The Coffee Connection

There was a time in my not too distant past when I secretly chuckled at the sight of people standing in line at Starbucks.     After all, who in their right mind would pay four bucks for a cup of coffee?

 And then there is that intimidating language barrier.   I’ve only recently learned what a “barista” is……and I still haven’t figured out what “latte” actually means.   Is that the foamy top or does that refer to the lighter color when you add milk??    And all that really only scratches the surface.  What about espressos, cappuccinos and macchiatos…oh my!!  If you stand in line, trying to decipher all this stuff, with a crowd in back of you there is definitely going to be a riot.  I had decided I was just too lazy to become a coffee snob, so it was Maxwell House for me.

And then came Keurig.  It started innocently enough as a Christmas gift from our kids.   I figured it wouldn’t be my favorite appliance, but what the heck.   Little did I know this thing produced the crack cocaine of coffee, and I would be totally hooked.

It’s been a year since I said goodbye to Maxwell House.  No….I don’t stand in line, but I buy the little “pods” of coffee that hold the brown elixir I have become so addicted to by the case now.   Oh yes, by the case.

Last week we were having breakfast in a restaurant and my husband and I both turned down coffee refills.  Nothing tastes right any more unless it’s been squeezed and steamed and swooshed through the silver Keurig machine that sits on my countertop at home.   The first person out of bed in the morning at our house is responsible for turning on the pot.   If I’m still in bed I wait till I hear the pot makes it moaning “ooooh oooow” sound informing me it is now possible to get a good cup of coffee should I decide to get out of my nice warm bed.   The coffee is so good it gets me moving every time.

You might think I’m getting a commission from Keurig….I assure you I am not.  I am not happy with myself because this feels a lot like some strange addiction, and that goes against my grain.   I get that small tug of worry when I see the bottom of the box of coffee pods looking up at me….and that seems to be happening a lot more often.   I thought we’d drink less coffee, making it a cup at a time it would seem logical, right?   Wrong!!    It’s a trick.

So….I have gotten over my smug “who’d stand in line for a cup of coffee at four bucks a pop” attitude.  I realize I have a problem.  I am hooked on Green Mountain, Nantucket Blend coffee from my wheezy, cranky, Keurig coffee machine.  It’s not something that makes me proud, but there it is….but before you judge me try a cup yourself.  And then get used to carrying a thermos, buying coffee by the case instead of the can….and feeling like a dope.   It’s that good.   And life is good…….