Coffee is a magical product in so many ways. I have been in love with coffee for a long, long time. In fact I can trace the love affair back to a specific instance. Not a date, but a memory as vivid today as it was when it first happened. Every Sunday my Mom would cart me and my brother to my Grandmother's house for Sunday dinner. And after every one of those dinners my Grandmother and Mother would bring out the Folgers and have a cup of coffee. Now I know that Folgers is not the pinnacle of coffee, but you also have to understand that in the 80's in New England, that is precisely what people were drinking at home. Around the time I was 9 or 10 I was finally allowed to partake in the ritual of after-dinner coffee, and it was revolutionary. I can't pinpoint if it was the bitter taste (Folgers, remember?), the milk and sugar to cover it up, the caffeine, the aroma, or maybe the chance to engage in a ritual that up to that point had been strictly for the adults. I guess I had finally moved from the 'kid's table', to the adult table at a family gathering, and I liked it.

I've been drinking coffee for twenty years, and those years have been interesting ones to be a coffee drinker in the United States. We all know how much has changed, as Starbucks swept the nation, and 'specialty coffee' became part of the American lexicon. Twenty years ago, the idea of paying $5 for any coffee beverage would have been considered ludicrous by 99% of the American public. These days there are more options for coffee consumption than even seems economically feasible, or even sustainable in the long run.

I buy good beans (mostly Stumptown), grind at home, and use a press pot. The coffee I make at home is simply delicious. When I'm out, there are a few coffeeshops that I frequent, including Stumptown at the Ace Hotel, and Cafe Grumpy in Chelsea. I will occasionally even go into a Starbucks if I am with someone who wants to, or there simply isn't another option (but their drip coffee is virtually unpalatable at this point). But here is where I differ from the current crop of coffee connoisseurs; I will go to Dunkin Donuts and order a coffee light and sweet, and I will enjoy the hell out of it. Sacrilegious say the coffee aficionados. I say lighten up.

I'm sorry, but I simply don't know how some twenty-year old kid got the idea that just because he waxes his mustache, and wears suspenders, he has the right to tell me about how I should enjoy coffee. I'm all for education surrounding a topic like coffee, but elitism I can deal without. Many of the 'third wave' coffee operations must have pretentious aloofness listed as a job requirement. Listen, I get the fact that you know more about coffee than I could ever wrap my head around. I get the fact that you take your craft seriously, which is something that I have an immense admiration for. I get the fact that your ipod is filled with obscure bands, and their latest Japanese only EP releases. What I don't get is taking the fun and enjoyment surrounding good coffee and strangling the life right out of it. I think it is incredibly honorable to work hard at a craft, in fact I think it is something that society is truly lacking these days. And a days work at a typical coffeeshop is tough. Much like working in a kitchen, there is a lot of bending (oh the knees), long hours on your feet (painful to say the least), and many customers who treat you like crap (after all you're just someone who 'makes coffee', or so the thinking goes for this particular brand of asshole). But here's the thing; I'm not one of those people. So what if I wear baseball hats instead of a cool fedora that I bought at the Brooklyn Flea. So what if my pants aren't unisex. So what if my lack of retro (or shall we say vintage) facial hair clearly pegs me as painfully unhip. I'm nice to you! I actually tip you for the services you render! I actually have a deep appreciation for what it is that you do! You don't have to impress me with your knowledge of obscure music, or the screenplay you are writing, or the fixed gear bike shop you hope to open. In my book, you are a rockstar just the way you are......because you make amazing coffee! That's it. So the next time I ask you a question because I would like to learn more from you, who knows more than I, just answer it nicely. Don't look me up and down as you ponder whether it is worth your time. Don't blow it off and go back to talking to your co-worker about the new craft ale you are so excited to try. If you love coffee as much as you say you do, wouldn't you want to pass that passion on to others? Just saying. With all that being said, I must confess to having met two people recently who know a lot about coffee. A whole lot. In fact one of them probably knows as much about coffee and the coffee industry as anyone else out there. And guess what, they were incredibly nice. No pretension, no bullshit attitude, no holier than thou complex. Just really cool people with a passion for coffee. It was a refreshing experience.

So what have I been drinking lately:

-At home I have been brewing Ethiopian Suke Quto, Kenyan Ngunguru, and Costa Rican Don Mayo Reserva, all from Stumptown. They are all delicious. I mostly drink coffee black, but I must say that the Don Mayo is exceptional with cream and sugar.

-My favorite drink when I'm out is a cappuccino at Stumptown in the Ace Hotel. The crew there have never made me a subpar drink. Exceptional every time. A close second has been the espresso shots I have been getting at Cafe Grumpy.

-I love Vietnamese coffee and get it almost anytime I am enjoying Southeast Asian food. I can never understand why more coffeeshops don't make a version of it using high end coffee.

-And yes, at times I drink Dunkin Donuts. Maybe it's my New England upbringing. Or maybe it's just good. Dunkin Donuts, light and sweet, is my version of table wine. I like it, a lot.