Oh Sweet Coffee

I can’t even begin to put my love for coffee in words. What I can do is find when this love affair started. As a kid, growing up, the smell of coffee felt like my nose hairs were burning. I couldn’t believe my parents drank that. Being from the Middle East, it wasn’t your traditional drip coffee…instead, it was that thick, coat your insides, tar-like, Turkish coffee. My mom used to tell me that she could read my fortune from the residue left behind in the cup. Yes, it’s that thick.

Fast forward a few years, adding a HUGE move and finally being a mature college student (I use the word mature very lightly) that I discovered the love of this magical little bean.

I started a job at a local coffee shop in Lockport. Does anyone remember the Lockport Mall? I believe it’s a Walmart now. In that mall, was this cute café called, La Dee Da. It was owned by a family friend and I was hired! I became very good at making lattes, cappuccinos and frothing that milk. Vanilla, mocha, hazelnut…the possibilities were unless and the experience was unlike any other job I’ve ever had. Customers were regulars, you learned their drinks, and talked over pastries and free refills.

Now if you knew me back in the day, I’ve had a TON of jobs. I bounced around part time jobs whenever I felt like it was time to move on. That time came. I’m not sure where I went to next BUT I do know that when I started graduate school a few years later, I was no longer on my parents insurance. Oh how priorities change. I was in school full time and needed a part time job that provides me with benefits. Can you guess which company had that…it was Starbucks. There wasn’t one in Niagara Falls yet, I started working at the Niagara Falls Boulevard location up by the Boulevard Mall. That’s when my coffee game changed.

Starbucks didn’t just want you to sell drinks, they wanted you to learn the different brews and what pastries would compliment each one. I learned the difference between a latte and a cappuccino, a macchiato and how to flip it upside down. I am not affiliated with Starbucks and please don’t come at me for their beliefs … I appreciate their coffee, nothing more.

Shortly after working there, I became a teacher. I missed the coffee so much that I went and bought myself this MASSIVE espresso machine. It could grind the beans, pour the shots and steam the milk. That thing took up most of my counter space in my kitchen.

I recently upgraded, well I guess upgrade isn’t the correct word, I bought a machine that is a little more practical. It can brew a normal cup of coffee, pour the espresso shots and even has an automatic milk frother.

The fact is, I wake up every morning looking forward to that first sip feeling and wind my night down with a last sip simmer. I’m not sure if I necessarily “depend” on it, but I genuinely love the taste.

Want to know what my favorites are right now?

When I want an iced coffee, I fill a cup with ice, throw in two espresso shots, a little classic sweetener, top it off with some sweet creamer and shake it up. Starbucks calls that a double shot on ice. I like to add sweet creamer instead of milk.

When I want a hot coffee, recently this is my favorite… Pumpkin White Mocha. Here’s what I do. I add a little white mocha in a mug, pour two shots of espresso on top, mix it a little then froth milk with a splash of the Tazo pumpkin spice and pour on top and top it with some pumpkin spice powder.