Michelle, sounds wonderful!

Bpb, you’re right – tastes and habits can be rewired by all sorts of events! Cultural norms also play a part. Depending where you live or have grown up, tea can play the same role coffee plays in my neck of the woods. (For the record, I love an afternoon cup of English or Scottish Breakfast tea in the wintertime; nothing wards off chilly dampness better!)

I notice you’re still caffeinated. Get back to me when you switch entirely to herbal, and I will send you formal condolences.

TomTom, isn’t coffee supposed to sharpen thought? Or is that just marketing … I either forget or don’t want to know. Fun memory toggle either way! (I’m gonna guess the study sessions wouldn’t have been nearly as effective had beer been the beverage of choice!)

Thanks for sharing this.

Joe, what a lovely touch of nostalgia in your comment! I remember percolators, too. I think the percolator only came out for parties, because it was too large for everyday use (as if there’s actually such a thing). I can’t remember what my parents used for everyday cups of sustenance…

It seems we can add “warm memories” to the list of coffee’s attributes!

Kristina, I feel this soooo much. And I almost included “stage business” in my post. Because, yeah, that’s part of what coffee is … the prop that gives you something to do with your hands while effortlessly defining you as a belonging adult. Most of us have been there.

I wonder what will tip your kid to the dark-liquid side? Some people are never lured by the siren call of coffee, but embarking on life/identity transitions has a way of making us re-assess. I’m sure he’ll find his people with or without caffeine!

I first started on coffee when I was a college kid, covering the MSU Board of Trustees for my student paper, in my cheap skirt-suit and Payless shoes, trying to look like a grown-up. The meetings were all-day affairs and they had free coffee that journalists and attendees were free to enjoy. It helped me feel like an adult, and gave me something to do other than sit around twirling my pen. It was stage business, it was a way to eavesdrop and mingle, it was something to hold in my hand.

Also, given that I was the last of my friends to turn 21, I couldn’t go to the cool bars with them, but we could all go get a coffee at Espresso Royale.

My older kid was just saying he wished he liked coffee, because it’s a relatively cheap social thing to do. He’s tried just about every coffee drink there is, because he works at a cafe and gets to sample. (He does dishes.) But he just doesn’t like any of it….at least not yet.