It’s no secret around here that I love coffee. If you’ve been reading on the blog for long, you’ve likely seen more than a few photos of my coffee bar that houses most of some of my collection of more than 100 mugs. 😏
I think coffee first became a symbol of something special when I was a kid. My parents didn’t drink coffee every day, so anytime the smell of coffee wafted through our farmhouse, we knew that something fun was about to happen. Company was coming and our table would be filled with laughter and interesting conversations, delicious food (my mom was an amazing cook!), and then dessert served with coffee.
Even though I’ve always loved the aroma of coffee brewing, I didn’t really develop a taste for it until I was a newlywed working in a newspaper office that was freezing cold. The only way to keep warm was to go to the back room where the press guys always had a coffee pot going. Black coffee in a Styrofoam cup not only warmed your insides, but kept your hands from turning into blocks of ice.
As a young mom, a cup of coffee represented a much-needed break from the busy day of laundry, cooking, cleaning, diapering, and rocking babies to sleep. And as the kids got older and went off to school, coffee was something I shared with friends during an impromptu visit, or at Bible study, or after a day of shopping.
After I started writing, coffee became fuel for my writer’s engine. The whole process of getting the coffee pot going was a time to mull over my story before I sat down to write. I’ll never forget when Ken was laid off from work and we had to cut our budget to the bone. When I mentioned to a group of writer friends that coffee would no longer be part of my life, they rallied around and provided in the most loving and precious ways. Years ago, I shared that story here on the blog.
Coffee has been back in our budget for many years now and it’s an everyday thing for me. Part of my morning ritual, but I don’t think I will ever take it for granted. This winter, I splurged and spent some of my dad’s Christmas money on a good coffee grinder and an espresso machine. Oh. My. Goodness. I am so enjoying my Americano with cream every morning. I have a new appreciation for the baristas who make my coffee in coffee shops! There’s definitely a learning curve. Especially with the steamer as you can see from my milk-splattered wall!
Are you a fan of coffee or tea or something else? What is your favorite memory centered around something warm and caffeinated? “
And for those of you who like to read while you sip your coffee…
I shared a few weeks ago about working on a new sequel to my novella Playing by Heart (also published as A January Bride in the Winter Brides collection) and I’m delighted to share that Playing for Keeps is available now! As of this writing, only the print version is available, but it will be out in e-book format very soon. Playing for Keeps includes both novellas—the old and the brand new sequel—in one volume for one low price of $9.99 (only $3.99 for the e-book). And I just love that Alex, the matchmaking cat, once again stars on the beautiful cover, designed by my husband this time around.
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My memories of coffee take me back to my mother who always kept the coffee pot brewing. She drank it for every meal, and it smelled so wonderful. I couldn’t wait until I could drink coffee. Then, the great day arrived, and I thought it was one of the worst things I had ever tasted. My thoughts, “How could something that smelled so good, taste so awful.” I married a Marine, who drank his coffee black, saying it wasn’t coffee if anything else was put in it. As his wife, I had to attend many “coffees”, so I really tried to like it, doctoring it many ways with milk, cream, and sugar. At that time tea wasn’t offered as an alternative, so I forced the coffee down to be polite. Eventually became a tea drinker, enjoying many different kinds. I also like hot chocolate.
As always, I enjoy the pictures you post. Your coffee bar looks fantastic.
I love that story, Betty, and my husband had a similar experience, really liking the SMELL of coffee but not being able to stand the taste of it to this day. He’s also a tea and hot chocolate drinker. 🙂
My husband and I have coffee every morning during our devotion time…his hot, mine cold. A favorite coffee memory for me is seeing in my mind’s eye my parents, aunt, and uncle playing dominoes while drinking coffee. My uncle always added lots of sugar to his and then poured some into his saucer to drink while that in the cup cooled a bit. They’ve all been gone to Heaven for several years, and I’ll get to see them again. (BTW, I ordered the “tiles” last week, after you posted the sale, and put them on a small patio table. I like! I’ve always liked yours.).
Oh! I love that you got the tile for your patio table! I hope you’ll post a photo on Facebook! And what a sweet memory of your family playing dominoes and drinking coffee. I love that the smell of coffee evokes such happy memories.
Coffee has always been a part of our lives. My dad loved to make his in a dedicated stove-top coffee pot, the kind where you boil the water and the grounds for at least a week. At least it looked that way! It smelled sooooo good. He LOVED that. I once thought I would do him a favor and took the coffee pot apart and scrubbed off all the grime. Nope. That was not a favor. He adored the extra flavor the grime gave to his coffee. “That was all the good stuff!” So…I did not do that again. I always love looking at pictures of your coffee collection. 🙂
That’s hilarious about the grime adding flavor, but I bet there is some truth to that! Thanks so much for sharing, Angie. And I’m glad you enjoy my photos.
Loved reading about your history with coffee, Deb. I cherish it, too. It’s a treat for me every morning. 🙂
I hope you and I can have coffee together in Texas soon!
I first fell for coffee as a child via my mother’s love of coffee ice cream. The bitterness softened with cream sold me on the stuff, and nowadays watching the half-and-half swirl in that first hot cup of the morning helps start my day. A love of coffee also is something I also share with my daughter-in-law to be, and more recently, with my own daughter’s future father-in-law. We sigh with pleasure together over that first welcome sip and let the rest enjoy their teas!
What a wonderful thing to share with a daughter-in-law! Just lovely!
Did your mom make “egg coffee?” That was a kind of ‘fancy’ version my mom made for her coffee parties. And, that they made at church for funerals, etc… They’d stir a whole egg into the coffee grounds before brewing. It was supposed to collect any residue and make the coffee clear and not bitter. From my recollection…it worked!
Not that I remember, but it’s sure possible. I was never in on the making of the coffee back then. Very interesting!
I LOVE coffee and recently ordered a Lavazza Espresso and Coffee Brewer just like Kelsey’s that she bought after her trip to Italy (she returned RAVING about their coffee). It’s scheduled to arrive this week and I can hardly wait. I LOVE coffee, especially lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos, whatever. As long as it’s coffee. 🙂
So fun to see your grandmothers standing by the sink with your precious Mom. Sweet! Great post! LOL on that milk on the wall.
CONGRATS, too, on the new release. It’s another great one! Your readers are going to love it. 🙂 Even if the cat pics make me want to sneeze.
Haha! I love it! And especially loved having your eyes on my story…AS ALWAYS!
OOooh! I’m in my car on my way to your house and hoping that coffee brewer arrives before I do! Haha! (Just kidding…don’t start cleaning house or anything!)
Oh, yeah! Coffee is heaven in the morning…I do doctor mine a bit but it’s still coffee and still smells heavenly. I developed my love in college – that dorm stuff wasn’t the most tasty but it definitely kept me awake in those 8am classes…ugh! And yes, Deb – at Bible Study I’m the first girl to get to the coffee urn. A girl has to be wide awake to study…right? 😉 (You have an enviable mug collection – such fun to look at!)
LOL! Good thing we’re not in the same Bible study, Lynne, or we might be fighting over the cream! 😉 I weaned myself off of sugar quite a few years ago, but I do love my heavy cream in my coffee.
Amen to that! I’ll fight you for it!
LOL! 😂