot of espresso sure didn't look like much.

We took our seats and my friends began to enjoy their sweet coffee concoctions, leaving mustaches of whipped cream...which my friends were extremely proud of. I took my first sip of the espresso and thought to myself, "I think the barista filled my cup with raw sewage or dirt or something that a human being should not consume." Then, I took a few more sips and my taste-buds either got used to the taste or simply had become comfortably numb...to my surprise, I was enjoying the liquid dirt I was consuming. Not only did I begin to enjoy the espresso, I enjoyed the side-effects that came with the consumption of said espresso. I could get a nice caffeine rush without having to drink a huge bottle of Mt. Dew.

Eventually, I branched out from the double shot of espresso. I learned early on in my coffee drinking experience that I do not enjoy sweet coffee drinks. I like my coffee black and strong. However, I don't like my coffee hot. I tend to enjoy my coffee at room temperature...I'm not a fan of hot drinks...they make me sweaty!

I've now become somewhat of a coffee snob. My coffee beans are purchased whole, as close to the roasting date as possible, and freshly ground prior to brewing. I want nothing to do with Folgers or any of that $5 for a can the size of Montana...sure it's a value...but is it worth the pain of having coffee that tastes like nothing. I won't go to Starbucks...that's a whole post of its own...let's just say they are an evil corporate empire that burn coffee beans when they roast them and tell the consumer to like it because it's fast and hot.

Anyway...I love coffee! It started out on the wrong foot...the double shot of espresso didn't work me into a love for coffee gradually...it was sort of an in-your-face introduction to the world of coffee. But, I wouldn't go back and change it for the world.

Well, my cup is empty...time to go get a refill!