What makes the best cup of joe?

After a show 4 hours from home with my band the other night, I slept at our drummer’s house who lived much closer to the vicinity of where the festival was.

I woke up quietly the next morning, careful to not bother anyone else. After quickly eradicating the sleep from my brain I flipped open my laptop to take care of a couple of things before they slipped my mind. A few minutes later the front door opened and our drummer walked in from the porch.

We exchanged good mornings and he asked if I wanted some coffee.

As I followed him to the kitchen he apologized for not having any cream while at the same time grabbing a gallon of milk from the refrigerator and slinging it in my general direction. I told him that it was fine as I poured coffee into the oversized mug that he’d slid in front of me on the counter.

I muckled onto the nearly full jug of milk and quickly realized that my body still held a little resistance to my mind telling it to wake up. I took my time and carefully added a couple of splashes of what I’m guessing was a low-fat version of the white stuff. The shade of my coffee barely changed, but I wasn’t about to be too picky. I appreciated the caffeine.

Good coffee is by far one of my favorite things. I’ve come to understand however, that good company makes even mediocre coffee better and can magically turn the worst coffee into something rather enjoyable.

The coffee was dark. The oversized spoon that I used for sugar had me toss in a terrible estimate of the amount that I normally take and the lack of cream didn’t add any richness to my morning beverage.

We headed straight outside and sat on the front porch. His company and our conversation made the coffee just perfect.

Where you least expect it

The best cup of coffee that I’ve ever had was at a pizza shop years ago. I’m fairly certain it was a last-minute family get-together or something of the sort.

Among what was left of the pizza and calzones on the pulled-together tables were a few different half-full bottles of soda that I just wasn’t feeling.

I asked for a cup of coffee…at a pizza shop. I expected exactly what you’re imagining. Bland, tasteless, and bad. Still, it’s what I was in the mood for.

4 creamers and 4 sugar packets in a typical restaurant-style coffee mug. If you’ve been doing it any differently, you should take my advice and give it a try. I put half of that amount of sugar in when I’m at home, but when I’m out and about and in control of what’s going in what I’m about to put down, 4 and 4 it is.

It was sensational. I have no idea how or why. I’d done nothing different than I normally do when served up java at any public eatery.

I took my time and savored every sip.

I’ve never been able to repeat that particular cup of coffee. I went back to look for the pizza place years later to find that it was no longer there. Gone, too, was any chance at another cup of whatever magic beans they were serving up that was better than any pie I have a hard time remembering from them.

Not quite room service

I can’t tell you how many nights I’ve spent in hotels. I’ll share this piece of coffee advice, though-

The coffee in the room? Brew it so that it fills the room with a fragrant aroma, but for the love of all that is coffee, don’t drink it. It’s going to be terrible and you’re starting your day off with a taste in your mouth that’s much worse than the stranger that you may have spent the night with who tucked out before the rest of the hotel woke up.

Brew it, get in the shower, and go to the lobby for coffee that you can actually drink.

You’ll thank me later.

Instantly coffee

Growing up in Vermont I’ve spent more than my share of time at hunting camp.

I’d arrive on a cold November evening before everyone else. Getting a fire started in the wood stove was the first order of business. A simultaneous second was to boil water in a small saucepan on the gas stove and pour it into a cup where I’d already added a heaping teaspoon full of instant coffee grounds.

A box of sugar cubes and some non-dairy powdered creamer had both been stored tightly in sealed containers since my previous stay months before. Two cubes and a spoonful of the creamer rounded out the hot drink that still brings me back to my earliest memories with family and friends at the start of deer season each year.

I’d sip it and reminisce in my mind while pulling up a chair next to the sound of the crackling fire while camp warmed up.

Whenever I’d visit my Mom, she’d offer me coffee. Almost always instant and almost always with skim milk. I’m not sure what skim milk adds to coffee if anything, but I can most definitely attest to the pleasure of drinking that same coffee at the table while catching up with her.

Straight up

I’m not a fan of black coffee. Just the thought of it reminds me of a sweet and bitter combination completely lacking in rich flavor. I’ve tried numerous times, but I just can’t seem to choose it as a regular option.

Although, if I’m sitting with a friend anywhere and black coffee is the only offering, it’s the best black coffee that I’ve ever had.

My favorite option

Whatever is missing from my normal coffee when I’m with someone that I enjoy being with can easily be replaced.

No cream? Tell me how you’ve been.

No sugar? Share something that makes me laugh.

Caffeine free? Spend a few silent moments together with me to remind me how much better life is with you in it.

As it turns out, it’s never about the coffee.