I Heart Coffee
Like every good west coast dweller, I have a long and complicated relationship with coffee. It began when I was in high school and I had my “starter” coffee: International Coffees’ Café Vienna – an instant luscious mix of coffee, milk and cinnamon perfect for my young, unsophisticated taste buds. In college, my palate graduated to the likes of a double vanilla latte. It provided the same sugar, milk and caffeine buzz, but with a slightly more elegant delivery. My love of coffee hit a crescendo when I lived in San Francisco. My apartment was just a stone’s throw away from North Beach, the Italian district, where they serve up the best cappuccinos this side of Italy. It was here that I cemented my now Pavlovian equation: Creative Work = Lust for Coffee.
Over the course of the years, I’ve learned the downsides of coffee: the highs and lows, headaches, jitteriness and insomnia that can occur on the days I’ve had too much or too little of this delicious cuppa drug. And that’s why, several months ago I decided to drop coffee like a bad habit. I didn’t go cold turkey, I did it gradually, slowly stair-stepping down to just a few milligrams of caffeine in the morning and then to nothing. Nadda. It wasn’t that hard, I didn’t get headaches but ooooh…I missed that morning buzz, that creative surge. I stayed on the wagon until, one day strolling down the aisles of Bed, Bath & Beyond (of all places), I met the Keurig. It was too cute to pass by.
Gentle reader, allow me to now gush about the wonders of this fine machine. First of all, it’s candy apple red. It’s small and sophisticated looking – like a toy espresso machine. And it’s so easy to use. Just pop a little K cup in, pour in the water and presto – a great little cup of coffee in just 3 minutes! And it’s fun, like a vintage Gumball machine meets the Easy-Bake Oven.
So now I’m afraid I’m hooked on a new equation: Cute Design + Convenience + Caffeine = I Heart Coffee (Again).