Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Drinking Coffee

This essay here, on drinking coffee, has me thinking about the whole issue, not just of drinking coffee, though certainly, yes, of drinking coffee (I am an inveterate drinker of coffee, consuming at least two pots of Cafe du Monde regular grind with hot milk and sugar per day, and sometimes on the weekends a bit of rum or brandy stirred in), but of why, exactly (a) coffee is so vital to my world, our world, and (b) drinking coffee should make so many people so itchy.

Because seriously? If there is a substance on this planet that seems so obviously perfect, coffee is it. It does not intoxicate. It contains -- get this, my dudes -- antioxidants! The substance is good for you! Evidence is rolling in daily that it not only does not cause various cancers that AMA tries once to claim it did, it reduces chances of these cancers. And? Fewer cavities! Also? While doing all these things? It makes its consumers more alert, efficient, and smarter. Also?
More tolerant.

Just kidding. I just threw that last bit in there.

So why would anyone be hating on coffee?

Which -- yikes! -- so people ever.

I remember my father, the lectures I got. "You're not still drinking coffee?" he would demand.

"I am," I would declare.

He would frown. Put on his dad face. "You don't need it," he would say, fiercely. "You don't need that stuff."

Reason not the need! What do we need? Bread, water, air, heat.

And coffee.

Some religions, as you know, and not just the LDS, preach against consuming coffee. This one does not mystify me in the least. Anyone who has awakened on on cold morning and started coffee brewing, poured hot milk into the cup, stirred in sugar, and taken that first hit knows why the Jesus camp preaches against coffee. Who needs Christ when you have coffee?

Here is what coffee does for us, and does for us without cost: warms our bellies: fuels our minds: heats our brains: re-ignites our lagging spirit: sparks the low fire of the imagination: provides some small gift we can easily give to and accept from one another (want a coffee? Sure!): bonds the world. Coffee is humanism.

One of my professors in graduate school said he knew western civilization was in bad trouble when graduate students started drinking diet Pepsi instead of coffee. I laughed at the time. He scowled at me. "I'm not kidding."

He wasn't.

Also, he was right.

Get your mr. coffees out!

Save humanism now!

6 comments:

Tree of Knowledge said...

I have to go drink coffee now. Thank you. I was wondering why I felt so tired this morning. Coffee!!!

Anonymous said...

You're absolutely right. Coffee isn't just a healthy bit of speed, it's humanism in a mug. It hasn't escaped my notice that red staters often refer to "latte drinkers" with a superior and contemptuous sniff. It's like coffee writ large. It isn't just a morning delight. It's a sign of blue state character. I am SO down with that. --L

Anonymous said...

I feel compelled to confess that I don't really care for coffee. Or, really, caffeine. Just not my favorite.

Are you going to boot me from your blog?

delagar said...

See, now, tonks, you probably just haven't had the *right* coffee. Keep trying! (It's the gateway drugs!)

Diane said...

Well, as everyone probably knows, I'm about as liberal as you can get, and I tend to have an attitude about "latte drinkers." That is because I like coffee the same way I like whiskey--as is. Well, a little sugar.

My love for coffee began when I was a little girl and I used to smell my father's coffee as it was poured into his thermos bottle each morning. It was the most wonderful thing I'd ever smelled.

Because of my British heritage, I drink more tea than coffee, but I do love coffee. I have a friend who says "The first cup is to make the headache go away; the second is to start the heart."

Anonymous said...

Bread, water, air, heat

Don't forget air conditioning. Heat index of 107 today!