The Almighty Bean

(Coming to you from the Philadelphia Writer’s Conference…)

Maybe it’s because I’m American, but I tend to associate coffee with books and literature. I know that it’s traditional to discuss literature along with politics or other current events at tea time, but Americans are more drinkers of coffee than tea. I enjoy both, and in fact had a somewhat recent bout with relatively rampant anglophilia that had me drinking nothing [i]but[/i] tea, but when I rediscovered coffee I remembered why that was my morning start-up beverage of choice.

I don’t know who first had the brilliant idea to stick coffee shop kiosks and seating areas in bookstores, but now when I catch a whiff of good coffee, I want to grab a book and sit down with a drink dominated by the power of espresso. I want to compare notes with successful authors while stirring whipped cream into my drink. Even if reality crashes back into my wishes and reminds me of the seventeen things I need to do in eight hours on top of paying a few bills to keep the garbage guys coming and the Intertubes flowing, it’s still a pleasant sensation, especially early in the morning.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds themselves thankful for the delicious aroma of the almighty bean. If you drink coffee, how’s your favorite way to do it? Do you prefer paying extra for purchasing some from a coffee house, or have you taken the plunge and started making your own? Is your coffee pre-packaged and freeze-dried, or freshly-ground and classified as ‘gourmet’?

Let me know. Leave me, and coffee, a bit of love.