Hi, my name is Brian and I'm a coffee addict.
The old saying goes admitting your addiction is half the battle. That being said, I want to talk about one of my favorite beverages. You guess it: coffee!
Now I do come from a family of coffee drinkers. Both sets of my grandparents were coffee drinkers. My Dad and my brother are coffee drinkers. My Mom...not so much. Oh well. I think tea was her brew of choice. Paula started off not liking coffee, but she now helps me indulge my need for caffeine!
If memory serves, I was drinking coffee from a very early age: four years old. Yup, you read that right. I was not even in kindergarten when I started drinking coffee. The story goes that my maternal grandma started me drinking coffee. I recall from way back that black coffee was disgusting. I still have that thought. But she added the cream and sugar and that was all she wrote for me. As I recall, my parents were not exactly thrilled that my grandma had given me coffee. In her wisdom, she saw nothing wrong with it. She gave me coffee, not Bourbon!
Now at that time, coffee was just coffee. Dunkin' Donuts, Crispy Creme and McDonalds served coffee. I think the fanciest way to drink it was with cream and sugar. There was no coffee house to grab a fancy cup of joe. As far as brewers, Mr Coffee was all the rage. Although, I fondly remember my paternal grandma had a percolator. I can still smell that fresh coffee brewing scent when I think of that percolator. Even now, when I catch that smell, it just takes me back to that time. Ma had that percolator for many years and that thing got quite the workout! I wish I had the foresight to want to keep her percolator when she bought a new Mr Coffee coffeemaker when she moved into her condo. If nothing else, I would have had a piece of my family history sitting proudly on my coffee bar.
I think that anyone my age or older mostly drank Folgers or Maxwell House coffee. Again, the choices were few. Remember Sanka? I still have nightmares where I am sitting at my kitchen table, sipping my morning java and hearing some stupid voice over "Brian is unaware that we switched his morning Maxwell House for Sanka. Let's get his opinion!" Remember those asinine commercials? I just checked and Sanka is available on Amazon.com in a 2 ounce jar. Excuse me while I hurl! So apparently people are still drinking that vile swill.
Coffee brewers and variety of coffees and coffeehouses have sprung up everywhere. The TV show Friends featured a Coffeehouse, aptly named Central Perk. With its oversized stuffed orange couch and rustic-looking coffee table, I could imagine myself sitting there and enjoying cup. For a while, Paula, the girls and I enjoyed many hours at what was my absolute favorite coffeehouse, Caribou. God, I loved that place. It was the closet to Central Perk that we found. They had a variety of drinks, teas, smoothies. They also featured a number of baked goodies and various breakfast sandwiches. If you answered their daily trivia question correctly, you got a percentage off your order. I often had their Campfire Mocha. I started off drinking it hot, but quickly switched to having it iced. I can't stressed to you how yummy that drink was. It was Heaven on Earth! I think their secret to many of the mochas was that Caribou used only the best chocolate, both milk and dark. During the fall season, Caribou unveiled their pumpkin drinks and at Christmas, they unleashed their holiday favorites: A Ho-Ho Mint Mocha, and The Fa-La Latte. Man, I am craving both of them right now! Let's Deck Them Halls!! Simply delicious! Sadly, Caribou was bought by Peete's Coffee and Tea. Caribou is still in Ohio, but in the Columbus area. If anyone from Caribou is reading this post, I beg of you!! Please come back to the Dayton area. My family and I truly miss you! Apparently a lot of people echo my thoughts. In fact, everyone that I talked to that has had the pleasure of their coffee misses them too!
Paula and I recently found Boston Stoker. In my heart, Caribou is number one, but Boston Stoker comes in a very close second. Boston Stoker has a secret weapon that would put that other place, whose name I won't mention (Barfbucks) out of business. That weapon? Highlander Grogg. Oh yes, ladies and gentlemen, this coffee separates the men from the boys. If you have not tried this coffee, you have not lived. I had tasted it hot, but again, I mostly prefer it iced. Two weeks ago, Paula and I bought half a pound of this delicious nectar of the Gods. It's just about gone. We are getting more before someone gets hurt! Ask Paula her opinion of Highlander Grogg. It you are serious about wanting to start drinking coffee, I would start there. The baristas are so friendly and understand what it's like for some poor soul that suffers from a serious caffeine depletion. You can buy brewers, coffee and T-shirts there. Who knew?!
Paula dreamed up the brainchild of starting our own coffee bar right in our own home. We own a Keurig coffee maker and it's simply the best brewer out there, in my humble opinion. The reason? You can brew a single cup of coffee just for you and how you like it. We enjoy Caribou, Tullys, Seattle's Best, and a slew of other K-cups. I prefer a light to medium roast and Paula really digs a dark roast. We also brew specialty coffees in an Ekobrew. Another great investment we have made.
Man, with all this coffee talk, I can really preform a really good impression of Linda Richmond. "Hello and welcome to Coffee Talk! I'm your host, Linda Richmond!" Isn't that uncanny?!
We are hitting Boston Stoker this weekend. I am looking forward to my iced Highlander Grogg already!
Before I go, a few thoughts about decaff. There is a time and place for decaff: Never and in the trash. In my house, decaff is simply known as brown water!
Take care guys and remember Life is indeed too short to drink lousy coffee!!
The old saying goes admitting your addiction is half the battle. That being said, I want to talk about one of my favorite beverages. You guess it: coffee!
Now I do come from a family of coffee drinkers. Both sets of my grandparents were coffee drinkers. My Dad and my brother are coffee drinkers. My Mom...not so much. Oh well. I think tea was her brew of choice. Paula started off not liking coffee, but she now helps me indulge my need for caffeine!
If memory serves, I was drinking coffee from a very early age: four years old. Yup, you read that right. I was not even in kindergarten when I started drinking coffee. The story goes that my maternal grandma started me drinking coffee. I recall from way back that black coffee was disgusting. I still have that thought. But she added the cream and sugar and that was all she wrote for me. As I recall, my parents were not exactly thrilled that my grandma had given me coffee. In her wisdom, she saw nothing wrong with it. She gave me coffee, not Bourbon!
Now at that time, coffee was just coffee. Dunkin' Donuts, Crispy Creme and McDonalds served coffee. I think the fanciest way to drink it was with cream and sugar. There was no coffee house to grab a fancy cup of joe. As far as brewers, Mr Coffee was all the rage. Although, I fondly remember my paternal grandma had a percolator. I can still smell that fresh coffee brewing scent when I think of that percolator. Even now, when I catch that smell, it just takes me back to that time. Ma had that percolator for many years and that thing got quite the workout! I wish I had the foresight to want to keep her percolator when she bought a new Mr Coffee coffeemaker when she moved into her condo. If nothing else, I would have had a piece of my family history sitting proudly on my coffee bar.
I think that anyone my age or older mostly drank Folgers or Maxwell House coffee. Again, the choices were few. Remember Sanka? I still have nightmares where I am sitting at my kitchen table, sipping my morning java and hearing some stupid voice over "Brian is unaware that we switched his morning Maxwell House for Sanka. Let's get his opinion!" Remember those asinine commercials? I just checked and Sanka is available on Amazon.com in a 2 ounce jar. Excuse me while I hurl! So apparently people are still drinking that vile swill.
Coffee brewers and variety of coffees and coffeehouses have sprung up everywhere. The TV show Friends featured a Coffeehouse, aptly named Central Perk. With its oversized stuffed orange couch and rustic-looking coffee table, I could imagine myself sitting there and enjoying cup. For a while, Paula, the girls and I enjoyed many hours at what was my absolute favorite coffeehouse, Caribou. God, I loved that place. It was the closet to Central Perk that we found. They had a variety of drinks, teas, smoothies. They also featured a number of baked goodies and various breakfast sandwiches. If you answered their daily trivia question correctly, you got a percentage off your order. I often had their Campfire Mocha. I started off drinking it hot, but quickly switched to having it iced. I can't stressed to you how yummy that drink was. It was Heaven on Earth! I think their secret to many of the mochas was that Caribou used only the best chocolate, both milk and dark. During the fall season, Caribou unveiled their pumpkin drinks and at Christmas, they unleashed their holiday favorites: A Ho-Ho Mint Mocha, and The Fa-La Latte. Man, I am craving both of them right now! Let's Deck Them Halls!! Simply delicious! Sadly, Caribou was bought by Peete's Coffee and Tea. Caribou is still in Ohio, but in the Columbus area. If anyone from Caribou is reading this post, I beg of you!! Please come back to the Dayton area. My family and I truly miss you! Apparently a lot of people echo my thoughts. In fact, everyone that I talked to that has had the pleasure of their coffee misses them too!
Paula and I recently found Boston Stoker. In my heart, Caribou is number one, but Boston Stoker comes in a very close second. Boston Stoker has a secret weapon that would put that other place, whose name I won't mention (Barfbucks) out of business. That weapon? Highlander Grogg. Oh yes, ladies and gentlemen, this coffee separates the men from the boys. If you have not tried this coffee, you have not lived. I had tasted it hot, but again, I mostly prefer it iced. Two weeks ago, Paula and I bought half a pound of this delicious nectar of the Gods. It's just about gone. We are getting more before someone gets hurt! Ask Paula her opinion of Highlander Grogg. It you are serious about wanting to start drinking coffee, I would start there. The baristas are so friendly and understand what it's like for some poor soul that suffers from a serious caffeine depletion. You can buy brewers, coffee and T-shirts there. Who knew?!
Paula dreamed up the brainchild of starting our own coffee bar right in our own home. We own a Keurig coffee maker and it's simply the best brewer out there, in my humble opinion. The reason? You can brew a single cup of coffee just for you and how you like it. We enjoy Caribou, Tullys, Seattle's Best, and a slew of other K-cups. I prefer a light to medium roast and Paula really digs a dark roast. We also brew specialty coffees in an Ekobrew. Another great investment we have made.
Man, with all this coffee talk, I can really preform a really good impression of Linda Richmond. "Hello and welcome to Coffee Talk! I'm your host, Linda Richmond!" Isn't that uncanny?!
We are hitting Boston Stoker this weekend. I am looking forward to my iced Highlander Grogg already!
Before I go, a few thoughts about decaff. There is a time and place for decaff: Never and in the trash. In my house, decaff is simply known as brown water!
Take care guys and remember Life is indeed too short to drink lousy coffee!!
Yes, we MUST get more Highlander Grogg! Total deliciousness! I do enjoy Dunkin'Donuts on 48 & Spring Valley. It is homey and let's face it, I love the donuts!
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