I LOVE COFFEE!

The nectar of the gods. Smells great, looks great, tastes great! Wakes you up in the morning and relaxes you in the afternoon. It really is an amazing discovery for humankind. I wouldn’t trade it for anything else on this Earth.

When I think of the most relaxed times I have had, it always involves coffee. Sitting in a cafe, on my porch, on the beach. Coffee has always been there with me.

Coffee lead me to one of the most important times in my life. Working at a charity coffee shop in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The place is called Sozo and they helped and employed street kids and their families. Give them life skills and some money in their pockets. And if we could keep them out of gangs and off drugs, that was nice as well. I worked there and ran their student center for a year. How did I end up there in the first place? Coffee. Their Cafe Da (Ice Coffee) was so good I was a regular customer and one day they gave me the keys to the front door.

I like my coffee black and bitter. There is no other way to drink it. It drives me crazy when people fill their cups with creams, caramel, syrups and foam. The more things you add to your cup, the less space you have for coffee. And isn’t that what you came to buy in the first place? I brew my own and add twice the amount of grounds in relation to water. If you can see light through your pot, you haven’t made it right.

In college my WDUB metal coffee mug was my most prized possession. I had it with me at all times and it was always filled. Who needs to fall asleep anyway? Coffee and I could never be apart.

I am not a fan of Starbucks coffee, but I am a fan of Starbucks. I love the overall image of the place. From the Mermaid logo to their quest for world domination. I had the documentary about the history of Starbucks saved on my DVR for years until I got rid of cable. I just love that a small business in Seattle could become an international brand on the wings of coffee.

If I went to Washington I would push for legislation to start the import of coffee from Vietnam. Because you have not tasted coffee until you have tried a slow drip from the highlands of Vietnam. The story is the country was trying to kick their national heroin habit, so they started growing coffee. It is that good!

In closing. I love coffee.

Now I am going to have another cup.