The five different kinds of coffee I love
“Way too much coffee. But if it weren’t for the coffee, I’d have no identifiable personality whatsoever.” — David Letterman
I have had the opportunity to have some really-very-different kinds of coffee and all that I look for before the aftertaste even leaves my tongue is the next opportunity to have a coffee. The only thing other than coffee that I am addicted to is failed attempts at giving it up. On my best days, I can have eight, maybe nine cups by dusk and when I need to, the number can go higher- depending on mileage that I need to provide my task. But, get one thing clear. I just admire the aroma and the taste. The so-called kick that coffee provides millions of others to get them up and running has never moved on my charts past the ‘so-called’ phase. Despite repeated attempts to convince myself otherwise, I have failed to find a coffee that can keep me awake as far as my search squads can afford. I have even had the misfortune of living different phases of my life without coffee for months, but those are the times when I thank my stars- after all, my addiction to coffee is metaphorical and not literal.
Coffee finds significant presence in my life. From my daybreak companion along with a newspaper from any country that follows a serif font, to my bedside companion where I either binge read or binge watch when I am winding down for the day, coffee is almost always the only constant.
Without coffee, a part of my life is incomplete. Thereby, any attempt to list the five horcruxes of my life would be a fool’s endeavor, but when it comes to coffee, I am the greater fool, am I not?
The Home Coffee
There is a warmth in the coffee that my mother serves with a side of well meaning scolds- pushing me to get out of bed in time for the rest of the world. Even though it is the scolding that wakes me up, the coffee right after is never unwelcome.
There is usually enough milk to almost nullify coffee’s presence in this serving and the the tiniest of cups that one can find at a home carries it. What is served is not really coffee, but a multitude of tactics used by a parent to indicate their earlier vocal and now subdued-due- to-absence of change message asking one to give up coffee.
Nevertheless, I love it.
The Cold Coffee
Have you noticed the times when you feel you can’t drink hot coffee anymore because you have had enough of it to fill you up to your throat. This is where I drink Cold Coffee- and I strongly suggest that you don’t (for health reasons). Served often with unhealthy doses of ice, enough to make you wonder why you pay for it anymore, and sugar, enough to make you wonder why you pay for your poor health and a gym membership at the same time, this kind is what makes you think deeply of what you would have done in summers when you didn’t want that piping hot cup.
People expect me to hold on to my cup of cold coffee for a couple of sips at least, but why should anyone? It is called cold, not lukecold coffee.
The Roadside Coffee
You are walking on a road with a bunch of friends who threaten to disembark on their respective journeys, but you love them and wan to hold on to them for a little while more. What do you do? I have often resorted to this shady tactic of directing their glance toward a roadside coffee shop. Here, a cup of the instant, inexpensive and hardly-brewed coffee made with powder from a brand that only the shopkeeper might be aware of can be the much needed oxygen mask to a dying conversation.
Works well as an excuse to have a longer conversation, often as a means to avoid awkwardness when waiting for the tongue burning heat to subside before you cant take your first sip. The coffee itself is not too bad. I would give it a solid three out of ten. If you have any of the other four options, go for them before you are reduced to this.
The Cafe Coffee
This is where I tend to sip one cup of coffee for a while. I have spent more time in cafes working than chatting, maybe it is not considered cool anymore to do so (unlike what movies and television series might suggest). I strongly feel the need to not get stared down or kicked out of a coffee shop because I am not visibly holding on to a cup of coffee anymore. To prolong my rent free stay with free WiFi at a coffee shop, I use the seasoned cappuccino.
Often a well made cup, this kind can be the one that makes you find the duality of coffee. I have often looked at strong cappuccinos and loved everything about them, but have also looked at weak and predominantly milky ones and felt that they are not quite bad themselves.
Can be a bit hard on your pocket, but is almost certain to carry a decent coffee along with a bunch of free resources like a nice ambiance, background music that calms you, a cool air conditioned workstation and of course internet access.
The Filter Coffee
This, I single-mindedly believe, is the reason coffee exists. Well brewed, very tough to get perfect (in my humble opinion) and often exceedingly satisfactory, this kind of coffee is what makes me believe in the human ability to innovate at the highest levels. Coming up with filter coffee is one of the most underappreciated tasks humankind has ever done, but one that many humbly thank without realizing it themselves.
If you try filter coffee, all the other kinds will seem irrelevant after. Trust me, this one is the definition of divine when done right, but can be devilish when made carelessly.
The author is a coffee aficionado (as if it wasn’t obvious yet). He however means no harm to any of the other beverages and all harm to any other beverages, hot, cold, warm, expensive and inexpensive are purely coincidental and an individual opinion which is not to be taken seriously if you don’t agree with it. However, if you feel like a rebel after reading this post, you can find him on Facebook, Twitter, and you should be able to find his medium profile fairly easily.
Follow him here.
Also note that this is a first-draft-post, which means, till I eventually get to editing it properly, this will remain the way it is. It also means that grammatical corrections and spelling errata aren’t really welcome. If you have comments about my writing otherwise, they are welcome too.
Lastly, thank you Barista Life for helping me find the right quote to start my post with.
