Ode to Coffee

I can't remember exactly when I tried my first cup of coffee. I seem to remember putting coins in a vending machine outside a lecture hall in college, caving into peer pressure.

Over the years I have turned into something of a coffee snob. I'm not proud of it, but like most character traits, it developed slowly over a period of time, following the usual path: Chock Full o' Nuts.... Maxwell House... Dunkin' Donuts... Starbucks (where I am now, the pinnacle). Along the way I flirted with flavored coffees.

But the truth is, coffee for me has always been more of a relationship tool than a vice. I have done my best thinking with a steaming cup beside me; my wife and I sit morning and evening, talking "over coffee." Maybe you've heard the story of Michael Gates Gill (How Starbucks Saved My Life). Once a wealthy ad executive, he lost his job, his wife and his health. In desperation he took a job at Starbucks and entered into "a divine grace" that shaped his life and rescued him.

I won't go that far, but I can relate to the sentiment. And what about the storied Cup of Joe which was a source of warmth and comfort to battle-wearied troops in WW2? Who can say how many lovers sealed their vows sipping espresso on the Thames?

I'll stop here as the cup beside me is now empty.