of this brew that I started enjoying somewhere in my twenties.
Memories are vague, but I do remember early encounters when I was quite young. Mom and her sister Evelyn spent long hours in the kitchen, or so it seemed, sipping one cup of coffee after another and catching up on the latest news. As I played with my cousin, Mom and Aunt Evelyn talked about everything it seemed, anywhere from what to fix for dinner to personal regrets.... Mom's all time favorite was the missed land opportunity that could have made the family a fortune.
The earthy aroma of coffee was everywhere, rising in the steam from the pot as it brewed, in the air as it was poured, and on their breath as they talked. Mixed with Mom's flowery perfume in the scarf she liked to wear and Evelyn's floury hands (oh, could she ever bake a loaf of bread), it was a wonderful Norwegian potpourri. I say Norwegian because I only remember this scent in the homes of the Norwegians in my family. The one German home on my other side often had a cloved beef tongue simmering in the pot and fabulous okra chili. Brewed coffee, yes, but more dominated by the chili spices and cloves wafting from the pot.
Fast forward to marriage in my early twenties. No coffee pot, but instant coffee thank you, because I was too busy to learn how to brew coffee properly. Disgusting stuff as I look back. Drip coffee
How about you? Do you have any first coffee memories?
Happy Weekend!
Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is visit the Celebrate page on Lexa's Blog for the rules, and then post every Friday about something you're grateful for that week. It can be about writing or family or school or general life. This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever! (Originated by VikLit) Two wonderful co-hosts of Celebrate the Small Things are: L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge
Katie @ TheCyborgMom
Katie @ TheCyborgMom
I love the smell of fresh coffee, and my husband makes fabulous coffee. I look forward to that first cup to start the day. Loved your description of the memories you have associated with coffee. It's those small things that enrich life so much.
ReplyDeleteYes oh yes, the aroma. It's what draws me in. My husband makes the coffee too. I feel so spoiled :)
DeleteI forget when I had my first coffee but it was the last time I chose to drink it. I prefer tea. I do have a coffee memory though. I was was working with a charity team to paint a house which was used as an autism school. I nice old bloke I was working with brought me a coffee and I didn't have the heart to refuse it so I drank it very slowly while faking appreciation. Funny how some things stick in your mind.
ReplyDeleteI love his memory :) Thanks for sharing. Receiving his gift made HIS day too!
DeleteNo early coffee memories. I'm a recent convert. Always juices and tea for me.
ReplyDeleteAnd no regrets, right?
DeleteI occasionally drink iced tea, herbal tea and a little juice.
I had my first cup of coffee when I was about nine. Haha. I felt so grown up and loved it...with a lot of sugar and cream, of course. I've gone through many stages of drinking black coffee, coffee with just sugar, coffee with only flavored creamer. Mostly it depended on whether I was poor or not at the time. Now I drink decaf and add a dash of cinnamon to the grounds.
ReplyDeleteOh, that's precious, Chrys. I like your cinnamon idea. I may try!
DeleteLOL...instant, nasty stuff for sure, amazed it's still on the market. I remember my Mom and a neighbor lady taking a coffee break, but really not much more than that. With kids at home, laundry needing done, and she had a wringer...household chores took all day.
ReplyDeleteI know, and I still see instant on the shelf....even one by Starbucks.
DeleteYour story sounded so great until you got to the tongue-yuck-lol My mom is German and thankfully never cooked tongue. I remember my mom and dad and company having cake and coffee at 3pm. At first they had the coffee that slowly went into the coffee pot but, later, they switched to instant. I remember the smell as being so wonderful until I tasted it. Blecchhh:) Today I rarely have coffee and when I do it is decaffeinated. My ex used to call it decapitated
ReplyDeleteWhilst I like the smell of coffee I must confess I have never really liked the taste. I'm a tea fan through and through! Although I do like a cup of herbal tea too.
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend.
Oh, it sounds like you had some bad coffee, but tea is good too :) I sometimes drink herbal in the evening.
DeleteNow there's a story to repeat. Cake and coffee at three. Hard to imagine being so regimented though. I would fail at a schedule. But p.s., Birgit......I actually loved beef tongue. It was great as lunch meat but have only had once since my youth. Vince banned it right off. I wonder if anyone else grew up eating and liking tongue.
ReplyDeleteYou made coffee sound so enticing, that I bought a cup when I lunch with Mary and Nathan at Starbucks today. straight coffee with a little cream tasted so good.
ReplyDeleteYum. I miss Moscow's Starbucks :(
ReplyDeleteNot really a coffee drinker, unless I'm cold and it's the only option.
ReplyDeleteOn a cold morning, coffee is such a comfort. It's my wakeup juice.
DeleteI'm Italian, so you'll understand coffee has a particular place in my life ;-)
ReplyDeleteAnd especially so when my Mum was still alive. We used to have cofee together every day and talk about everything, much like you say.
I don't remember when I started drinking coffee at all, but I think it must have been in my early twenties.
Now that my Mum isn't here anymore, I drink a lot less coffee.
Oh, another 'Mom'story :) Love it and I can tell she is dearly missed. I discovered a coffee stand once that used Italian roast. It was the best coffee around. Then the owner moved. Missed it so much.
DeleteI was drinking coffee in my teens, white with two sugars. Then I dropped the milk and finally the sugar and had my coffee weak black, though when I was out of the house I'd drink latte and cappuccino. A couple of years ago, I had to give it up because it was keeping me awake. I am one of those unlucky people who can be kept awake by coffee even if I only have it first thing in the morning! :-( I LOVE the smell. I know that if I had even one cup now, I'd be addicted again, so the only coffee I gave, occasionally, is iced coffee which, yes, is just as strong, but I don't get cravings for it afterwards.
ReplyDeleteMy coffee plunger is now used for herbal tea and my coffee percolator, which I only used occasionally anyway, is sitting in the cupboard unused.
But a pretty Dutch Blue Delft pot of good quality black tea or a delightful Chinese pot of green tea on a Sunday morning gives me almost the same pleasure as the plunger of coffee did.
Neat that you found a use for everything. My son and wife love green tea. I have to watch the caffeine too but I stopped buying decaf. Store bought is never very good, but I do at expresso stands, which in the Pacific NW we have lots!
DeleteI don't have first coffee memories. I used to hate it when I was younger. Then I started drinking it in my late 20's now I can't seem to stop!
ReplyDeleteAh, you understand my addiction :) Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteMy first coffee memory was sipping from the saucer. My Mom would be a tiny amount with lots of milk. It was glorious!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great memory Dixie. Love it!
DeleteI don't really remember my first experience with coffee, but I can tell you that my teenaged son is a coffee addict! He even drinks it late at night with, he says, no repercussions! As for how I like my coffee: two milk and one sugar, please :)
ReplyDeleteI've always wondered how some can drink it anytime and still sleep. I'd be up all night. My husband is the same way
DeleteHi Sharon .. for some reason I got hooked on milky coffee when I was home from school - lots of it and then I'd disappear back to my bed to read for many an hour!! The cat and I were happy teenagers ... I love tongue ... and smell that clovey aroma around here now .. those little things from early days .. cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteSo helpful when you have a lot to read. I rely on it. And so you like cloved tongue too :) So yummy. I thought I was the only one!!
DeleteI had a coffeemaker in my 20s. I loved that thing. Now I'm too lazy and just use instant. Fast and quick, and more time for writing. (If only I actually did any writing...) Thanks for the coffee anecdote and have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lexa....and for hosting this blog hop!!
DeleteI was shocked to hear teenagers drink coffee today, but my friend pointed out that they just like Starbucks fancy coffee. If you're just brewing a cup of coffee, they aren't interested at all. That sounds like me! I don't care for coffee but if it's presented in the form of a milkshake (frappucino), I'm all over it!
ReplyDeleteI think teens have been for some time now. The calories are high too so I try to avoid but admit they are yummy. Thanks for commenting Stephanie.
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