COFFEE

I love coffee.  

I appreciate artisanal coffee shops; however, I don't really go to them.  They are too upper class for my taste.  Clearly, these places are targeting upper middle class or whatever we are calling people with a little money to spare these days.  

I make my coffee at home.

What I love about coffee is the scent of coffee right after I open a can of ground coffee, or when I grind beans.  

(I don't have time for grinding beans every morning.)

I love the sound of a percolator working.

I love the feel of a warm cup in the morning, even when it is summer.

I love the bitterness, cut by a little sugar and creamer.  

It's the ritual that works for me.  The beginning of the day, a drink that kicks you awake, and the slow cooling of the mug letting me know its time to work.

Coffee tastes like coffee to me.  Bitter.  It's not unpleasant, to me at least.  

The trappings of the artisanal coffee shop do enhance the flavor of coffee and do provide "an experience" for their customers.  That experience is what coffee shops sell.  

It would be a bad idea for me to open a coffee shop.  I love coffee; but, I am not a people person.  I can't give those sales pitches with a straight face.  It's just  coffee.  I love coffee, but honestly, most artisanal places oversell the product, and nothing can live up to that hype.    

I would rather buy coffee from a diner that just says its coffee.