For Love of Coffee (and maybe a cute cat)

My love affair with coffee began in college. Neither of my parents have ever been fans of the stuff - WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM? - so until my years in Pittsburgh I had never given it a try.  I started drinking coffee because I was cold. Pittsburgh can be bitter cold in the winter time and those steaming cups my fellow students carried around looked pretty comforting. I started drinking Chai Tea Latte's at our campus Starbucks and eventually eased in to the "hard" stuff. By Sophomore year I was a full-blown addict. It probably helped that my roommates at the time were equally infatuated - heck, one of them was a former Dunkin' Donuts employee. During finals week the three of us could drink multiple pots in one day. 

Now that I've reached this thing people call "adulthood," I usually just drink it in the morning, which I take with cream and sugar. While my husband might scoff at the thought of sugar in his coffee, I see nothing wrong with doctoring it up to your liking. That's part of coffee's charms! You can do so many things to it - steam it, freeze it, ice it, flavor it - anything. 

Cats like coffee too!

Over the years I've bought many different brands of coffee for home brewing. Back before our wedding (a mere 3 months ago) J and I were buying store brand coffee - I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS. Right after the wedding my Mom mailed us two pounds of fancy coffee she bought from someone at work (she's always willing to buy something, even if she doesn't use it herself). Well, suffice it to say we can't drink cheap-o coffee anymore. It just tastes burnt. The cat (Heeb) has even noticed a difference - not that his opinion much matters, he doesn't pay the bills around here.

Not only is coffee delicious and comforting, it is the perfect companion to reading. There's a reason the most popular coffee joints are filled with sofas and chairs and fireplaces. Any way you pour it, that rich brown nectar can make a rainy day better. I am anxiously awaiting fall weather so I can enjoy my coffee outside with a book and the sunshine - all without breaking a sweat. I can get lost reading a good book - give me some coffee to go with it and I'll disappear for hours - so long as the Heeb doesn't try to steal my book.