Six Piedes in a Pod: Coffee: A Love Affair

Is it sad that I really look forward to brewing my morning cup of coffee?
No. Like, really.
It's like a little event (and little events are a big deal up here in the woods of Montana). And the manner that I get to enjoy my morning cup remains a last-minute surprise.

Sometimes I drink it while multi-tasking. This usually means I need to microwave some heat back into it.

I might do this up to about 3 or 4 times and then I figure I should dump it, because you know-it's probably radioactive at that point. The optimum coffee experience looks like this: it's quiet, and early enough to still be dark outside, and my coffee is poured and there is something bittersweet nearby to dip- like a chocolate biscotti...(*sigh) Then, I
get to sit down read and pray quietly. This is h.e.a.v.e.n.l.y.

I have a coffee station- a whole cupboard and counter top which is designated for the sole purpose of facilitating my coffee infatuation. Sure, cocoa and tea have honorable mentions in the cupboard, but they are mere backup-singers in there. The real star of the show is my whole bean, light to medium roast. The smell in that cupboard is glorious. It has penetrated deep into the wood, and when I open the cupboard, I get a quick aroma of coffee whoosh my face. I'm telling you, it is a multi-sensory extravaganza!

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The coffee and tea cabinet. My trusty "P" cup is
front and center. It is preferred cup #2. (The cumbersome wood box is full of assorted teas.)

I have a "four cup" French Press, which is really a two-cupper, by normal people's coffee standards.

I have two cups that I prefer to use. Both are a nice weight, and have sufficient space for me to slip four fingers through so that it will double as a chilly morning hand-warmer.This is important. This means that my cup needs to be light enough to feel the heat through, but heavy enough as not to burn me. If neither of my cups are available, I need to fix the situation or it will severely impede my coffee experience. Yes. I am a coffee snob.

I probably pay a little more, but I figure it's offset by the creamer that we never buy.

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