The Java Jive

I didn’t drink coffee in high school. I didn’t drink coffee in college. I didn’t drink coffee at my first job. I started having a cup or two after meals out with my mom when I was in my late 20s, and in my early 30s I started having a cup at work in the afternoon now and then. I rarely had coffee in the morning until I was well into my 30s. When my son was born, I’d grab a cup every once in a while. But now that I have a toddler and a baby who both get up at 6:30am, I have a cup of coffee to start my morning every single day.

It’s the only way I’ve survived the last 7 months.

But as pragmatic as it was at first, it has now become a real pleasure. Our first Christmas together, I bought my now-husband-then-boyfriend a Keurig one-cup coffeemaker. He is not a coffee drinker but loves hot chocolate. And since I was planning on being in the picture permanently starting very soon, I knew that I would appreciate being able to brew myself a single cup now and then. I had no idea how crucial that machine would be to my entire existence in just a few short years. But the best part of the Keurig is not just its ability to brew a single cup – oh, no. It is its ability to brew a DIFFERENT single cup every morning.

Let me explain. I am a girly drinker in every possible way. I drink girly cocktails, and I drink girly coffee. My cocktails are either some shade of pastel with a sugared rim or include something in the chocolate, butterscotch, and/or cream families. My coffee has sugar, nearly as much cream as coffee, and is flavored. The more flavors I can try, the better. I recently discovered the magic that is a sampler K-cup pack from Amazon.com and I think I’m in love. Wolfgang Puck Crème Caramel, Timothy’s Kahlua, Green Mountain Southern Pecan, Donut House Collection Cinnamon Roll and Chocolate Glazed Donut, Gloria Jean’s Butter Toffee and Hazelnut. It’s a taste of heaven in a bunch of plastic Dixie cups.

And what’s even better is that some of the sampler packs don’t have a specific combination of flavors. You get whatever happens to be lurking around on packing day. It doesn’t seem to be the lousy flavors that nobody orders, either. You might get some cappuccino, you might get some iced coffee, you might get some decaf, you might get some “special edition” flavors like Spicy Eggnog or Gingerbread or Golden French Toast. You just never know. But it will all be glorious coffee, java, brew, joe, the best part of waking up, fill it to the rim, good to the last drop.

Coffee.

Ahhhhhhhhh.