Coffee Not Always My Friend

The fragrant aroma as it rises from the frothy surface of my first cup of the day, so soothing and calming. I would not know what to do without it, for it and I have been together for some time now...coffee!

Surprising to say coffee and I have not always gotten along. When I was around 22 years old I had a very bad experience with making the brew. Being young, green, and still wet behind the ears, I asked my fellow workers how to make it, for I wanted to come in early the next day and make it for everyone. I listened carefully to the instructions and made some notes to not forget anything.

The next morning at 5:00AM I arrived and opened the lid to the coffee maker and looked into the darkest, nastiest, coffee maker I could possible imagine. I did the only thing a young fresh out of military basic troop would do…I took the scouring powder and a scrub-pad to it and worked it over for about an hour. Again, coffee and I were strangers to each other and I did’t know that the secret to the best cup of Joe was a seasoned coffee maker.

Needless to say my Sergeant did not take kindly to having a coffee maker that he had painstakingly watched over and seasoned for the past 18 years scrubbed to the point of seeing himself. I was on what we called a S*it list with him for many months thereafter.

So over the years I have learned a valuable lesson where coffee is concerned. I have guarded my coffee maker that drips my coffee on top of the stove, like a pit-bull for the past 24 years. I think back to when I committed such a travesty to an 18 year cup of Joe, as I sit enjoying my 24 year cup. I now understand what his anger must have been and I am thankful to be writing and sharing this memory with you.