Coffee or Poisoned Blackberries?

Among other things, today is National Coffee Day here in the United States. I am a coffee consumer. I could not survive without coffee, or more aptly, those around me could not survive without me having coffee.

Like most kids, I detested coffee when I was younger. My parents would let me “sneak” sips from their cups, and I'd grimace. I would think, “Why on EARTH would anyone drink this stuff?” I once thought that about beer, too, but that's another topic for another day.

Back in high school I was really tired one day. Shocker- a high schooler being tired. I was in a teacher's class, and I was saying how tired I was. He had a coffee maker in the room, and he offered me a cup of coffee (this was a LONG time ago). He drank it black, so there were no accouterments to add, but I drank it anyway. I wasn't instantly hooked, but I did start drinking it more often.

Then came my late teens. I had a job with a 7:00 am start time. Coffee was my best friend. The place I worked had one of those giant coffee urns that made about 40 cups at a time. We went through at least 2 of those a day because there were so many coffee drinkers. We went through more on Mondays, obviously.

When I met my husband, he said he drank coffee. What he called coffee came from a jar, and dissolved in hot water. Yes, he drank (dun dun DUN) instant coffee!!! When we moved to Chicago, one of the first things I bought was a coffee maker. He hasn't had instant coffee since.

I was still drinking my coffee black, but then I had to fly for work. The airline we flew served Starbucks coffee. Have you ever tried their coffee black? It's not something I would recommend. That was the day I discovered half and half.

I started buying half and half way back then, and now I won't drink coffee without it, unless I drink it black, which I do on those rare instances when I run out of half and half. We drink lactose-free milk here, and there are only a couple of places you don't want to substitute it for regular milk. You can't make pudding with lactose-free milk. The pudding never sets. Trust me on that one. The other place is in coffee. I don't know why, but it really changes the flavor of coffee. My husband says he doesn't notice, but he adds sugar.

I have a single-cup coffee maker (the brand that comes to mind when you think of them is the one I have). When they first hit the market, I was drinking coffee by the pot, and I had no concept of why anyone would want to brew one cup at a time. Now, I wouldn't be without mine. I keep a few different kinds of coffee in the house from smooth and light Kona to Black Tiger. I even make hot chocolate with my coffee maker. I just buy the regular hot cocoa mix that my kids like, and run clear water into the mug. Thanks to a friend of mine for giving me that awesome tip!!

So, happy Coffee Day to all you coffee drinkers out there! Otherwise, you can choose from Poisoned Blackberries Day, Confucius Day, Broadway Musicals Day, or Goose Day to name a few options.