Friday, January 16, 2015

Good mug of java!


Looks like this will be a coffee drinking day!
I'm meeting a dear friend at Starbucks this afternoon, however, later this morning . . . 
I'm picking up my granddaughter Jasmin after early release (she's doing exams) 
and we're going out for coffee, at her invitation, and it will be at our favorite local 
independent coffee shop.
 I'll let her drive as she needs more practice before taking her test for a license. 
Icy conditions of the past couple mornings have gone, thankfully, and we have 
bright sunshine despite the chill. All in all, a cheery looking morning. 
I even spy some robins at the birdbath, always a sign of a distant Spring.


I enjoy coffee. I don't like bad coffee. I usually drink mine black, no cream or 
sugar - it must be strong, not bitter, smooth and flavorsome.
If there's no good coffee available I'll stick with a nice cup of tea.
Do you agree with that statement on the wall above?


Do you have a favorite brand of coffee?
Do you grind your own beans?
Do you frequent a particular local coffee shop?
If so, is it a chain or an independent business?

What are your thoughts on coffee drinking?

20 comments:

  1. Dear Mary, I can't imagine a day without that first cup of coffee. I'm one of those who has to have hot milk with my coffee. I love European coffee, strong and never bitter.
    We drink Costco coffee. Often we grind our own when we have special coffee beans in the pantry. The rest of the day we drink tea, usually with tea leaves I have gathered from my garden, such as Peppermint and Linden tree blossoms.

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  2. A good chilly morning to you Mary. We had a light snow the past few hours and it's actually quite mild at -3C for a change. I think I'd have to answer No to all your questions at the end of your post. :) I rarely drink coffee and rarely go to a coffee shop. If I do go to a coffee shop it is our Canadian "Tim Horton's" and I always get green tea. I hear coffee is very good for us especially if it's black but I just can't 'get' the taste even though I love the smell of it. Enjoy your sunny day there. xx Pam

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  3. Well, I might not be the right person to answer this question - you see, I don't like coffee. I drank a cup one time - about 51 years ago. This handsome young man, new to our town, asked to walk me home from my after school job at a local drug store and asked if I'd like to stop for a cup of coffee. I would have stopped for a cup of week old sea weed - but we did order coffee. I drank it, and hated it - but I liked the handsome young man and didn't want him to think I was not sophisticated. Never again after that did I have to drink coffee - in fact if I was forced to drink coffee with a meal I would rather go hungry - I just don't like it. But I do like that handsome young man, who is now my handsome gentleman, and we celebrated our 50th anniversary last September, so a cup of coffee is often the pathway to something better. I still don't drink coffee - used to stop at Starbucks to get scones but since they've decided to slice the scones in half and slather on cheap jelly I've stopped going there too.

    And while we are having a confession day - I don't watch Downton Abbey either (please, don't throw your coffee cups at me), in fact we don't even have a television, but in the evenings my handsome gentleman and I read to each other or have wonderful discussions, and not a cup of coffee in sight.

    Loved your post!!! Enjoy your coffee day.

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  4. I don't drink just plain coffee, but I do adore the smell of it. I will drink Starbucks' lattes. I tend to get the skinny vanilla. I also like their caramel Frappuccino light. :-)

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  5. Hi there ! From all the coffee drinking we did in Buenos Aires, I was so let down by the taste of coffee back in NY. Weak and tasteless or too strong and tasteless. I overpay for coffee at a place in Great Barrington Ma, but at least it is strong and fresh. I am drinking more tea these days anyway ... less caffeine and more soothing .. as I sit and stare out the windows looking at the snow piling up out there again ... waaaa.

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  6. I love coffee. I also love tea. My favorite coffee is peppermint flavored. Millstone used to make available during the holiday season, but then discontinued it. Pbbbttt... So I tracked down a little family business in Georgia that has peppermint coffee and I buy it in bulk from them now. I have a Starbucks card that someone gave me about a year ago, and I haven't used had a chance to use it. I will save it for little treats in airports, in-between flights. A Dunkin Donuts store opened recently a couple of miles down the road, and I have stopped in there a few times. I don't know of any locally-owned, non-chain coffee places in my area.

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  7. We grind our own at home but change the brand often. I like to try different ones. Oh boy, I can't wait to see my first robin of 2015.

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  8. I don't drink a lot of coffee but when I do I want to savor it so, I will not drink bad coffee. Of course I like just a touch of sugar and a lot of cream.
    I buy my beans at Trader Joe's and grind them myself. Once in a while I'll go to Starbucks and buy a foofy latte.
    Have a nice weekend Mary!

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  9. I have never had a cup of coffee in my life. A sip to taste, yes. But, then I go 'blahhhhhh' and that's the end of it. Love to smell it brewing but hate the taste. Am I missing something? I hope not.

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  10. I will never drink bad or "old" coffee...I'd just get tea. I have my morning cups...sometimes black, sometimes with a little flavored cream. I get ambitious sometimes and grind my own beans. I try different brands all the time. Gee, I'm a real paradox! One thing for sure...no coffee after lunch, I'm an insomniac and so after that meal, it's all herbal or decaf tea.

    Hurray for Jasmin!

    Jane x

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  11. Love the statement on the wall! I concur.

    Favorite and only brand I drink here at home: Peet's French Roast with half & half.

    xo
    Claudia

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  12. have you tried the flat whites at starbucks? I get mine with vanilla in it....yummy

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  13. I absolutely LOVE Costa flat whites! In fact even typing it now is making me crave one (they will be closed now). I am a coffeeoholic and have one constantly on my desk - usually just black but when out and about the Costa brand is my favourite.

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  14. I drink two large mugs (Emma Bridgewater) of freshly brewed Carte Noire with my petit dejeuner each morning. In the afternoon I prefer Yorkshire tea.

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  15. Getting a coffee used to be such a simple thing to do. Now it involves so many decisions. And so many pretentious labels and marketing ploys. I should do a post on this sometime. Starbucks are the worst, in my view. And their coffee is too weak for me. Hate to say it, but it's hard to get a REALLY good cup of coffee out in the UK, whereas it's terribly easy in France!

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  16. For me it is tea only, no coffee. However, I love the smell of good coffee and often step into Starbucks,
    partly for the smell, but also for tea. I don't think bad coffee would be worth drinking even if I liked coffee.

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  17. Ah, coffee....I do love a good cuppa but have been known to drink some older coffee later in the day! I love having a cup of tea with Mary in her lovely gazebo....sometimes we even invite Bob! Thank you, Mary, for tea and thee..... Hugs~ Jeannette

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    Replies
    1. ……….and I ALWAYS love meeting up with you Jeannette whether for coffee or tea! I love your company and our friendship.
      Gazebo days will be coming later - or we can bundle up in our thermals and sit out there with the little heater on a sunny day even before Spring, haha!!!!
      Hugs - Mary

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  18. I definitely do not agree with the sign. Bad coffee is just bad. I don't like it when it starts to get bitter after sitting too long. Every morning, I have a cup at home and then a cup at school and mid-morning I have Turkish coffee. Then it's usually green tea if I want anything in the afternoon, though there have been days lately when I am craving a nice hot cup of coffee. Have a wonderful day. Tammy

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  19. I constantly spent my half an hour to read this webpage's articles daily along with a mug of coffee.

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