365 True Things: 18/Coffee

I could have titled this Addictions, too. Not that I'm physically addicted to coffee: I don't get headaches if I don't have my daily dose. But I do love having not just one but several cups of coffee in a day. I make it half-decaf, so I don't get strung out. Sometimes—when we go out to breakfast, say, and I decide to "splurge" on full caf—I do feel jittery afterward. I don't like that feeling. So half-caf is perfect.

When I was younger, I drank coffee with cream and sugar, as my parents also did. One year, though, I was traveling and found myself in Finland—and when the coffee was served, I didn't know how to ask for cream and sugar! (Now I know that it's kerma ja sokeri.) I learned then and there to like it black. Now, I prefer it that way, though if coffee is too dark a roast (as at Peet's), I will add a little cream. Never sugar.

My other go-to coffee drink is a skinny latte. I'm not big on flavors, or whipped cream, or cinnamon sprinkled on top. I like things plain. That said, I do enjoy the pretty little designs that baristas so lovingly draw in the foam.


Another coffee memory: I'd been in Italy for a couple of weeks, with its wonderful espresso. But I was missing a nice big cup of joe. From Italy, I went to London, and was walking along when I saw a beggar sitting on the pavement, a venti Starbucks cup in his upraised hand. My mouth started to water, and wherever I was headed was deferred until I could find a Starbucks, which I figured would be close by. It was. And
. . . imagine my surprise when the grande cup of plain coffee proved to be too much! Now I know to order a tall. (I should have gone back and dropped a quid in the beggar's cup, but I did not.)

I tell myself sometimes that it would be good to go every so often without coffee, or caffeine more generally (tea actually gets me buzzier), and have herbal tea instead. It doesn't happen, though. I like that beautiful bitter taste of coffee too much.