coffee

Must have coffee. I love it. Everyday. I have to have it. Recently, I spent some time visiting a friend and he doesn't drink coffee or have a coffee maker in his house. Granted, they had a french press. Funny, how I could not find coffee, anywhere, in their house. Frustrated, I figured I would be able to stop at a convenience store, restaurant, anywhere, and get my fix. Instead, I ended up at a lamb roast where the only available beverage was beer. I thought I would die....somehow I managed to make it through the day without my standard cup of coffee. No headache or breakdown from lack of caffeine. Surprised since I have experienced that lovely caffeine non-stop headache. When I traveled around the world, I suffered through several cups of nescafe to counter that headache. Even in Belize, I drank a dreadful cup of Nescafe just to have my daily cup of coffee. Today, I stopped into a local place and ordered a standard cup of drip, dark roast, coffee. The girl behind the counter said, "If you can wait five minutes, I am brewing a fresh pot....do you mind waiting?" Absolutely not. I love fresh coffee. My dad used to drive routes through the midwest when I was a child. Several times, he told me he despised convenience store coffee that had been sitting all day or all night. He would always ask the clerk---Is this fresh? "Sure," he would be told. Only to discover that it could be a half hour fresh or longer. To him, and to me, this is not fresh coffee. While working in the service industry, I have always tried to stick to that standard. If the people wanted a good, fresh cup, I would brew a new pot. Always. Because I love fresh coffee. I can tell a difference, too. I miss the Goddess and the weekly running conversations and coffee. She would always bring me a pound of coffee from Allegro. Boy, do I miss the coffee. The last pound of it, I gave to my friend that lives in an Airstream. I thought of that today as I was patiently, waiting, for the perfect brewed cup. Foolish, I should have kept it for myself. I don't think he appreciated the coffee as much as I would have. In two weeks, I will run with her and stock up on more coffee--I hope. I never believed I could become so reliant on a beverage that wasn't wine....kidding. Coffee definitely wins that fight. It is a must have in my world.