Pour Me Another Cup Of Joe

There is something very special about a cup of coffee. Think about it. Coffee beans are grown in some of the poorest parts of the globe and yet it is enjoyed around the planet, bringing people together to enjoy and share it like few things can.

When we get together in social situations with friends, colleagues, classmates, and others it is oftentimes the first thing we offer someone. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

Most of us can’t think of starting our day without it. One of my favorite sayings is something I recently saw on a friend’s Facebook page that said, “Life starts after coffee.”

But it makes sense why we have this focus, doesn’t it? According to the International Coffee Organization, coffee is the third most consumed beverage on the planet (after water and tea), and it is the second most traded commodity after oil.

As a child, I didn’t know what all the fuss was about. But as I grew older, I discovered that there was life beyond the Folgers and Maxwell House of my youth, and started to sample brews from other companies like Gevalia, Green Mountain, Starbucks, and my all-time favorite, Peet’s, which some affectionately call the Berkeley brew.

When I started to travel, I also found that coffee is roasted differently in other places. In New York, I fell in love with the house blend at a little hole-in-the-wall family owned place called Cranberry’s in Brooklyn Heights. Their flavor is out of this world, and I quickly became an avid fan, willing to stand in line for a steaming mug of the stuff.

Then of course, there is the chicory coffee I discovered the first time I visited my beloved New Orleans and found myself sitting in Café Du Monde beneath its green and white awning at midnight, listening to jazz and drinking cafe au lait while nibbling on their irresistible beignets.

Winter trips demand coffee indulgence too, especially when the wind is so cold it nips at your nose and your fingers feel as if they’ll fall off from frostbite at any moment. Once, while vacationing in Wyoming with friends, we got caught in a flash blizzard outside Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. As the park closed we sought somewhere to warm up, and we stumbled across the java oasis called Jackson Hole Coffee Roasters where we got our fill of their organic blends.

Oddly enough, years earlier we were once on another trip with those same friends, but this time skiing at Heavenly in Lake Tahoe. After a day on the mountain, a huge mug of coffee hit the spot.

Whether it is hot or cold, whether you’re in a famed coffee shop or your own kitchen, coffee is an indulgence many of us take for granted. But as you enjoy International Coffee Day, take a moment to revel in the simplicity of coffee and all the memories, friendships, and comfort it can bring. It truly is one of life’s simple pleasures. Now will someone please pour me another cup of Joe?