Coffee Crazy

Coffee is very important to Brenda. On the trip home from my brother's in Birmingham today, we went an hour out of our way to sniff out a Starbucks, all the while passing up dozens of other establishments like McDonalds and gas stations, just to snag a perfect cup of Joe. We found our fix. It's not fair to put the blame her because I am just as much of a coffee snob as she.

I was raised with "coffee milk" from as far back as my caffeine-soaked mind can remember. We three brothers sat on the opened door of mom's oven, warming our butts and drinking mugs of coffee laced with copious amounts of milk and sugar. I graduated to more coffee and less milk and sugar as the years progressed (to this day I can't drink coffee totally black). Once a kid is taught to love coffee, God forbid the soul who tries to wrench it from his hand. It has become a serious habit--one that I don't plan on quitting anytime soon.

The first date I went on with Brenda was at a coffee place in Mobile. It was there that, aside from her beauty of face and frame, I knew she was the one for me. She really loved her coffee. Plus, she had toted her Bible, which was almost as big as her, into the place. God, coffee and beauty...I was smitten! To this day, after 25 years of marriage, we can't seem to kick-start our day without a few cups of our favorite brew.

Coffee has transitioned from a simple, hot mug of pick-me-up to a high-brow, gourmet excursion. When I visited Italy 30 years ago while on a music tour, I had to ask what the big copper machine was on the bar. I was told by the server that the contraption was an espresso maker. A what??? You see, back in the prehistoric days, I had no idea what a cappuccino was. I had to shake my head a few times and re-focus my eyes following my first Italian espresso adventure. After visiting other parts of Europe, I realized that coffee was made to be considerably stronger there. I began to enjoy the full-flavor that European coffee offered. When I visited New Orleans for the first time, I found a similar flavor in the Community coffee that the folks brewed (I believe that the water there contributes to the great flavor, believe it or not!).

This Christmas, one of the most popular gifts was the Keurig coffee maker. Brenda and I bought one last year and have sworn off the coffee pot that we had so faithfully used up to that point. Once a single cup of fresh coffee is made with the Keurig, it's really hard to go back to the stale, hours-old coffee of the past. We can even keep a collection of various assortments on-hand to break the monotony of one particular flavor. It has become an obsession and an expensive pleasure that keeps us going back to Bed, Bath and Beyond sometimes twice a week for more boxes.

Even though there are things to surrender as resolutions in the new year, I know for a fact that coffee will not be one of them. When our Keurig finally fails after constant use, I will rush to Bed, Bath and Beyond with my 20 percent-off coupon and return with a new Keurig coffee maker in hand. It is a wonderful addiction!