1. COFFEE, COFFEE, COFFEE

COFFEE, COFFEE, COFFEE

People call soccer “the beautiful game” and I propose that we call coffee “the beautiful beverage”. I apologize, that was very cringe-worthy. I just love coffee, okay? It has this amazing taste and many different flavors all in one; acidic, bitter, sweet, rich, and delicious (which isn’t a flavor or anything, I just didn’t know how to end this sentence. It sounded off slightly). Would you believe me if I said I only started drinking coffee two years ago? My mother forbade me from drinking coffee (and rightfully so) or caffeinated beverages as a whole actually (again, rightfully so). The first time I had coffee, I was with some of my peers. We were working on a group project together at a cafe. I looked at the menu and ordered… the mocha. 

You do not understand the thought that went into that decision. There were girls there who I didn’t know beyond their first names and there were also guys there who I knew very well actually. I needed to evade any sort of judgment from both of these groups and then satiate my thirst as well. I could not order a milkshake… too childish. Hot chocolate perhaps? Tempting, very tempting but my friend also wants one and I am not a copycat! I could just… not order but I am not a NARC! I must order something. A plain old coffee? Coffee is very professional, it indicates that I am a hard worker and I need some energy because I was grinding the night before, not just playing Earthbound but regular coffee is bland! I might not even like coffee, then what? That’s a lot of money down the drain. Just as I was about to order the hot chocolate, I saw it… the mocha. A perfect middle ground. That was the first coffee I ever had.

From then on, I developed a fervent love for coffee. I looked for barista jobs near me just so I could learn more coffee recipes. Now, you never heard this from me but you don’t need to be a barista to learn how to make great coffee, a little bird told me that all the Starbucks recipes are available for free, on the internet. I don’t even like Starbucks. I don’t want their recipes. I do my own thing and my recipes are not and will never be public. My desire to gatekeep usurps my vanity. Perhaps I’ll share on a separate occasion. 

Without giving away my recipe, I would like to talk about what I usually order at cafes. I live in Cafe Central. The street that I usually find myself on has (no exaggeration) five coffee shops, six if you include the one around the corner which is technically on another street. That’s just one street, the whole town is rampant with coffee shops. I walk around there maybe twice or thrice a week and I make sure to try out a different place each time. Even though it has been two years, I still love a good mocha. That’s usually my go-to but a wise sage once taught me a valuable lesson. They said to ask the barista what they recommend every once in a while which is a great way to try new things and practice social skills.

I tried the sage’s tip at a coffee shop that was also a laundromat. I had no idea they sold coffee until I saw someone walking out with a steaming cup. I walked in and asked the barista what I should have and he was so nice, he said he was going to whip up his special just for me! I was excited. I sat at a little table, tapping my feet, eagerly awaiting whatever he was brewing for me. He placed on my table what looked like mud in a cup and I’ll admit, I was a bit scared to drink it but it tasted great. One of the best cups of coffee I’ve ever had. I went in the next day for more too! 

On the flip side, I think the worst coffee I’ve ever had came from Starbucks. It was just the most watery, bland, tasteless, overpriced gunk I’ve ever had. It was overpriced too so I had to finish it. People tell me they don’t want to boycott Starbucks and I will never understand that. Mcdonalds and Starbucks were the easiest boycotts ever! Remember that street I mentioned with five coffee shops, Starbucks is on that street! Four (much better and cheaper) alternatives are also pro-Palestine, that’s not something I need to worry about when I buy local which is another positive. When I buy at a big-name coffee shop, I need to do research but if it’s local, I can just walk in and order. 

As I write this, I’m drinking coffee right now. It’s alright. I recently learned how to make a killer iced coffee so I’ll make one when it gets hotter but for now, I think that’s it. I’m not sure what I’ll talk about next week (this week! I had this written last week, sorry) but I look forward to it! Thank you for reading, dear reader!

EPILOGUE

Welcome to the epilogue! I write this a few days in advance or in this case, I just forgot to edit and post this and am only getting the chance now so this epilogue is kind of a little addendum. First of all, I want to thank the lovely, Gillian. Miss Gillian did the art for this one and I adore her style, it reminds me a lot of Pizza Tower (one of my favorite games). She once drew silly art of me while I was watching The Godfather and live blogging about it and when I saw it, I just had to ask her to do some art for this blog. I don’t want to spring this on her every week but it certainly won’t be a one-time thing. 

Okay, from here on you can feel free to skip if you don’t care, it’s just life stuff. 

I missed my deadline because I was busy with projects and assignments. That does not give me much time this week but it’s still very manageable for me, this Friday’s blog just won’t be as polished as I’d like it to be since my writing process requires a full week but consistency is what matters right now. I just want to get some writing out there again. This week, I have quite a bit of free time so I’ll focus more on that. 

I still have no idea what I want to write about for the next blog but I’ll try to get an idea today and get to work on that. See you then!