Coffee

I never used to drink coffee. I think I was always afraid of the caffeine making me anxious. Well, fear be damned. I am now a coffee drinker. An obsessive, picky, elitist, coffee drinker. 

Who thought ground up beans immersed in hot water could create such a delicious, addictive, morning ritual?

My favorite kind of coffee is dark roast. The darker the better. Probably because I use a lot of creamer in it. And it has to be organic half and half. Organic heavy cream if I am feeling really indulgent. I'm a rebel. And just to make sure it is dark enough, I put way too much coffee in the filter. I have heard people say that doesn't work. I don't care. Don't crush my dreams. 

I have been developing a taste for flavored coffee more and more lately. Around the holidays, I love peppermint coffee. Jim hates it. This makes me like it even more. Chocolate coffee, vanilla coffee, and hazelnut coffee are some of my 'I could drink this everyday' flavors. 

When Jim and I are on the road, usually to a concert or a Cub game, mornings are the worst. I refuse to drink hotel coffee. Let's be honest. Is it even really coffee? Jim drinks it. Just to pay me back for the peppermint coffee, I think. He sits and savors it. Sipping it and telling me how good it is. Pondering why I don't like it. I don't like hotel coffee and I don't like Jim. 

When I am cold, I mix hot coffee with hot chocolate. Sometimes I even put a little whipped cream on top. When I am hot, I shake up coffee with half and half and ice. Sometimes I drink Chameleon Cold Brew. It's really amazing how a different process can make coffee taste so different. Still delicious. Just different. 

Sugar, or any kind of sweetener, for that matter, in coffee, is blasphemy. 

I know, I know. Anxious people shouldn't consume caffeine. In fact, if I had a cup of coffee for every time I have heard it, I might just finally have enough.