I’ve been addicted to coffee since the early 80s. My father had a small retail store in the heart of Times Square and would often start the workday by sending me around the corner to the 42nd St. Deli (no longer there) to get his usual “regular coffee.” Today the term “regular coffee” is largely defunct but back then it was universally known to mean coffee lightened with milk to a nice medium brown. The deli guy would place a blue, Hellenic-themed coffee cup under the spout and start the coffee flowing; simultaneously, he’d grab a carton of milk and tilt the perfect amount of milk into the cup. All of this was accomplished in about three seconds. Next thing I knew, I was plunking down two quarters for the cup and walking out the door. Back at the store, I was entrusted with the heady task of adding two sugars to the coffee. I curled my fingertips around the flat-top lid and gently pried it off. Not a drop spilled. I then pinched together two packets of sugar and shook the contents down, ripped them open, and dumped in both packets, one-handed. After a dozen brisk stirs the coffee was ready for my father’s inspection. It was always deemed “perfect.”
Since those days, I’ve always had a wonderful association with coffee and I maintain many of the rituals as an adult (though I’ve long since learned not to bother asking anyone for a regular coffee). In high school, any student was allowed to purchase coffee from the cafeteria. Awful awful stuff, but didn’t I feel like James Dean, huddled over the steamy mixture, casually tossing away the styrofoam cup when I had to jet? In college, I had my first heavenly taste of cappuccino at Le Figaro Cafe on Bleecker Street (no longer there). And then came Starbucks, the first time a cup of plain old coffee actually tasted as good as it smelled. Then, I was really hooked.
With the economy closing in around me, I’m thinking a lot about expenditures for discretionary items like coffee. For what I drop on Starbucks items each year – drinks, beans, and breakfast – I could instead enjoy:
- Two 32GB iPod Touches and umpteen songs and videos to fill them
- 12.3MP Nikon digital SLR
- Saeco professional caliber, one-touch espresso machine
But I doubt that I’m quitting cold turkey anytime soon – I’m too plugged into the system. I need to see those dim-witted, apron-clad “baristas” every single day. I need them to swipe my badass Starbucks Gold card and ask me “Uh, does this card have any money on it?” I need to give them my money. I need the benezedrine rush of the first cup of joe before I can even think about starting my work. I need the “ahhh” of a need met in the quiet space of my mind before the next need comes rushing in.
