Musings from the Ozone

M-m-m-m-m-m.....a good cup of coffee!

I appreciate the tea drinkers, so don't get me wrong.  There is something inherently lovely about a teapot and all the paraphernalia that goes along with a tea party.  I have a huge teapot collection and drink tea from those beautiful teapots from time to time.  However, a true coffee lover cannot feel the satisfaction from a little cup of tea, as much as they do from their cup of java in the morning.  I was so excited over the new findings that coffee is actually good for you, when drunk in moderation,  until I decided to write out my thoughts about coffee.

My first confession is that I did not want to feel as if I was 'addicted' to my morning coffee!  For years, I hid the fact that I might indulge in more than one cup in the morning.  People have had a way of intimidating me when they would spout off their  so-called better choices of food and drink to me.  I would order a cup of coffee in the restaurant, and feel myself cringe a little, when a fellow patron would say, "I gave up coffee" for my blood pressure, or my nerves."  Here I was, older than they were or perhaps close to their same age, and they were somehow minding their health better than I did. 

So, I was even more overjoyed when I read that people in nursing homes are drinking coffee again.  It seems it 'quickens' their minds, and even helps their memories!  I could barely contain myself, when I read that coffee contains anti-oxidants, and one cup in the morning could help as much as a supplement.  Well, I am not positive about the vitamin content, but it did relieve my mind to know I was not hurting myself by drinking a cup or two in the morning!  I patted myself on the back, thinking that I  I only drank it in the morning, as a way to get going.  I later realized that there was a reason why coffee didn't sound or taste the same to me in the afternoon or evening….it doesn't have the same effect on a person later in the day.  In fact, it can truly interfere with your sleep at night, meaning that it may even make your heart pound, rather than just keeping you awake.  Only true coffee lovers know the subtleness  of coffee effects.

My first experience of coffee was not one of rapture.  It seems that many of us have to acquire a taste for the stuff.  My first full-time job was a hospital job.  I trained as a ward clerk and that required me to be alert for 8 hours straight.  My job began at 7 in the morning, and I had to wake up each day at 5:30 AM in order to be able to get to work by 7 AM.  I found myself yawning by 10 AM, and began to look forward to a coffee break.  Since coffee, or tea, was the only thing available, I began to try my hand at drinking a cup of coffee, laced with lots of milk and sugar to drown out the bitter taste.  It was fascinating how quickly I seemed to wake up!  I must admit though, that the first trials with coffee left me a little shaky and jittery.  I stayed at  one cup of coffee per morning for years on end.

I can remember the first time I actually disliked the smell of coffee, and could not drink the 'stuff' after enjoying it for a period of a few years.  I knew something was wrong with me when that  sick sensation overcame me- I was pregnant!  Each and every time I was pregnant, it was as if something in me said, "no coffee" for 9 months.  Miraculously, as soon as the child was born,  I began to enjoy my coffee once again. That, I suppose would be the only reason I would give up my morning wake up cup of java.  I hear of people having headaches, etc, when they lay off coffee.  I can understand that.  I get a headache just from not eating!  When people say it is because I am addicted, I would have to say that I am addicted to food in general.  It is great when just one hot cup of coffee can help me push away the heavy foods for breakfast!

I do not like just any coffee either.  I do not like it too strong, too weak, too old, or too stale.  I don't go much for the flavored stuff either, unless it is a hazelnut blend as an afternoon treat.  Just give me a good cup of freshly brewed coffee with some body to it!  Think I am a little eccentric about coffee?  If you are used to drinking good coffee, you cannot always stomach instant coffee, or coffee made with the little packets of coffee sewn inside of the paper-like material.  I am about as fond of the coffee in a motel room as I am of drinking coffee through a handkerchief  mask on my face.  It feels as if it has been strained through several chalky filters before it becomes a watered-down version of java.  Why should coffee be such a hard thing to make?  On the other hand, if it is made by a true coffee connoisseur, one could think of it as an art form.

Before I stop my little diatribe on coffee, I am reminded of such a connoisseur  who gave me quite a lecture on how to make coffee.  We got into quite a spirited conversation over coffee, and he became very animated when he described what he thought made a big difference between a good cup or a so-so cup of coffee.  His trick: 1.  never drink the first batch of coffee made in a new pot.  2. never wash the pot into a dishwasher.  3. never even wash the coffee pot--just rinse it good. (well, I am not too sure my pot would like that)   I bowed down to his seniority.  However, I have a couple of my own ideas.  I think that a clean coffee maker does improve on the quality of the coffee.  I said, coffee maker, not the pot.  I just use a commercial cleaner, and do the 3 pots of water, 3 complete brews, etc., and the next time you make coffee, there will be a difference.  Long gone is the stale, tired stuff inside the coffee maker, which  seems to cook into the fresh coffee.  Next, I am finally learning that grinding my own coffee beans makes for the finer and richer taste of coffee.  I am not able to be in a hurry when I decide to make it that way.  Not everything pleasant in life has a high price tag, but sometimes it does require some  patience and attention to make the experience worthwhile!