Coffee unites people around the world. When I drag myself out of bed to brew my first cup in the morning, I am already thinking about all the faces behind the beans I’m grinding. I’ve never been to Ethiopia or Indonesia or Jamaica, but I have something in common with the people there — they have touched my life in a way. Coffee is a special commodity. (You could argue that this is an irrefutable fact, as coffee is one of the leading traded commodities, second only to oil.)
I still remember my first cup of coffee. I was five years old and my mom was watching the Today show. Matt Lauer must have been particularly entertaining, because my mom said that I would need to wait until the commercial break until she would get me some juice. As frustrated as any toddler can be, I simply drank my mother’s coffee. I think she thought that I would take one sip and be repulsed. Instead, I drank the whole cup. It was delicious, largely because my mother uses ice cream instead of creamer. I was hooked.
Around the same time, my father worked next door to the Peet’s in downtown Menlo Park. I have wonderful memories of going to work with him: playing with his hole punch, flipping through his rolodex and best of all, going into Peet’s. The store had the most wonderful scent (which I now think was Peet’s Sumatra). The walls were wooden and filled with character. It reminded me of an enchanted library. I would beg my father to let me order a coffee, but he always convinced me that a hot chocolate was a better choice. Oh, the challenges of childhood.
It was no surprise that my first job was at a cafe. Fast forward to the present day and I am still working for a major coffee company. Coffee has become my life. But when I talk to other people about my drug of choice, I am always amazed at how much misinformation is out there. Now, I’m not here to tell anyone how to drink their coffee — that’s a personal choice with no right or wrong answer. But I would like to share a little bit of my coffee knowledge with you. That’s what CoffeeChronicles.org is here for. So please, explore the site a little and share your coffee story with me. I’d love to hear it!
Coffee Chronicles 