Week 7 - Coffee

My appreciation for coffee didn't start until after my induction into the National Weather Service...and shift work. I knew I was in for a caffeinated life when, on my first day at work, they asked me if I was a cold caffeine or hot caffeine drinker. Not water, not fruit juice, just a very general “what temperature do you take your caffeine?"

I'd always enjoyed the smell of coffee but could never get past the bitter taste. I masked the bitterness with hot chocolate mix, then moved on the cream and sugar, then got away with just cream. I could never make it past that to the mythical "black as night" coffee. You know, the kind spoke of in hushed whispers by the cooler or drunk by lifeless coworkers on midnight shifts. Turns out there's a reason it was bitter. It wasn't made correctly.

Then it happened. My friend David moved in. Not only did my productivity tank on Saturday mornings (he's really good conversation), but I was shown how coffee is supposed to be made. That morning I drank black coffee. I tasted a little bitterness, then it passed, making way for the flood of flavors that quickly followed. It was rich and full, sparking memories of mornings with my grandparents, and rainy afternoons.  I've been drinking it that way ever since.