Lent 2018 -- Gratitude Diary, Day 22

Well, it has come to this. Twenty-two days in and it's time to be grateful for the elixir of the gods: coffee. My life without coffee wouldn't be much of a life at all. (That's hyperbole, I know.)

Whoever it was that first picked the coffee berries from a tree and then plucked the beans from the pods and plopped them into boiling water and drank the ebony sludge, well, I salute your courage. How you make that very first decision to go from these berries:

To roasting the beans to look this yummy:

Then drop it in a pot of hot water and drink it, well, I applaud your creativity, and the end product. 

Coffee was first introduced to me by Grandmother and Grandaddy Dallas. I can recall first drinking coffee when I was about five years old. Grandmother would put milk and sugar in it to make it palatable for me, and the love affair began. Ever since those early years I have enjoyed coffee.

Somewhere along the way my palate evolved and I was encouraged to try something other than Maryland Club, (Grandmother's preferred brand). I was introduced to Lexington Coffee and Tea and their coffee shop Coffee Times Coffee Shop in the early 1990's. It's a local shop where they buy the beans green and roast them on site. They have coffees from Africa and South American and Asia and Indonesia. And it is all good. You can find Lexington Coffee and Tea here: Lexington Coffee and Tea 

I bought my coffee pot, my grinder and my gold-plated filter basket from Lexington Coffee and Tea. And I got this cool sign which hangs in my office there too.

Some people say that these behaviors qualify me as a coffee snob. I don't know why we have to label and categorize everyone and everything, but OK, if that works for you then, I am a coffee snob. I own it. I am just grateful to share a cup with anyone who is willing. I am glad for you to stop by the church and share coffee with me. I will meet you at a coffee shop, preferably Coffee Times or Cup of Commonwealth. I am just grateful that coffee shops are places where conversations are started, friendships flourish and acoustic music fills the void when the espresso machine isn't hissing.

I am grateful for coffee. It has seen me through many a long night studying and writing papers, long drives through the night, and given me strength to get up and do what needs to be done. I am grateful for that coal black liquid engine juice in a cup. Coffee. Grateful.

Peace and Love,

Jerry

Come by the church and drink a cup with me