I was feeling a little reflective today, prompted by someone close to me who has had a few wobbles lately. She's being challenged, feeling overwhelmed and having to step up, take the lead and do some heavy lifting. She's used to it however that doesn't make it any easier and I think it'd be nice if she caught a break.
Thinking about her led me to think about the challenges I've faced throughout my own life, many quite difficult ones, how I've dealt with them and, most importantly, how I've changed with because of them.
Changing through adversity
Can I admit to feeling I've handled adversities and the subsequent changes in myself well? It's not always been the case - that's just how life goes - but with each new challenge and change came a different set of difficulties to overcome. Fortunately, with each came a little more understanding to help with the process next time.
Life isn't just a serious of wobbly moments that force change and some just happens organically: Our tastes in music and food, how we entertain ourselves, build and nurture relationships, what we read, what excites or bores us, attracts and repels. It all changes as life moves on. Today, in my reflection I decided a coffee was required and a thought popped into my head about how much has changed even in that small regard.
Changing coffee
I can't recall the first coffee I had or exactly when I began drinking it regularly although it was in my mid-teens. It's odd thinking back as whilst coffee was popular back then it was nowhere near the mammoth culture it is today where, seemingly, there is a coffee shop on every corner and walking about with a huge cup of coffee is the in thing. I drank coffee in the morning and that was about it.
I used to drink black coffee with a teaspoon of sugar for many years. The bitter flavour being tempered somewhat by the sugar and unsullied by the addition of milk. But around the mid-1990's I added a dash of milk and wondered how I'd been so foolish as to omit it over the previous ten years or so.
I've never been one to go for the large or extra large cups or triple shots; a simple small cup and single shot was all I needed although at about that point I ramped up the single cup to two or so per day.
Around the age of thirty my life changed quite dramatically and something I'd doe for many years, an all-encompassing thing, came to a conclusion and I found so did my long black with a dash of milk. It was all about cappuccino's then, I suppose due mostly to the fact the opportunity to get them was there which wasn't always the case prior; simple coffee had been the order of the day.
I was still adding a small spoon of sugar at that point but the change to an all-milk coffee was quite a change for me. My consumption also increased as I was doing a job where coffee-shop meetings were common. But then change came again...after a trip to France and Italy where I fell in love.
A short change
The espresso captured my heart with its beguiling ways.
I can still recall my first day in France, a croissant and espresso only an hour or so after flying in; it was glorious. I fell deeply in love and the love affair continues to this day. It wasn't my first espresso of course, but there was something special about it and extending that feeling beyond the trip seemed right. It was also then, from that first day in Paris, when I stopped adding sugar and I've not added it to coffee or tea since.
But again, like real life, my coffee-life changed again.
These days I mostly drink a flat white coffee, no sugar and still just a small cup. I drink that about seventy percent of the time and an espresso on other occasions. For several years I was drinking three to four cups a day but now it's more like two to three, and usually none after late afternoon unless it's decaffeinated. I have found a nice decaffeinated espresso that I enjoy which gives the flavour without the sleepless nights.
I wonder if my coffee tastes will change again in the future. I know some who have gone off it completely actually, but I can't see that happening. I'll just roll with the changes though and enjoy the moments, come what may.
I'm someone who can drink coffee alone at a café and enjoy myself, or alternatively share the moment with a friend or small group. In fact in so many of my most valued interactions with people coffee is involved. It's like the fluid that helps lubricate the moment and makes it work better. It seems solving problems, telling tall stories about the past, doing business, or just sitting quietly watching the world pass by is that little bit better with coffee.
I wish I could share a cup with my wobbly friend from above however it's not possible right now. The coffee wouldn't actually help the problem but the coffee-moment might help show some support and solidarity I guess. A burden shared is a burdened lightened they say.
So, that's about it I guess. Feel free to share your favourite coffee below in the comments, or just comment as you please. I'd love to hear from you.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised so be humble and kind
The image is my own
Coffee without sugar, somehow tastes, I personally think it will be better if the coffee is added with milk, I don't know with taste, people have their own tastes. but the expression you pour inspires me
I can't even remember what coffee with sugar on it tastes like but I guess it's all personal preference huh?
Honestly speaking, I like to drink black coffee with less suger. It simple gives me a strong shot and made me fresh. Many do not like it this way. But I enjoy mine;
For me, a good cup of coffee always brings happiness.
Enjoyed reading your stuff @galenkp!
A good cup of coffee can bring a deep satisfaction and hapiness indeed.
Cool, I will definitely try this.
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It is funny how our coffee habits change over time. I never liked milk in it but always used cream 10% or 18%. I started with sugar and cream, then just cream and now mostly black with cream on occasion. The coffee in France is a lot better than the stuff in Canada so drinking it black is actually preferable. The caffeine in coffee is very addictive though and the quantity of cups almost always increases for people it seems. It definitely did for me as well. I've been forcing myself to have only one mug a day lately. I sleep terribly when I have too much and notice that I start to clench my teeth a lot. My jaw hurts by the end of the day hahaha. I get a major headache when I don't have a cup though too lol.
I went back to one cup a day, morning, back several months as I was not sleeping. It helped. Now I have one around 8am and a second around 10:30 and will only have a third if it is decaffeinated. Sleep is too important to me to have much more coffee. Weekends are a bit different, but the working week means less coffee so I can sleep. 😊
Yeah I hear you and agree that sleep is more important. It seems that the less coffee I drink the better I sleep lol
I have never heard a lifetime story explained with the drinking coffee habits changes. While reading it, I was thinking about myself, and I also some changes, I would add that before drinking coffee, as a kid, I was taking hot chocolate for breakfast every day. I have always added milk and sugar to it, and now changed to sweetener and skimmed milk. :)
I guess, just as life takes it's journey so do aspects of ourselves. We change fashion, likes and dislikes, what we eat and drink and even how we perceive life itself. It's a progression and the experiences we have shape and change it. Coffee too.
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Hey Galen, I quite like that quote at the beginning!
It really is amazing the global boom in the coffee shop/café culture.
I tend not to go for too large cups because I need my hot coffee HOT, and my cold coffee COLD. I cannot do in-between temperatures. Therefore, I drink my coffee pretty quickly. For example, this morning I had to go through a long tunnel which required me to turn off my gas stove, wood burner and not use any gadgets. All lights were on, and windows and doors were open which made the boat rather cold. I made myself a decent size cup of coffee with the plans that it would be my comfort for the journey. However, after only a couple of minutes, I felt a slight change in the temp of my coffee, so I had to gulp it fast and do the journey with no coffee.
I could have used my flask, but I'm
pickyfunny and prefer to drink (especially black coffee) from a ceramic cup🙃.I'm now on the brighter side, hence the reason I'm typing this, as my internet connection has just been restored😁
Sorry to hear about your friend who is going through a difficult time, and yes, adversity makes us stronger!!!
Thanks for stopping by, you brighten the community:)
It seems the tall coffee is what most look for but drinking a half litre of mile a couple times a day isn't something I'm keen to do, and whilst I don't like to drink coffee too hot (burnies on my mouth) I don't like to drink coffee that started hot, cold. Iced coffee is legit though.
That tunnel sounds a bit hectic but you made it through and internet is restored so all is well in the world.
Thanks for your nice comments, I always try to bring something a little different to your community.
Internet and all... Yes, the world is a lot brighter now😎
You're very welcome. Different is always good!:)
Different is good indeed and I'm glad all is well in the world once again, light and bright and internetty.
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What are the odds! I'm sitting at a cafe by the beach. Alone. And this post caught my eye 🙃
If I was there you'd not have had to be there alone. And if I was there and you were also there, then I would have not been there alone.
😃
I was always a black coffee drinker for the longest time, then also started to add a dash of milk, or cream. I like the bitter taste of the coffee, but a dash of milk made it just a touch smoother. If it could be hazelnut cream that's all the better.
Lately I've gone all out prince and have been drinking spiced coffee. I mix it at home with a medium or dark coffee mixed with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and a bit of dried creamer. I'll mix up a pound at a time and fill my reusable k-cup pods with it. I have gotten spoiled.
Coffee and cream isn't much of a thing here in Australia, a North American thing I believe. People do it, but it's very uncommon. I don't mind a bit of hazelnut syrup in coffee sometimes, but the sugar content means it's a very rare thing for me.
The spices coffee thing is legit though and I've had a few myself. Just a different spin on it and it's so tasty!
I started taking coffee because I needed to be awake for the night so I could read for long hours.
I am not a fan of bitter things so I never tried black coffee while in school.
I did a whole lot of stuff to keep myself up to read.
One of them was adding coffee to my bottle of coke. That kept me up and active.
I started taking coffee again when I started working and it has been helpful.
I am not so addicted to taking coffee
Coffee added to coke? I've not heard that one before. Did it taste ok?
I wanted anything that could keep me awake for that period.
I was pretty desperate to pass my first professional exams.
For the taste, it was okay..
Ah ok, well I guess it did its job.
Such wonderful realizations on your journey. Indeed the challenges that we experience along the way shaped us into who we are now. It may have been difficult but looking back it was all part of the process. When it comes to my coffee journey, I just recently enjoyed drinking coffee because before I couldn't take it due to palpitations and insomnia but now it's hard for me to get through the day without a cup or two! 🤗
Coffee has captured you now huh? Well, it happens to the best of us and we never seem to mind. 😃
Thanks for your comment.
For me, coffee is synonymous with peace and its aroma gives me a lot of harmony.
Coffee is a wondrous drink and there no wonder it's so popular around the world.
Life is a process of constant change and many times adapting to those changes requires us to change as well, but sometimes it takes time to accept that. I hope your friend makes it through her wobbles soon.
And as for coffee, I like black coffee in the morning, and I don't like that first coffee to be espresso, I prefer it less strong, in a mug, and without sugar. Then, during the day, I usually drink more cups, sometimes an espresso in a small cup and without sugar. When I go to a coffee shop I usually drink a cappuccino and add a little sugar, I don't like unsweetened milk. And I can drink coffee even at night without losing sleep.
Oh, you're one of those who can drink coffee at night without losing sleep? I'm envious.
For me it's a timing thing. On the weekends it doesn't matter and so I'll drink coffee as I please but during the week I have to get enough sleep to be able to function and so limit it after about 3pm. I guess it's partly psychological and partly the coffee as on the weekends I still find sleep. Maybe it's all about what's on my mind at any given point.
I think it is quite psychological that of coffee doesn't let sleep, most people who suffer from insomnia suffer it with coffee or without it. Coffee only exacerbates an existing problem. And in your case, if the weekend you find sleep without problems even if you drink coffee. Maybe you could be less strict in the week and have a coffee in the afternoon if it really provokes you.
I have trouble sleeping a lot, dreams and all, so I guess you're totally correct. I mean, sometimes I sleep really well but I have trouble falling asleep sometimes and also trouble with waking in the night and not being able to fall back to sleep...So I limit the caffeine situation. :)
if only coffee can talk it will always be summoned in the court.. witnessing everything that happens in our every day life :)
If coffee could talk it'd have many good stories to tell I'd say.
Fashions will always pass, but people like you who are simple and enjoy every aspect of life are authentic.
I enjoy coffee like this, whether it's black, strong, with cream, without sugar, etc.
You paid me a compliment, calling me simple. Thank you. I like to think I'm good at clearing away societal clutter and keeping things more simple. I think it brings happiness.
All coffee is good huh? Some is more good, some less, but all good! 😃
Well, there are other good things but if there is coffee they get even better 😃😃
Coffee makes good things great. 🤪
Totally agree, with coffee we can share many things, can chat more relaxed. and if you drink coffee alone is also very fun. Happy with coffee
Things go better with a coffee right? 😃
Hello @galenkp,
We're Looking forward to seeing you soon;-)
Have a great day!
We have a similiar coffee journey. Although I actually started drinking horrible machine vendor made cappuccinos. It took me a while to get into it as you said, there werent coffee shops everywhere like there is now.
I dabbled with them and then lattes but swiftly fell away from them when they just kept getting made too milky. Then just a couple of years, maybe three I tried a flat white and thought ah, this is just right. And that has been me. I like an espresso with a meal, rather just after it. I dont think I will ever fall out with coffee!
Titans and coffee is a relationship that cannot be severed. Lol.
Funny how we sort of had the same journey. I'll be honest mate, I'll buy you a coffee and people-watch with you anyday. I'd say the stories we came up with for those people we were looking at would be entertaining...and once we had too much caffeine...well, I'd say then it'll get interesting!
Lol, that is one thing I bloody hate. The accidental imbibing of too much coffee and that utterly weird jittery feeling of caffeine overload!
Sounds like a great thing though. It is one of my favourite pastimes to just chill with a good coffee and a chat and a watch of the world go by!
One must coffee quaff, but too much quaffing and one may pay the price.
Quaffing and laughing but never spaffing for that goes too far!
One should only spaff when spaffing is requested. Non-appropriate spaffing is the height of rudeness. So uncouth.
Truly it is an art form. One which has fallen by the wayside like so many things