Author’s Note: This is another list based on the Take Ten For Writer’s prompt book by Bonnie Neubauer. The original post explains it here, and my new word list is coffee, a bicycle, cookies and a female relative. I didn’t realize how much I could write about coffee until I started. This time, I took a lot longer than ten minutes to write.
I wasn’t more than five or six when I had my first taste of coffee. I must have begged my grandmother to let me try hers because I distinctly remember her spooning some into my glass of milk. I’m sure I felt extremely grown up drinking it, but I didn’t start seriously drinking coffee until I moved back home after college. My mother has had a two-cup-a-day habit as long as I can remember, so I started drinking coffee with her. It was a special ritual that only the two of us shared, as my sister was in college and my dad has never been a coffee drinker. I like my coffee strong, slightly bitter (but not burned) with no sugar and about 1/3 skim milk (down from about 1/2 milk when I started drinking it. Of course, when I got married, I got a Mr. Coffee drip coffee maker, but I never really used it much because you have to make at least three cups to make it taste right. I drink one cup every morning (and my husband doesn’t drink hot beverages) so I was appalled at how much coffee I was wasting. I got a Keurig single cup coffee maker for Christmas 2010, and I started drinking coffee again in earnest. My favorite KCup flavors are hazelnut, southern pecan, Folger’s Vanilla Biscotti and Caramel Drizzle.
The funny thing about my relationship with coffee is that I get absolutely no buzz off of it whatsoever. I limit myself to two cups a day at most, and I never drink coffee after noon because it gives me a stomach ache when I do. I don’t feel especially peppy after I drink it, nor do I get in a mood if I don’t. I really don’t notice any difference between regular and decaf, so why do I drink it? Because the ritual is what gets me going every morning. I am not now, nor have I ever been, a morning person, but a good cup of coffee gives me something to look forward to when I drag myself out of bed. I drink coffee for the flavor and the warmth–everyone who knows me knows I am the world’s only cold blooded human, so a warm cup of coffee is what I need to get my juices flowing. My husband jokes that I have two personalities, Jennie BC (before coffee) and Jennie AC (after coffee). Jennie BC is muddled and somewhat profane, but Jennie AC is mellow and able to move on with the day. I think he likes Jennie AC much better, and, quite frankly, so do I.
Jen's Rambling Thoughts... 
The keurig made a lot of difference in my coffee habits, too. But really, it’s as much about the ritual as it is about the coffee, isn’t it?
Yes. to completely misquote the Snickers commercials, I’m not me without my coffee;)
Jen, you had me hooked simply by using the word “coffee” in your title. Fun to read your introduction into the gentle art of imbibing daily until your last breath. I didn’t start drinking coffee until I was inducted into the Army many a moon ago. Today I tend to swill about three mugs a day. I don’t get a buzz either, but I feel empty, alone and somehow bereft of hope for the destiny of our planet, let alone myself, if I don’t drink it daily. Could this be the siren song of addiction? Is there such a thing as CA (Coffeeholics Anonymous)? If so, I’m still not ready.
Mmm… I love coffee, too. Two cups every morning. I never thought about the ritual of drinking coffee, but now that you mention it, I love that part, too. When I wake up in the morning, it’s the first thing I search for. Thanks for the coffee talk!
Thank you for stopping by! Yes, coffee is something I need in the mornings, regardless of my inability to wake up with it.
I absolutely love coffee! I am a big fan of several of your favorite flavors, too. I usually order toffee nut at Starbucks, but like hazelnut and pecan, along with caramel. I usually do something you don’t do, I add a “sweet and low” or sugar, depending on if I am at home or out and about. I also, love the flavored creamers, especially Bailey’s and the ones that don’t have hydrogenated fat. I don’t mind the sugar, just have to watch the cholestrol. Thanks for this yummy post! I love the smell of coffee wafting in the air! I drink iced in the summertime.