From my blog at u9o.net.
I've been avoiding coffee for awhile. I'm more of a pop a can of coke type of guy (I switched to diet coke 2 years ago as I got older and my metabolism slowed down), and it really suited my college type atmosphere.
But loe and behold I discovered the joy of coffee today. On the whole, it makes a lot of sense as to why my blood in my veins seem to flow better, the haze of the morning gone, and my heart bumping with energy-- coffee contains over 3x the caffeine as coca cola, ounce for ounce.
And coffee itself is a bit more healthy than your average can of coke. And choices abound! Depending on how you want it, it can be an extremely low-carb proposition. You can pick and choose the type of sweetener you want, and if you are lactose intolerant, a non-dairy creamer. An alcoholic? Add some whiskey. Got migraines? Caffeine can help!
Coffee by itself is intrinsically individualistic. Black or brown, sweetened or non-sweetened, sugar or nutrasweet or sucralose? In all, coffeee is American and if not American, certainly Freedom-living! No wonder our founders dumped tea into the boston harbor and swiched to the joy of coffee. Well, at least their descendants.
Even if you aren't a Lockian, but perhaps a collectivist, you would still love coffee: "Ah, that is a perfume in which I delight; when they roast coffee near my house, I hasten to open the door to take in all the aroma." said Jean Jacques Rousseau as he was writing the last pages to his philosophical works. Or so I would imagine.
No wonder you can find coffee everywhere. The French have made a lifestyle of the outdoor cafe.
It gives a certain sense of understanding as to why when starbucks raised the price of their coffee by a few cents, contraray to most companies, their stock prices increased. In makes sense as to why coffee beans are the 2nd largest commododity (after oil I believe) in the world. In short, it gives the 3rd world coffee producers of the world a large amount of leverage in the affairs of postmodernity.
Caffeine is a special substance, with little of the side affects of stronger amphetamines-- but one with a lot of positives. It is banned in most Olympic sports for providing a temporary boost to both mental and physical activities.
It was a tad bit embarassing to ask the secretary on how to make coffee, but I'm glad I learned-- because today and perhaps for the next few hours, I will be productive.
And perhaps one day, instead of laughing at the people standing at the starbucks line, I too, will be standing in line, cringing and frowning until I can sip that frothy brew of coffee, when the sun becomes brighter, the day becomes quicker, and the company of others, more joyful.
- An ode to coffee, by David