Coffee, No Milk or Sugar

Outside, it is desperately trying to be Spring. Father Sun is doing his best but Winter will not let go of the Wind. I spent approximately half-hour out on my balcony getting it ready for the Spring planting. This year I am focussing on tomatoes, basil, arugula and tatsoi. There will be a few glads and daffodils as well. I enjoyed my first balcony cup of coffee, well not a whole cup the wind was too cold for that.

I have written about coffee and, fair trade coffee in particular, before and you can click on the links that follow this week's offering to find out more, should you choose. This week, I want to discuss the coffee experience. Now I am about to date myself but so what. I remember a time when there were no coffee houses, not even Tim Hortons or a NW Ontario favourite, Robin's. There were definitely no Starbucks, or a Seattle CoffeHouse anywhere to be seen. In our 'burb, you got coffee in a restaurant with a meal. There was always a table charge so you could not just have a coffee. Of course, there were no indoor malls then either and very few strip or outdoor ones.

How times have changed. You can barely go a block without running into another chain coffee house. Either the just plain folks atmosphere of a Tims or an I read books, but only the ones on someone else's list shop. Fortunately, there are independently owned shops that have escaped either of these two cultural stereotypes and offer everything from just a great cup of coffee to a variety of more exotic blends and that is just fine. I like diversity.

I am a coffee snob. Milk, cream or sugar and that includes brown sugar, or sugar substitute have no place in a cup of coffee. Coffee is served dark and hot. Add milk and sugar and you have something new. I enjoy the odd cappuccino or mochacinno and other speciality coffees but when I want coffee, a dark blend, all by itself, is what I seek.

Naturally, fair trade, organically shade grown is the first choice. There are two great coffee sellers here at home that give us whole roasted beans that are fair trade, shade grown and organic and they deliver them to our door. What more can one ask?

Fair Trade

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