I've been meaning to post something on the philosophical implications of coffee for some time now, but I can't seem to wrap my brain around any concrete thoughts on the subject.
I started the conversation with Anna Grace a couple of weeks ago.
"Why do you drink coffee?" I asked her.
I would try to paraphrase her answer, but I didn't get her permission (which is just an excuse because really, I'm not very good at paraphrasing). Basically, she started drinking coffee on a trip in Costa Rica. The coffee smelled so good, and really was so delicious that she enjoyed drinking it for the first time ever. In Costa Rica, it seems, they drink it very strong, and very sweet. Her further answers are her own, so I'll leave those to her in the comments section of this post, where I hope I can get a conversation going. (Anna, you can direct any complaints concerning the violation of your privacy to my self-publishing compliancy officer, in other words, email me.)
I drink coffee because I like the way it tastes, but also because it seems to have some sort of symbolic meaning.
I tried to explain to Anna that the drinking of coffee is a social act even when its social aspect is removed, except that doesn't really make any sense. All I know is that I drink a cup of coffee in the morning, not because I'm addicted to the caffeine, but because there is something I like about the act of drinking coffee.
Is it a club, like my sister suggested? Does the way you take your coffee confer any particular status? I like coffee because I like it, but I also seem to like some image of myself drinking coffee.
Does anyone out there know what I'm trying to say better than I do?
6 comments:
I'm pretty confident that I understand what you are saying, and that I agree, but I don't think I can say it any better.
My favorite coffee story is a lady at my office telling me with a certain degree of glee, "My husband says that he likes his coffee the way he likes his women---blonde and sweet." I looked at her incredulously and said, "Your hair is red."
shelly said....
I used to think that "real women drink it black", like it was sexier or something..... now thats how I prefer it.....but now I think I'm to rough and I should be sweet and smooth like the cream and sugar drinkers.... Ha! Your making me think to much :) I agree though, there is something to it.
My ninth grade typing teacher told us once that something about having a cup of coffee on her desk helped her to focus. I never was able to convince my husband that this story made sense. Maybe I wasn't telling it correctly.
So how do I like my coffee?
My very favorite coffee drink is a Latte. No flavoring, no sugar, just really foamy milk. To me the milk brings out the rich coffee taste, making it taste more like it smells. I like an iced mocha too, but only if it's made with actual bitter cocoa. I haven't had one that tasted like that since the Crimson Cafe used china cups.
These days I like a dash of sugar and a lot of milk, although I've been making my coffee with cinnamon added to the grounds the last few weeks. I will drink it black but don't generally prefer it that way.
Shelly, I've realized recently that I really am a wimp. I've decided I like white wine better than red I am sorry to say (though red is so much prettier in a balloon glass). And I was always so proud of the fact that I didn't take flavoring in my coffee. Can you believe it?
shelly said.....
I believe all funny thoughts people have about things because I see the depths of my soul. I also would love to be a red wine drinker, but I am so very picky. I prefer the whites as well- Riesling is probably my favorite, what a sissy huh!
I would have picked you for a red wine drinker. I like Riesling too.
I like coffee with lots of milk and turbinado sugar. I NEED it in the morning, or I am sorely tempted to get back into bed after breakfast!
I used to not drink it at all, because I saw it as a drug, and wouldn't drink it on principle. After we had 2 kids, though, I realized that slinking back to bed after breakfast wasn't going to work. I observed that 2 of my girlfriends who homeschooled their several kids, always looked fantastic, and were always doing interesting things were both coffee drinkers (to excess, IMO). That's when I started drinking a big mugga joe in the morning, and I'm grateful for the boost it gives me.
For me, tea has more social connotations than coffee, because I'm not very social when I drink my coffee, and then I don't want it later in the day. However, I enjoy tea, hot or iced, with a friend anytime.
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