Coffee

I drink coffee.   I drink a lot of coffee.   I would guess that my average is about 6 cups a day.   There are a few days here and there where I don’t drink any, but it’s less than 5 days a year.   Sometimes I’ll only have a couple.   Most weekend days, for instance, I only have 2 cups.   On work days though, I will drink anywhere from 5 up to about 10.   I like it.   I like the way it makes me feel.

I have friends who are real coffee fanatics.   Some drink a lot more than me.   Some drink less, but will only drink very expensive coffee from certain places.   They can tell you about the different roasts and origins of the beans.   They will go on and on about the preparation differences and how that affects the final drink.   Frankly, I don’t really taste the difference.   It’s not that I couldn’t if I wanted to; it’s that I really don’t want to.  

I have studied and tasted beer to the point that I can immediately pick out styles and origins.   I can taste faults in the brewing process.    I can pick up subtle flavors and isolate them as particular regional qualities.    I can tell you, more or less, the mineral qualities of the water that was used.   I spent years learning to do this.    I now have to spend a fortune on beer, on the rare times that I drink it, because I have to buy the quality products that I know I will like.

I am now going through the same process with wine.  I’m actually pretty far along down the same path with wine appreciation.  I now spend even more money on wine than I ever did on beer.   I study and taste and learn to find the subtle differences between varietals, regions, and processes.    I really enjoy doing this and I wouldn’t change it.

What I don’t want to do is go down that path with coffee.    I want to drink a cup of Folger’s and think, “yummy, this is good.”   I want to be able to enjoy the brewed coffee at my office.   I don’t want to have to go down to the local gourmet coffee shop to get my fix.  I can’t afford it.