I can't pinpoint the exact moment when I fell in love with coffee, but I can recall the first experience that led to the affair. This tiny moment shaped my life, and in some small way, who I am.
The first experience I had with this brown bean was the summer of 1989. My niece Brandie and I were staying a week at my Aunt Sandi's for Summer break. Out in the country, miles away from the world, it was always an interesting time. Exploring in the woods, wading through a creek, playing in the mud and wondering if the night's supper was caught or bought...it was all part of the fun.
My cousin Amanda was a few years older than me and the youngest (and only) girl of my my Aunt Sandi's 6 children. The 5 boys were always out and about, probably shooting squirrels or riding their dirt bikes. Whatever they were doing, they weren't doing it with us girls!
One afternoon my Aunt Sandi needed to run into town and left Amanda in charge. The boys were off doing "boy" stuff and Aunt Sandi wouldn't be home till almost supper time. So we just played outside. It was hot out! After a while of playing out in the hot sun, us three girls decided it was a good time to go inside for some refreshments.
Let's look back a moment first. I was a city girl. I was used to the fluoridated water the city provided us. I was used to being a block away from a convenience store where all the cold refreshing beverages I could drink were right there, at my disposal. I wasn't used to a 30 minute drive to go to the grocery store and I certainly wasn't used to the sulfur smell of well water!
Ok, so there we were. In the kitchen. Nothing cold to drink in the fridge and the water, well let's just say I wasn't looking forward to drinking it! Amanda said the only way to get the smell out of the water was to boil it, or make coffee.
Coffee? What is this coffee you speak of? I was curious. I knew roughly what it was, it came in a metal can and "old" people drank it in the morning and after supper. Were we even old enough to imbibe? I wasn't so sure, but Amanda insisted we were old enough. She was in charge, so who was I to argue?
Amanda started the mysterious brew in a large metal percolator. There it was, making gurgles and bubbles. I was mystified. It smelled really good. I had been around coffee brewing before, but we were kids, home alone, and it seemed like we were doing something naughty.
She pulled it off and got some cups. Three cups on the table, and each with an ice cube to cool it down enough for us to drink. She filled each cup almost to the top. This was it, the moment of truth! I took a sip, and instantly spit it back out!! It was horrible. What did I know, I was 8 and the most exotic thing my pallet had tasted was "Hawaiian Pizza".
Amanda laughed. She said "You need to add sugar and milk, silly!"
She added some sugar, poured in some milk and handed the cup back to me. I hesitated, took a sip, and...swallowed it! It was actually pretty good. So there we were, sitting at the kitchen table sipping our coffee. We felt like we were so grown up, we also felt a little bit like what we were doing was sneaky. Like we were being rebellious or something.
After that Summer I didn't drink coffee for a few more years. I don't know if that was the moment I fell in love with the bean, but it was certainly the moment I was most intrigued by it. Every so often I think back and remember the sweet, slightly bitter brew and smile.
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