Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Take It As Is

Black coffee: dark, rich and distinctive. The first sip has to be just right - piping hot, fresh, strong, unsweetened, and no burned smell or metallic taste. Ahh… a good sip means a good day.

Why black coffee? I had to go back to when I was 16 years old when I should have been drinking hot chocolate at that age. It wasn’t by choice. Hot chocolate was not served at this fish and bait shop by Galileo High. I went there every morning before class to get something hot to chase away the chills. And what was I doing at Galileo High? I was crazy to take an early morning BASIC/COBL computer programming class that summer when I could have and should have played lazy. And Galileo High was by the piers and wasn’t even that close to home. What was I thinking?

Anyway, back to black coffee… the fish and bait shop never seemed to have cream and sugar. I guessed the fishermen didn’t care about that. Gulp it down and out to the sea. In the beginning I would always ask the weathered owner for cream, and the answer was always a baritone NO. ”Sugar?” I would asked next hoping for the next best thing, but the answer was still NO.

Instead of walking out, I joined the fishermen and took my coffee black. By the end of the summer class, I was one of them!

Talk about a coffee experience… Beat that, Starbucks!

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