God's Gift to Humankind
My dad drinks coffee every day. His favorite place to go is Starbucks, where his usual order is a grande caffe latte. For as long as I could remember, I would tag along and get myself a tall strawberries and creme frap while he got his coffee. One day, he offered me a sip of his drink. I was always curious about what it tasted like, but I assumed that since we got our drinks from the same place, they would taste pretty much the same. However, the hot, bitter, glorified mud that hit my taste buds did not at all resemble the taste of a sweet strawberries and creme frap. I decided that coffee is disgusting and I would hate it forever and never drink it again.
My hatred of coffee stayed pretty strong until I got into high school. I think the real selling point of coffee isn't the taste, but the caffeine. When I was in elementary and middle school, I would sleep every night by 9 pm. But Ray Carrubba and his worksheets had no mercy on me or my sleep schedule, so I got desperate. Within the first few weeks of junior year, I decided to give in and buy myself a coffee from Einstein's, except I had zero knowledge about the variety of coffee-flavored drinks the world has to offer. Looking at the menu of lattes, mochas, and americanos, I decided to just get a hot black coffee. I really played myself. It was the most vile substance that I have ever put in my body. But it kept me awake through all of my classes, so I decided that this disgusting magic liquid was worth forcing down my throat in order to get through the day.
As the year went on, work piled up, and I got even less sleep, I found myself at Einsteins more often than I probably should have been. I had leveled up from hot black coffee to iced black coffee, which tastes just as gross. Fortunately for me, most of my friends are regular coffee drinkers, and much wiser than I. One of my friends recommended that I try an iced mocha from Espresso Royale. I figured it couldn't taste any worse than a plain black coffee, so I gave it a shot. It was amazing. I never knew that coffee could taste decent and still give me a boost of caffeine. I came to the realization that, when it tastes good, coffee really is magic.
Fast-forward to present day, as a senior I'm still just as obsessed with coffee. I've upgraded from iced mochas to iced vanilla lattes, and have determined that Espresso Royale has the best coffee on campus. I'm still not sure if becoming addicted to iced coffee was the best decision I've ever made or the worst, but that's a problem for adult me. For now, I'll just keep trying to work on college apps with a large iced latte by my side.
Fast-forward to present day, as a senior I'm still just as obsessed with coffee. I've upgraded from iced mochas to iced vanilla lattes, and have determined that Espresso Royale has the best coffee on campus. I'm still not sure if becoming addicted to iced coffee was the best decision I've ever made or the worst, but that's a problem for adult me. For now, I'll just keep trying to work on college apps with a large iced latte by my side.
I really like how you parallel your palate for coffee alongside your growth, it’s really interesting! I also like how you take this common object that a lot of people take for granted and expand on it and its connection to you.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you tried good coffee! I also used to think coffee was disgusting brown toilet water but now I appreciate its caffeine content and flavor possibilities. I like this post because I can really hear your voice and humor.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you found coffee. It really is a life saver! For me my parents have made coffee every morning for as long as I can remember. If I asked they always gave me some. Even as an elementary student if I wanted I could have a cup of coffee with half milk half coffee. I think my parents were so open to me drinking coffee because in Argentina drinking a "cafe con leche" is something most kids and adults do in the morning.
ReplyDeleteI found your blog post really relatable since I also went through a similar experience with coffee. I liked how although coffee was the focal point of your story, you also managed to address other issues such as your growth in high school. I had the opposite experience with coffee as you, since I drank super sweet coffee first and then gradually evolved to drinking hot black coffee (also partially due to Ray's and his worksheets)
ReplyDeleteThere is this idea that its really hard to kick an addiction but its easier if you transition to a less harmful one. Like an addition to sodas isn't good but a some people drink soda whenever they are craving alcohol. I guess being tired is worse than an addiction to coffee. I think charting this development is really interesting, cool post.
ReplyDeleteI think we all have that moment in our childhood when we first try a sip of our parent's coffee and realize it's disgusting and start questioning why they drink this terrible substance on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times a day. I, too, am a regular coffee drinker, but my mom makes fun of me, saying that I'm not a "real" coffee drinker because I get the "frou frou drinks". Say what you will, but straight black coffee is still gross to me. I'll pay the extra 2-3 dollars for the chocolate, thanks.
ReplyDeleteI like this blog post because it is simplistic in nature as well as relate able because I feel a similar way to you, I feel that coffee is straight up disgusting, but you can make it taste much better with milk sugar and other sweets. While I wouldn't say I'm addicted, it has helped me stay awake during those tough moments as well.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Your story of coffee addiction is a little too real for me right now. I also thought coffee was one of the most disgusting things on this earth when I tasted some of my parents coffee, but now coffee/tea is my lifeblood. I still don't drink straight black coffee, though - some may say I'm a weakling, but I'd rather have the sad reality of my addiction (and my schedule) disguised with sugar.
ReplyDeleteI think you perfectly describe every highschool student who fallen victim to Caffeine. I think caffeine is something that require getting used too, and the bitterness doesn't help. When I started drinking coffee I found it tasted bland and disgusting until someone introduced me to Mochas. It was like sweet with slight taste of bitterness similiar in what you would get in the 70% cocoa chocolates made into liquid. I'd would say everyone should try it but don't overdose on it.
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