The Coffee That Joins Us

carmel-coffee.photo I was sitting drinking a double espresso in a Starbucks yesterday. Normally I'll work out of the house, but it seems it was the day for tree trimming in my neighborhood. Those giant shredders make lots of noise. And no matter where I went I literally couldn't hear myself think.

So I took my computer and headed out.. The possibilities for wi-fi are numerous but I wanted someplace easy to work with a comfortable chair, if possible.

Starbucks is nearby so I stopped as I hadn't been there since the retraining event. I was able to get one of the stuffed chairs near an outlet. This was a real coup, the outlet and chair together. It was near the counter, and I decided to make the best of it.

As I sat there I listened to the early morning orders: frappacinnos, skinny soy lattes, double vanilla in 'any coffee', mochas, white chocolate mocha, chocolate cappuccino and skinny dulce leche. In the twenty people I listened to over a half hour, just two cups of coffee.

It reminded me of how coffee has become the great linker for the many. The creamy, sweet taste of flavored coffees has made it possible for those who really don't like the taste of coffee to sit, sip and enjoy with everyone else.

It's no longer just, "Do you want sugar and milk with your coffee? It's what flavor do you want?"

I know purists are shaking their heads and muttering. But I look at it in a different way. The popularity of COFFEE (not screaming, just emphasis) has made it possible for me and other coffee lovers to have greater accessibility and possibilities. At times the choices are almost limitless.

Coffee bars and shops are everywhere. We can get great coffee from almost anywhere in the world easily with a click of the mouse. Best of all we can enjoy our coffee made at any hour with coffee grinders, and espresso machines that can rival baristas without having to leave home. As my great-grandmother used to say, "What a country."

Back to reality and work.

Not the usual grind,