Coffee — One of My Favorite Beverages on Earth

Coffee Memories

As a little boy when I visited my grandfather in New Orleans, he would take me to Cafe du Monde and order me coffee and biegnets.  Their coffee with chicory was mixed half and half.  Half coffee and half  steamed milk.  I put lots of sugar in mine.  It was a special treat because I was a kid and got to drink coffee.  Lots of grown-ups looked down on kids having this beverage.  I was told many times that it would stunt my growth.  Well, it didn't.  Or if it did, thank goodness as I'm over 6 feet tall.  I fear I'd be 8 feet if I didn't drink all that I did.

I developed a love for good, strong, French coffee that in those days you had a challenging time finding outside New Orleans and surrounding parishes.  Coffee came to the United States via New Orleans and they still do it well!

Coffee Today

Today, I typically awaken and immediately prepare a pot of Starbucks Breakfast Blend coffee.  This delightful mild coffee brew is something that I enjoy throughout the morning.  It stays hot and doesn't go bitter because I keep it in one of those multi-walled stainless steel carafe's and not on heat.  Late afternoon as I'm heading home I typically stop in to Starbucks and get a latte or cappuccino.  These are a robust coffee treat and remind me of my youth and the Cafe Au Lait I'd enjoy at Cafe Du Monde.

Finding really good coffee nowadays is a piece of cake.  Besides Starbucks, smaller boutique coffee shops can be found in just about every major metropolitan area throughout the world.  For whole beans, many people are ordering them online and having very fresh coffee beans delivered right to their door.  Some of these coffee beans are hard to find and expensive.  To a real connoisseur they're worth it.  The smell of fresh ground coffee beans is captivating and intriguing to a coffee lover.

Local Coffee

Awhile back, I was visiting friends in Miami.  They knew my love for coffee and insisted we go to a little local dive where the Cuban immigrants would enjoy their coffee.  I was totally game and found the coffee and the experience wonderful and to my liking.  We stood outside, ordered at a walk up bar outside, were handed little demitasse cups with espresso infused with sugar.  Very sweet for my taste, I still loved this coffee and the experience.

I'm fortunate in that I get to visit Hawaii a good bit.  You guessed it.  I think the saying is "when in Hawaii, do as the Hawaiians."  So, I drink their famed Kona coffee almost exclusively when I'm there.  It's wonderful and grown right there in the islands of Hawaii.

Old, bitter, smelly, stale coffee is NOT for me.  I don't like it and I don't drink it.  I love coffee too much to ruin the experience with this stuff.  I like mine fresh and strong.  I thoroughly enjoy it made using a French press.  I am not so fond if it's brewed in a percolator.

The Coffee Wars

Wikipedia has a wonderful article that you can read by clicking on my link COFFEE.