Why I Like Coffee - Some Random Thoughts

I haven't always loved coffee. When I was a kid, I enjoyed some milk and sugar with a splash of coffee offered to me on special occasions when I was with my grandparents. They drank coffee faithfully, and we grandkids got to join them when we were with them. Tasty! Then in college, I occasionally indulged in a cup of coffee generously topped off with some cream and a spoonful of sugar to take the edge off.

Recently I contemplated the authenticity of my relationship with coffee. If I had to add cream and sugar, why bother drinking coffee? Besides, real coffee drinkers drink black coffee, or so they say. So I have slowly weaned myself from my cream-and-sugar habit and am now, almost always, drinking black coffee. It's a little more enjoyable when accompanied with a sweet treat, but I am getting used to it. The french press is key.

Still, why bother? Why drink coffee? I have concluded after much deliberation that coffee creates something that I need. From the time when those oily, rich beans are ground to the sound of the hot beverage being poured into a particular mug, my body is engaged - the sight of the steam rising from the dark-brown, french-pressed liquid; the delightful smell of a dash of cinnamon and dark-roasted beans from some foreign country, the feel of the hot beverage - first dripping ever so slightly upon my tongue to ensure it won't burn, then indulging in a full swallow warming first the mouth and then moving along to the belly - it warms me. But the amazing thing about a cup of coffee, for me, is that it entices me to slow down. While enjoying it in every possible way, I am beckoned to stop and delight in what is around me. And often I do. And then I grab my Bible and bathe my heart in the Word of God, dialoguing with Him along the way. I love this about coffee.

Truthfully though, after I make the coffee and anticipate the luxury of slowing down and spending time with God, it sits in the stainless steel carafe and awaits my indulgence. I pass by hurriedly on my way to take my son to school. I'll eye it after returning from running errands, only to throw another load of laundry in, vacuum a room or two, then get lunch for the kids. After checking e-mail, paying some bills, and thinking about dinner, I fall asleep briefly, awakening to the alarming thought that dinner is an hour away and I have nothing ready. And of course I can't have any caffeine after dinner or I'd be up all night (even though my coffee is 1/3 caffeinated). Well, maybe tomorrow. I'll try it again then.

Another wonder about coffee is sharing it with a close friend. I love meeting dear friends for coffee (even though some of them don't drink coffee). But it has the same effect on me in that setting too.

Funny how most people like coffee for the caffeine. Just happens to be something different for me.