Coffee.

I love coffee.

I started drinking coffee in 1977, simultaneously with beginning my first job working in morning radio.

I was a one-man-band researching, writing and delivering the news every 30-minutes so to save time I started drinking the coffee black. I never went back.

Black is still my favorite way to enjoy a cup of coffee, but I like it with sugar and cream too. I also like the occasional fru-fru coffee from Starbucks or Dunkin. My favorite is the Caramel Macchiato.

I’m probably addicted. But black coffee is apparently good for you, in moderation. I drink 2-3 cups a day, which I considerate moderate.

In addition to a cup or two first thing in the morning, I also crave coffee after a good meal, or with a really rich dessert.

Oddly, I also crave a cup of coffee when I see the word coffee in a book. John Grisham has his characters enjoy coffee frequently, so I find myself drinking a cup when I read him.

These days I use a Keurig, which is kind of heresy for real coffee lovers. But I am the only one in my family who drinks coffee, so it’s just more efficient that way.

I saw my first Keurig about 20 years ago. I was at a developers office in Rehoboth discussing their next TV commercial and while I waited for the owner, his assistant offered me a cup of coffee. Of course I accepted, and I watched her drop a pod in a machine and asked her about it.

If I remember correctly, she said her boss had gone to Harvard Business School and they had done a case study on the Keurig before anybody ever heard of it, and he was intrigued and bought one. It was likely the first one in Delaware, so I had an historic cup of coffee.

My favorite method is using an Aero Press but it takes longer and is messy. And grinding beans at 5am when Julie is asleep is not the key to happy wife happy life.

I like my coffee HOT, but I will drink an iced coffee now and then and enjoy it. For some reason though, I cannot drink lukewarm coffee. It has to be cold on purpose. Figure that one out.

My friend Jim stopped drinking coffee cold-turkey. I otherwise respect him and his judgement.

I used to dream about owning a small coffee shop when I retired. Now that I’m retired, I dream about visiting other peoples small coffee shops.

It has to be a grind.

Sorry.

Bad coffee puns are grounds for concern.

I’ll latte myself out.