Temptation, Thy Name Is Coffee

If everyone has an addiction, coffee is mine. Latte, espresso, caramel macchiato, cup o’ Joe, I’ll take it. Hot or cold, I’ll take it. I consider iced coffee or frappachino refreshing afternoon pick-me-ups. Coffee Almond Fudge ice cream? An occasional decadent treat. Chocolate-covered beans? A little jolt of heaven. The only caveat to my consumption is that the coffee must be freshly brewed and strong.

This love affair with coffee started innocently, back in the days when I didn’t turn up my nose at instant. I could boil water in my “illegal” hot pot at college, add a little fake, uh, non-dairy creamer, sugar, and I was set to stay up late studying or to finish that ten page paper on bird imagery in Shakespeare’s tragedies that I should have started weeks earlier. While in graduate school, I partook of the community pot and purchased cups from the dreaded and sometimes disgusting machine in the basement vending area. You know, the kind of coffee that makes you shudder at the first sip. Once married, I graduated to a coffeemaker. I was happy in my ignorance. My younger sister, however, who was a huge coffee hound, discovered I was using a pre-ground, national brand. Horrified, she decided she should educate me in the ways of the bean. In a move that would make Juan Valdez proud, she bought me a grinder and several pounds of 100% Columbian for my birthday. Shortly thereafter, I was addicted to the good stuff. I became a coffee snob.

Impervious to the rolling of eyes and looks of consternation thrown my way, I take my grinder, beans, and filters on vacation. If I don’t have room in the suitcase for all the apparatus, I stash a four-pack of Starbuck’s DoubleShot® with cream in my suitcase. Believe me, everyone is happier when I get the flavor and caffeine rush I need. Sometimes, after one of those cans, I can even tolerate the weak brown water some hotels label as coffee.

To my joy, the local Kroger, which recently underwent a remodel, added a Starbuck’s Café, so now, if I so choose, I can even liven up the whole grocery-shopping experience with a hazelnut latte.

Now, I’m not saying I can’t enjoy a steaming mug of green tea, spicy apple cider, or hot chocolate with mini-marshmallows. I’m just saying coffee’s better.

So what’s your favorite hot beverage? Check out the rest of the Noodlers’ responses in January’s Top Ten in the Wet Noodle Posse e-zine. And if you’re a coffee hound like me, check out Starbuck’s ice cream flavors www.starbucks.com/grocery/icecream_flavors.asp . Yum!

posted by Mo H @ 10:40 AM