December 15, 2010

Many moons ago, my beloved and I were unrepentant coffee drinkers.

Perhaps “drinkers” is the wrong noun. I’m a writer, I should be able to come up with the noun that fits. Let’s see, we could try, imbibers, consumers, no, no, I have it: guzzlers!

Yes, we were both guzzlers, and when I think about the amount of coffee we ingested each day it makes me shudder now. It was enough that a large container of coffee (975 grams or 2.15 pounds) would last us a week and a bit. Scary, huh?

Those days are long gone, for both of us. I, of course, have to watch my caffeine intake as I do have a heart condition. My beloved says he doesn’t drink what he used to because he no longer smokes, and that could likely be true. Coffee and a cigarette used to go together like a hand in a glove, at least for me it did. Yes, I too am a former smoker. When I quit (eight years ago on December 2nd) I smoked two packs a day. My beloved did as well, and he had been a smoker for 40 years. He quit the same time I did.

So, here we are, non-smokers, reformed coffee guzzlers. We do, however, still drink the beverage. We each of us average two cups a day. Generally, if I want more, I drink decaffeinated.

During my visit to Indiana this past September, I had coffee differently than I’d ever had it before. My hostess had a one-cup coffee machine, with all sorts of little plastic “coffee cups” you could choose from to insert into the machine. Heck, there were even some teas available too. I was doubtful at first. Just ask my closest friends, I am a purist when it comes to my coffee. No flavor shots; no flavoured blends or creamers. Despite the best efforts of some very beautiful and talented fellow authors, Morgan refuses to go over to the dark side. But I also needed my morning coffee, so I tried it.

Oh. My. Goodness!

When I came home, I discovered this very same machine was on sale at a location near me. Yes, I went right out and bought it.

My beloved, bless him, only raised one eyebrow. He said nothing, and when invited to, finally chose one of the sample coffees that had come with the machine. He picked a “bold” blend of coffee.

He said, “Oh. My. Goodness!”

Yep. Instant new addiction. Though we still limit ourselves to our two cups a day, each cup is fresh, and wonderful. It didn’t matter that I had to order my coffee from Quebec. It didn’t matter that the coffee is more expensive than buying a regular “975” gram container (although I did get an adapter for the machine so I can use my own coffee in it, I haven’t done so yet). All that mattered is that this coffee was good; and if you’re only going to have a couple of cups of it a day, you might as well have what’s very, very good.

And this trend, in this area, is taking off. Forget about the claim that our consumption of bottled water is going to bury the planet in non-biodegradable plastic bottles. It’ll be the empty little coffee cups that will drown us.

In the mean time, a friend of mine has one of these machines too. And when I visited last week, he told me of a retail store just a few minutes from his house, where I could get an amazing selection of these coffees and teas.

My beloved and I went there last Thursday evening. Yes, the exact same coffee I was ordering on line is right there, not close, but certainly close enough—and with a larger selection, too.
I believe that in time, I will earn my very own designated parking spot in front of that store.

Love,
Morgan