There are people who love coffee, and then there are people in love with coffee. I am in the latter group.
I started drinking coffee at 18. It’s a comfort, a hobby, integral to my wake-up routine, and a way to socialize.
How do you take your coffee?
I like dark roast coffee with cream, enough so that it’s the color of cardboard. Sugar, too, if I am being honest. I adore raw sugar in my coffee. But I gave that up a while back. I switched to vegan cream a couple of years ago. I like the sweetened kind but watching my sugar intake has led me to explore low sugar options like Trader Joe’s coconut creamer and my current favorite, Silk Half and Half, a combination of oat milk and coconut milk. A milk frother makes all creamer better–ours is a Nespresso frother.
Coffee equipment
I use a Keurig with reusable K-cups for the first cup or two. The Nespresso machine usually serves up cup number three. Depending on how the day is going, there might be a cup number four. Research of coffee seems to indicate that some coffee is good for you but too much caffeine is not (Check out this coffee research round-up in Understandably by Bill Murphy*), so there’s some half-caff in the mix and cup number four is almost always a decaf Nespresso. If I am gifted ground coffee that is too fine for the K-cups, I have a ceramic pour-over cone. The pour-over cone also comes in handy when the power goes out.
Conscious consumption
Ah, the story of coffee production isn’t always pretty. Fairtrade issues and environmental concerns loom large over every cup. So it’s fairtrade shade-grown coffee and swiss water process decaf for me whenever possible. Drinking less is probably helps me and the planet. (Would love to hear about strategies to be a more ethical coffee drinker.)
Mushroom coffee?
I haven’t gone for the mushroom coffee yet but I have tried the mushroom creamer: BetterBody Foods Vegan Organic MCT Creamer. It’s good — earthy — and especially good mixed up with a frother. It’s a little spendy but also very good for you with a healthy dose of B vitamins.
Zoom coffee date, anyone?
The pandemic — and my remote location — has put most in-person coffee dates on hold, but I love to share coffee via Zoom.
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Photo by Lexie Barnhorn on Unsplash