Tiny Styrofoam Cups and Weak Brew
How do you like your coffee?
Coffee connoisseur is a label I would be proud to slap on myself. Perhaps I should rephrase that. At any rate, things weren’t always like this. Growing up, like many people, I loved the smell of coffee brewing but couldn’t stand its bitter taste.
What I thought coffee was
My last job before leaving for the Navy was at Sam’s Club. It was December in Iowa, and it was a brutal winter. One morning included sub-zero temperatures and a windchill well below zero. My coworkers encouraged me to warm up with coffee, and I thought it was worth trying, hoping it would give me a jolt of caffeine and warm me up.
Filling an undersized Styrofoam cup with watered-down commercial coffee from one of those coffee urns should’ve been warning enough. I disliked it even more than I thought once I’d settled in and hoped for the best.
My discovery
One of the many benefits of being stationed in Italy while I was in the Navy was the incredible food. I hadn’t been there long when I went to a café with a friend one afternoon. We were seated at a bistro table along the waterfront, sailboats gently waving at us nearby.
She insisted I try a cappuccino and convinced me it was nothing like the coffee I’d tried in the U.S. I was leery after the stuff I thought tasted like dirty water back home.
I couldn’t imagine it being any better, but this was Italy. I gave it a shot, and I still remember that first cappuccino thirty years later. It was served in a simple white mug, small at the bottom and more open at the top.
The local bar owner had flawlessly frothed the goat milk into minuscule bubbles, and the thick espresso had a strong scent. It tasted so different from anything I’d ever tried in America that it didn’t belong in the same category. I enjoyed it from my first sip and don’t know if I’ve gone a day without one since.
A variety of cappuccino machines
After moving back stateside, the first thing I wanted to do was buy a cappuccino maker. A myriad of brands, colors, and styles have consistently adorned my various kitchen counters over the years. I’m particular about my beans, as well.
A couple of decades ago, I visited Hawaii and was talked into a bag of smooth Hawaiian Kona coffee because it doesn’t have the bitterness or acidity of regular coffee. It turns out I enjoy coffee that bites back.
Do you enjoy coffee? How about strong coffee that bites back? Do you like adding sugar and other flavors, so you don’t taste the coffee much? Leave a comment; coffee can get a good conversation going.