Gasoline of Life

I walked by a sign yesterday that said ‘coffee is the gasoline of life’ and I chuckled. The expression captured my sentiments perfectly. Despite being raised in a family that subsisted on caffeine, I did not have my first cup of coffee until I was in college. 

I went to school in the morning to early afternoon and worked in the late afternoon through evening. I found it hard to stay awake through many of my lectures. In order to feel alive, I decided to try some coffee one morning (and it was what I call a ‘cheater’ coffee i.e. flavored coffee) and it helped. I was more engaged and I asked questions. That’s how it started. I would need a cup in the morning and one in the early afternoon to make it through work or to get studying done. I could go very long stretches of time concentrating with a cup of joe by my side. 

Over time it has become a trigger to many good memories. As most people know, Starbucks is my second home (not any particular Starbucks but more the concept). During college and grad school, I would visit the coffee shop across the street for my afternoon coffee. I knew the people who worked there by name and they would see me coming and have my coffee ready for me. It was an emotional, mental and spiritual pick-me-up. 

On occasion I would meet a teaching assistant or a friend for a cup of coffee and we’d have some lovely discussions about what I was reading, what was going on in the world, questions about life etc. The cup of coffee was an excuse for and a comfort during these social engagements. Where other people were smoking cigarettes to be social, I found the cup that my hand surrounded as the energy that fed my ideas. 

Whenever I am in Europe it is my excuse to do some people-watching. I order a cup and watch the people go by or read a book or do some writing. All things that I find comforting. 

As I have gotten older, I have become a bit of coffee snob – trying different roasts and beans from all over the world - sensing the top and bottom notes and flavors like a sommelier. I often make coffee at home and say to my husband “I think this is my favorite roast!” He always reminds me that I say that about almost every new bean that I try. Oh well, that might be true but there is relief and solace to almost all the roasts that I try. I have since abandoned my trusty flavored coffees of yore since they just don’t have the complexity of regular roasts. I used to think decaf was for sissies but now, I like it. It’s especially helpful when you enjoy the flavor of coffee but don’t need the buzz (and to get through pregnancy!).  But yes, coffee has become my gasoline – without it, I run on empty and sputter along.