Inaugural Stream of Consciousness . . . the Coffee Part of the Equation

Some people eat to live. I live to eat; thus the title of the blog. But this post is about the coffee part of the life equation. By way of background, I'm a coffee fiend, not only for the caffeine (decaf, even at night, is for wusses), but for the incredible flavor and smell. On a tangent, I suffer from major caffeine addiction. Don't worry, though. I can make the headaches go away in a snap. Two caffeine-filled Excedrin, and I'm as good as new. But back to the coffee. I'm super picky and would rather have no coffee at all than bad coffee. However, I'm not so picky that I won't drink Starbucks. Despite its chain-i-ness, I know that I can get a cup of strong, palatable coffee. (I can't say the same for cafes that serve Seattle's Best, which is why I like Barnes & Noble better than Borders). Ideally, I would prefer to go to cute and cozy local haunts, but I (or the coffee) have been burnt one too many times. It is shocking that there are so many coffee shops with wretched coffee. To name a local one, Baltimore Coffee & Tea. I bought a cup, and it was so terrible that I couldn't bear to finish it. Even my husband, who thinks that bad coffee is better than no coffee at all, had a hard time finishing his cup. The coffee was only slightly, and I mean very slightly, better than gas station quality. In a way, it was worse because my expectations were high since BCT holds itself out as a "coffee" shop. I haven't had the yuppie coffee drinks there. I will wait to totally pass judgment until I try one of those. That statement also reveals a bit about my coffee aura. I generally prefer regular coffee with a moderate amount of cream and a little bit of sugar, but on occasion, I like to indulge in yuppie coffee drinks. Anyways, here is my segue from coffee to food. Restaurant coffee. So many times, I go to restaurants with decent food, but the coffee is wretched. Honestly, how hard is it to brew a decent cup of coffee? You don't need super-expensive beans or a French press. The right amount of coffee in a lime-free coffee maker that hasn't been sitting on a burner for hours will almost always produce passable coffee. Since this seems to have escaped most restaurants, if I want something hot and caffeinated while I'm eating, I order tea for fear that I will have wasted my drink on a cup of dishwater. I've now started asking servers how the coffee is, and I must say that they have always been honest. No one has ever told me that the coffee is good when it really isn't. I get lots of "ers" and "I don't drink coffees." Back when I was brave and just ordered the coffee, I was often disappointed. I almost started thinking that it was a law of nature that restaurants (aside from the ultra-gourmet shi-shi ones) can't brew good coffee. However, my travels in Europe and Hawai'i restored my faith in common restaurant coffee and made me think . . . good restaurant coffee on a widespread basis could really happen on the mainland. Too bad it hasn't happened yet. Maybe if restaurant reviewers made coffee a big part of the review. Oh well. As a parting shot, by way of specifics, Les Folies on Riva Road in Annapolis has fabulous coffee! Onward, to food and beyond.