Mornin' Joe

I woke up wicked early this morning (yeah, I grew up in New England) to run and after Monday's debacle I am happy to report that I ran 3 miles. Not great, but still, this was at 6:30 in the morning.

Anyway, before going out, I had to fuel up on coffee and a glance at the NY Times where I found this picture/essay about a coffee lover's addiction. It's brilliant how Mr. Niemann captures the true essence of a coffee drinker. Just today, while caulking at a Habitat for Humanity house, I had a long discussion about coffee with the supervisor. We both don't like Dunkin' Donuts coffee. He says it's because they use powdered creamer. I say it's because Dunkin' Donuts coffee sucks. We did not agree on Starbucks however. He finds it too strong while for me, it's the nectar of the gods.

I know I differ with a lot of people about Starbucks; some don't like the coffee, others don't like the Starbucks culture. Really, it's coffee, just coffee, not a culture but who am I to say, I'm rather fond (fond may be an understatement) of the Americano--fresh brewed espresso with hot water. I just add a bit of creamer and I'm good to go. I'm not into those steamed milk drinks like lattes or cappuchinos but others are, I know.

And some people have coffee rules. When we traveled to Italy, with friends a year ago, we were told by our Italian friend that there are certain times of the day when one orders espresso and other times when one orders cappuchinos. I could never keep it straight and luckily the waiters just wanted my money so they were happy to oblige my whim.

I could talk for hours about coffee likes, dislikes, rules, and cultures as I'm sure most coffee lovers could. Read few of the comments from Mr. Niemann's essay and you'll get a taste of America's love affair with java.

But to be honest, when I meet someone who doesn't drink coffee it's like meeting someone who doesn't drink; it's all well and good but don't expect us to have anything in common.

You know, after a long day of running, caulking, discussing coffee, I could really go for a beer.