I had my first taste of coffee when I was 8. From a can from a vending machine in Tokyo. UCC: creamy, sugary coffee in a slim tan, red and white can. Kind of like a can of coke on a hot day, you just can't beat it. My parents were pretty liberal when it came to beverages. We were allowed to have sips of beer all growing up and tastes of coffee were not discouraged. But after we moved to the US, and there were no longer any vending machines lining the sidewalks with Kirin beer and UCC, I stopped drinking coffee.
It was not until I was 13 that I re-introduced myself to "coffee". I had been accepted to a pretty competitive all-girls prep school in Boston and we were assigned a paper that I knew was going to take me all night. My first all-nighter. My preparation required coffee, preferably black coffee. So, I went downstairs after my family had gone to sleep and made some coffee. I opened the cupboards, unscrewed the maroon colored top, measured out 2 heaping spoonfuls into a quart-sized pickle jar and added hot water. I stirred until the coffee crystals melted away…..
Since then, I have gone through differing phases of coffee. In high school, I drank black coffee from the cafeteria and frappuccinos from Coffee Connection. In college, I drank Green Mountain and Au Bon Pain with lots of cream and sugar. Then cappuccinos and lattes and americanos from local cafes and coffeeshops.
And in the past few years, I think that I have come full circle to really appreciating the taste of coffee. All of the different tastes. Not to drink it so that I could stay awake and get to class or finish a day's work. But to drink it to savor it. I still drink at least six cups of coffee a day, but lately, I have noticed that I enjoy every single one. Lately, our African coffees have made me fall in love with coffee again. We currently have 3 amazing coffees from Africa: Ethiopia, Rwanda and Kenya. I don't think that I ever had coffee like this until recently. Coffee that almost doesn't taste like coffee. Coffee that tastes like chocolate, apples, cherries, blueberries, cider, nectarines, peaches, apricots, dirt, and everyhing in between. Coffee that sparkles and weighs your tongue down with a syrupy sweetness. Coffee that tastes like juice and melted dark cocoa.
There are few things in life that I could not live without, but I am quite certain that my love for coffee is here to stay. It is my drug of choice. Something that brings me joy with every cup. Every morning, I look forward to the first sip of my first cup. And I know that it is going to be a good day, because I have had my coffee.
Here is a lost of coffee tastings for the month of January!!! Come taste some amazing coffees for FREE. We hope to see you there.
1/6 Tuesday: 12:30-1:30pm Diesel
1/10 Saturday 3:30-4:30pm Bloc 11
1/11 Sunday 3-4pm Diesel
1/15 Thursday 1-2pm Bloc 11
1/20 Tuesday 12:30-1:30pm Diesel
1/24 Saturday 3:30-4:30pm Bloc 11
1/25 Sunday 3-4pm Diesel
1/29 Thursday 1-2pm Bloc 11
