Food Essay Draft - Kelcy Spinden

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For centuries, people have had at least two thoughts in common upon waking in the morning; “I have to pee” and “coffee!” I am not too interested in the former, but the latter thought poses an appeal to many millions of people from all over the globe. Happiness so often comes from the simplest of things. Such as the deep aroma of coffee as it is brewing, and then slowly wafting that sweet smell from your mug before the first sip. Once the bold flavor hits your tongue and you finally receive what you’ve been longing for; bliss.

I am a sucker for a good cup of coffee. This is a relatively new development for me and my job is to blame. I get to work at 5:30am, the first thing I do is brew a batch of Kona Blend. Then I spend my day making lattes, mochas, cappuccinos, brewing more coffee, talking about coffee, smelling coffee and observing coffee drinkers. About a year ago, I wouldn’t have been considered one myself, but as you can imagine my job motivated me try out all the different roasts and blends. I had to at least try them. Then I “tried” them so much that I became addicted.

Since then, I have learned a little about the different kinds of coffees from around the world, the process from plant to cup, the social and environmental ethics involved, as well as the ‘coffee culture’ that I have had the joy of discerning over the last fourteen months.

Legend has it that the effects of coffee were first discovered in the 11^th century in the highlands of Ethiopia. One day, a local shepherd named Kaldi noticed that his goats were acting unusually cheerful and energized. He soon determined that their sleeplessness was caused by little red cherries growing on nearby shrubs. After eating the cherries and experiencing the elated feeling himself, he shared it with the world and coffee was born. Now, this is just the story that I have picked up from various customers, but I think it is as good a story as any, given that the true origin of coffee is indefinite. I do know, however, that it was definitely cultivated as a hot drink by the 15^th century in the Arabian Peninsula and is now the 2^nd most popular drink in the world behind tea.

It is quite amazing really what coffee means to some people. Most of my customers at Kona Coffee are regulars. They come in every day, same time, same drink. “Triple, peak, skinny, half caff., half the syrup, no whip mocha bianca with a shot of cinnamon, extra hot, no foam” for example.