I Don't Like Hot Drinks (or: How I Became a Coffee-Drinker)

If you asked me a year ago - hell, even a month ago - how I felt about coffee, I would have said it's absolutely disgusting, would never drink it by choice, felt like gagging whenever someone offered it to me, et cetera... and I genuinely felt that way. Fast-forward to present day, and I'm drinking probably five cups a week, depending on the week.

What happened? A convolution of factors, summarized by two facts. One: my schedule became too much for me to handle. Two: I found a coffee I liked.

I used to pride myself on my ability to get through the day and plow ahead with my responsibilities on a diet of soda and potato chips. Throughout high school and college, my most common snacks throughout a given day were a few cans of Pepsi and Lay's Sour Cream & Onion chips. Delicious... and yet disgusting. It's sickening how much sugar I consumed as a teenager. These days I thankfully have more sense - I'll snack on crackers, cheeses, peanuts, the occasional soda - but it's harder to get enough energy to make it through some days. A trade-off: better health, less energy. Couple that with the utterly insane schedule I've been maintaining since mid-March (i.e., a full class load, full workload, wedding/honeymoon planning, puppy training, and about 4-5 hours of sleep a night), and it's clear something had to be done. For the first time in my life, I could not handle everything that was on my plate.

This is where coffee comes in. People have told me for years that I should start drinking coffee, and I always dismissed it. For one thing, I was absolutely disgusted by the flavor; secondly, I was getting by fine without it. It's when I was hired by the hospital that I finally gave in. So I started doing my research with only one goal in mind: to find a coffee that would not only do the job, but that I could actually enjoy. I read up on the "best" coffees, compiled a list on those that sounded most intriguing, and finally gave it a try... but I had to start small. That first cup, for instance, was a tiny eight-ounce Styrofoam cup of Kona coffee with a Milky Way flavor shot.

Delicious! It tasted like caffeinated hot chocolate. The next day at the grocery store I tried to replicate that same cup - unfortunately, though, it was a different brand of Kona, and there was no flavor shot. Again I had to start small. Just a couple scoops of coffee and a little too much water. Result: not bad, but a little too bitter. I added milk - horrible idea! Just did not mix well with the coffee, made it taste worse. Second experiment: same coffee : water ratio, this time with creamer. Much better. Lesson learned: a little creamer goes a long way. Since then I've perfected "my" Kona routine: two scoops coffee + approximately 12oz. water. I start off drinking it "black," then when it turns too bitter, I add just a little creamer and some sugar. Tasty.

Considering all that, though, I still don't know that I'd call myself a coffee-lover. I've come to enjoy this flavor, but it's still more a necessary evil than a beverage I seek out. For instance, I don't make coffee unless I need it. For days off work, or when my morning starts at a normal time, I skip it; only when I'm really tired or need to go for a long time do I brew a cup.

I have, however, ventured out. I'm trying to expand my range of flavors to find what I like best, so I've ordered three new flavors to try: Tanzanian Peaberry, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, and Kenyan AA. I didn't intend to order so much, but the deal was just too good. It should last for months. Of these, the one I anticipate liking most is the Tanzanian; conversely, because it is a darker roast than I'm accustomed to, I'm guessing that the Kenyan will be my least favorite. But who knows - I could be surprised! After all, I never anticipated being a coffee-drinker in the first place, much less one who's trying to find his favorite of the major African flavors. Funny how things change.