I drink coffee for the taste, not for the pick-me-up feeling. I started drinking coffee when I was fourteen, for medicinal purposes back then. I drink it now for the love of it. Medicinal purposes, you may ask? Those of you who have suffered from migraines know that sometimes a good, strong cup of coffee may relieve the pain.

I have many treasured memories that involve coffee. The one that comes to mind now is when my daughter was a baby, about six months. I put her in the playpen that I kept in the kitchen. I sat at the table to sip my coffee, decaf, of course, since I was nursing. My baby walked over to my side and standing on tippy-toes, holding on to the end of the playpen, she started opening her mouth in order that I give her some of what I had. With her baby spoon I took a small amount of my coffee and gave it to her. She drank it and started to nod her head in approval. “Ma, ma” meant “more, more” so I gave her a bit more. The nod, again, this time accompanied by the smacking of her lips. A true connoisseur!

Other memories are when my daughter was taking music lessons, my husband and I would spend an hour every week at Starbucks just enjoying each others company. We really looked forward to her music lessons so we could share an hour together and drink our coffee.

That’s when I realized how pouty I am about my coffee. I once ordered my favorite, a latté, and what I got was a cup full of warm foam! For three dollars and seventy five cents I wanted a latté! It took a while to remember to ask for my latté the way I like it: Double shot, decaf, extra hot, no foam, tall latté!

My grandparents were coffee drinkers. My father was a coffee drinker. They all loved their coffee scalding hot too. My husband was not a coffee drinker when we started going out. I managed to convert him. My daughter enjoys a sip from my cup every now and then, memories in the making. My sister, Bertha, and I love to sit and drink our morning brew and just chat. In college, we would cut the first class just to go and have coffee and a donut in the corner donut shop of our neighborhood.

Coffee is such a social event. The highlight of a dinner party is dessert accompanied with good, strong cup coffee. That is when the conversation gets good. That is when most memories are made.

I love coffee. I love the many moments shared with great friends and family and a pot of freshly brewed coffee. I drink it now for the love of it, but I keep my eyes open for that special memory.

"If you'll excuse me a minute, I'm going to have a cup of coffee."
~Broadcast from Apollo 11's LEM, Eagle, to Johnson Space Center, Houston (July 20, 1969).