Coffee Revisited

I believe i understated my dependence on coffee yesterday. In fact, i believe I've understated my dependence on digestibles period. Coffee is one of the things in my life that has become almost ritual in routine. I drink it every morning, first thing. My life is, generally, well caffinated. To be perfectly honest I like good coffee, just as i like good beer, wine, and food. There is a lot to be said for small coffee roasters, roasting small batches of coffee, with an eye for detail and quality. The same could be true for micro breweries or boutique wineries, local cafes and high end restaurants. The eye for detail and instinct for flavor and quality set some apart from the others.

There is an ever growing number of microbreweries, small coffee roasters, and boutique wineries coming to life in the North West. I won't speak to beer and wine so much but coffee is something I've thought about quite a bit. I can't drink, rather, won't drink, shitty coffee on a regular basis. Yesterday i talked about Costco and the coffee i get there. It is definitely not my preference but it is drinkable and passes for a good cup. It does, however, speak to the ready availability of fair to decent--sometimes good to excellent--'production' coffee. I think we can, by and large, thank Starbucks for that, a company on a mission to conquer the world before at a similar pace to Wal-Mart (I hate the word as i hate hell) and caffeinate the general populous to a point of yuppie blindness.

I confess that i like Starbucks. When I've cut through masquerade of hip-meets-comfortably-cool setting and pushed all the "its a coffee experience" aside and get a cup of coffee--pike's blend with no room for cream--and my old fashioned donut or two, i find that the coffee is good. It is worth finding on the road or that extra block in town. When I've gotten back to what Starbucks is about--coffee--it is worth it. It is good. There are an obscene number of cafes in Belling ham, in conglomeration with Starbucks, the number of places to quaff a decent cup o' joe is mind blowing and they all seem rather busy and i don't account for the drive up and through coffee shacks on nearly every major intersection in town.

It does strike me as ironic that something life coffee, something that should be enjoyed and savored has become almost McDonald's like in in its availability and i am no exception to the iron grip of coffee and its morning hold over the general populous. The only real difference is that i so rarely buy coffee. I make a big pot in the morning and enjoy a cup or two while i, now, blog and get ready for work and then i pour it in my thermos and off to work with the remainder.

A hot cup of coffee as the day winds on and on and on is a small piece of pleasure in the midst of the monotony of the daily grind. Coffee may not change my attitude or the rhythm and fate of the day but it sure as hell doesn't hurt. And i like it.

A lot.