I've been reading Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture and I love it. At this point it is discussing the history of Starbucks. It reminded me of my own history of coffee, which I shall share with you now.
I grew up with grandparents who drank Folgers religiously. Grandpa had been in the military in Alaska as a young man, and the only way to keep warm was through nasty government issued coffee. Grandma had been on Weight Watchers at a time when the only approved drinks were water or black coffee. I was around it a lot but never ventured a taste-- the smell was bad enough! My grandparents affinity for cheap coffee turned not only my young self but also my mother off of the stuff, so it was never in my house. When my mother married my stepfather, he brought Maxwell House with him. The stuff smells no better than Folgers, so still this was not something that interested me. I grew up in a world of Pepsi, there's no need for nasty coffee when you have Pepsi!
So this brings us to high school in the mid to late 90s. I remember the first time I was introduced to our local coffeehouse, The Coffee Scene. I was in love. It was truly the most magnificent place I had ever seen. It was full of young, hip people, sipping drinks, playing board games, reading poetry, smoking. It was immediately a world I wanted to be a part of. Of course, I got some sort of fruit and cream concoction. It didn't even have coffee hidden in it, it was pretty much just pure sugar. That probably ruined my hip coffeehouse cred right there. I did not become a regular at the Coffee Scene, but the impression it made on me never faded.
That was a time before Starbucks had taken over the world. To my knowledge we didn't have one in our town. We did get a couple of bookstores with cafes in them. This is where I experienced my first coffee beverage: an Irish Creme Mocha. Pretty much pure sugar again, but this time it made me feel mature and "in the know." The bookstore cafe never offered that rush that I got from the Coffee Scene, but it offered tasty hot beverages and I didn't get that feeling of inadequacy I got from visiting the real coffeehouse (looking back I know that the Coffee Scene didn't really deserve feelings of inadequacy- I know many a lame high schooler that went there- but at the time it seemed way too cool for me).
Fast forward a couple of years. The whole college thing hadn't worked out for me and I needed a full time job. I had no skills and very little work experience. I had always loved books, so I was visiting the big chain bookstore looking for solace and on a whim I filled out an application. I was offered a job and given my choice: open on the book floor (you have to be in by 7 a.m.) or open the cafe (you have to start at 8 a.m.). I had never had another coffee beverage since my occasional aforementioned mocha in high school, but 8 is better than 7, so I chose the cafe. Again, I fell in love.
I have never experienced any other job I love as much as working in the cafe. I stayed for as long as I could. I loved my customers, I loved the art of drink making, I loved stocking the bake case... I seriously loved everything about that job. Well, I could have done without cleaning table bases, but nothing is perfect, right? I took my job very seriously. Even though I had never had coffee before, I tried every drink offered to me. I knew customers would come in and ask my opinions, and I wasn't going to lie. So I developed a taste for all of those specialty coffee drinks. Of course, my favorites were the ones that were full of sugar and not much coffee. My absolute favorite was the white chocolate mocha.
I can still taste those white chocolate mochas of yesteryear. It didn't matter to me that I had a bad relationship with my family, that I'd quit college and ruined my chance at a good life, that I had no money and no home, when I took a sip of that white chocolate mocha I just felt happy. It brings tears of joyful nostalgia to my eyes just to think of it now.
I met some of my best friends in that cafe. I met my husband in that cafe. When my oldest son was a baby, I took him to that cafe every week, where I would drink a cup of tea or a soy latte and meet up with friends. In recent years my life has changed. With two young children, it's harder to be able to sit with a drink and friends. We moved further away from that particular cafe (not that there aren't 20 others between here and there). There are many reasons I don't do the whole coffeehouse thing anymore, but I still love it passionately. I would absolutely love to support independent coffeehouses, but those are few and far between. I used to pretend I hated Starbucks because they crushed the indie shops, but I don't really. I love Starbucks. I love that they offer happiness in a cup. I love that if it weren't for Starbucks, I wouldn't know that I love coffee in all forms (even black) and I wouldn't know that the coffee business is the business I want to be in (someday).
To sum it up: coffee very good, Starbucks pretty good, independent coffeehouses even better (if you've got one, go support it!), Steph an addict.
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