Confessions of a Coffee Addict

There is nothing like a good cup of coffee. Any coffee addict will tell you that. What any real coffee addict might not tell you is that he or she will drink just about any cup of coffee- good or not- just to get his or her coffee fix. It is almost like the air we breathe. We dont think about it most of the time, nor do we take the time to contemplate the quality of the air we are actually breathing. Many times that quality is measured by the enviroment in which a person lives. For example, if a person lives in or around a city, chances are the air they are breathing are a bit more polluted than a person living in a rural town by the sea side. The smells are a bit more obvious, and to those used to one, might find the other offensive or refreshing. It all depends. But, most of the time we don't think about it. There are those days where I am in a hurry and don't have the time to brew a proper cup of coffee, so I brew a rushed one, or get one from a drive-thru or gas station somewhere. Sometimes those are great cups, and sometimes they are, to be honest, pure swill. And you know what? It doesn't even matter. It's coffee. So that got me thinking. What exactly does a great cup of coffee take? Time? Thought? Preparation? Perhaps all of the above. It most certainly does take a good bean- the most important ingredient of all. Back in April, during my daughter's school vacation, we took our very first family vacation that didn't involve visiting distant relatives. We went to Disney World in Florida. It was probably the most perfect family vacation ever. While we were vacationing I noticed the different levels of coffee we encountered at the different places we ate at. Some were good, some were great, and some just plain sucked. And I really didn't care either. It was coffee, and I need coffee. Not to mention, we were in the most magical wonderful place a family could vacation in... So, our last day there, in search of a great breakfast place, we found ourselves at the Kona Cafe- a place that specializes, not only in coffee,  but amazing coffee- Hawaiian coffee. And for the first time in my life, I had experienced Kona Coffee brewed in a French Press. The concept seemed so simple, and I had my doubts on the quality, but I didn't really care. It was getting late, I was hungry and hadn't had my morning cup yet. The waitress was very congenial, the kids loved her. And she took extra time to explain how the French Press worked. My world had been turned upside down. Since April and our trip to Disney I had been searching for an inexpensive French Press everywhere. This novelty always seemed to elude me. Then one day, while we had spent the morning running all kinds of crazy errands, we stumbled upon the thrift store Savers in Plymouth. Seth ran inside to see if they had any great second hand camping gear. (We are taking our first camping trip as a family on Monday.) When he returned he had a Savers bag full or treasures. None of these treasures were camping gear, but what he did have changed me forever. He surprised me with a ceramic duck for my garden, and it thrilled me. There is a story that goes with the duck, and perhaps someday I will blog about it. But that wasn't the best thing of all. He had found a very nice French Press! So, the last two days I have been brewing my coffee in the $3 used French Press rather than our $80 brewstation. And for the last two days, I not only saved time, but I have created the best cups of coffee I have made in a long time. Yes, my name is Crystal, and I am a coffee addict.