Coffee Control

What is coffee

that it should control our thoughts

merely by its smell when we are opening its packaging; its smell
when brewing, and its wonderful flavor and color when
Coffea Plant.
Photo from
NCAUSA

consuming? Coffee. It has been a staple product with my family

many years. Companies have been launched based on the idea and hopes of
coffee sales. Coffee drinking was cozy, intimate, and sometimes a social event
within the home. Husbands, wives, grandparents and guests would congregate in
the kitchen in ones home to talk over and enjoy a nice hot cup of percolated
coffee. Why was this java a main source of the quiet parties in days past? Today,
this drink tends to be the substance of gatherings or
individual pleasures at any given moment in time, 24
hours a day. The personality of the inanimate coffee is
of the people; the loyal coffee drinkers. People give
life--their lives--to coffee! Watch The Buzz about the Buzz video on Americans and
its love of coffee.

Typically, coffee is grown in Asia, Africa, southern and Central America. The
plant thrives in warm and rainy or moist climates. Coffee comes from a plant
called Coffae. Thousands of species will grow from the Coffea plant.

Its seed is

called a Cherry, and slightly resembles small ripe, regular cherries. The seed inside
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of the Coffea plant is the part of the plant that is dried, ground and brewed as a
beverage. I recall a commercial in the past where Juan
Valdez proclaimed that the finest coffee beans came
from right where he stood in Columbia. He held out
the same cherry-looking fruit that resembled cherries,
not little brown coffee beans. I always envision green
coffee plants growing along a mountain side with dark
brown coffee buds already inside. That was not the
case, however. Dark brown is the result after the beans
have been roasted. For many years, I believed that

Juan Valdez

coffee came from Juan Valdez who grew the worlds coffee, but I could not figure
out why there were so many different brands of coffee on the market that did not
reference Juan. Other times, I would see pictures of green little balls that were
called coffee beans. These were those fruits that were not ripe. As confusing as
the coffee bean pictures were, I was not a coffee drinker.
My great grandfather boiled his coffee in an old metal pot on a gas stove
and then slurped loudly each spoon full of dark brown java. Yes, he boiled his
coffee. His meal would not be complete until his Cup of Joe was poured and next
to his breakfast plate. My great grandfather used a teaspoon to take in dose by
dose of thick percolated, boiled coffee. Chew and slurp was the sight and sound
treat at the breakfast table in my

grandmothers

house. In that household, my great

grandfather and

grandmother were the only members who

drank coffee.

Others were on instant tea made in tall

plastic

Tupperware cups.
We dont boil coffee today.
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When I

Tupperware Cups

was in what is

now middle school and high school, I made coffee in an

electric percolator for my mother. Mid-day or sometimes
in the evenings, my mother would have me make a pot.
She had tutored me on making the perfect coffee. It was during those times that I
fell in love with the smell of coffee, especially when a new package is first opened.
What a treat! I began to take pride in making coffee for my mother. I would let the
cold water run for a while from the tap thinking cooler water will make the coffee
taste much better. I could only make the coffee. I could not drink it then because
my mother and grandmothers would tell us kids, coffee stunts your growth. If we
drank coffee as kids, we would stop growing. My father drinks coffee each
morning, too. Every morning, he walks upstairs to the kitchen and makes a pot of
coffee. He prepares a cup for my mother and takes it to her in bed. Every
morning, my mom gets coffee and breakfast in bed.
Several years ago, coffee was relatively cheap for a one-pound bag. It was
around $1.50 per bag in the early 2000s. Now days, the cost is $6.00 and up for
less than a pound. And what did Oprah and Starbucks do to the status of coffee?
For the price of an 11 ounce bag of coffee, you can buy a 12 ounce cup of coffee
from Starbucks and pay over $4.00. Oprah mentioned her approval and love of
Starbucks coffee on the Oprah Winfrey Show, and turned Starbucks into the trendy
product to be seen drinking. Millions of people became hooked on trendy, highpriced cups of coffee. A cup of coffee was a household routine until the mother of
talk shows added her heralding voice to the brand and product. The grocery store
is not the place to buy coffees anymore. It is places like Starbucks, McDonalds or
Dunkin Donuts. Starbucks still has the monopoly on coffee by the cup and coffee
variations. There are lattes, expressos, frappes, cappuccinos, and other cold and
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hot coffee drinks. How about a 20 ounce cup of coffee with milk, vanilla, cream
and sugar for $7.00? What do you think about a coffee gift/credit card?
Drinking coffee has become a ritual and signature for millions of people, and
millions of people have become dependent upon the effects of the drink, itself, and
the notion of socializing over a cup of coffee. Whether in the home or on the road,
coffee rules. It is a billion dollar

industry. It is a

lifestyle, per se. If you get onto a

crowded elevator

on a Monday morning, someone will

say something

like I will be ok once I have had

coffee. Or, if

someone is not up to par on

performance, their
excuse for being slow,
sluggish or foggy might be, I have not had
my coffee. People believe in the coffee, and
coffee has control over how we perceive our feelings, social status
and our daily performance.
You are probably having a cup right now.

References and Credits:

1. Reggiero, Vicki. Just Click Three Times. Vintage Century Aluminum Coffee Pot
Photo, 1960s. Etsy. Web. 21 April 2016. Accessed April 2016.
2. Haller, Craig A. What Is A Percolator. How to Brew Coffee. Craig A. Haller
Publisher. Accessed April 2016. Web.
3. Stansport Percolator Coffee Pot Photo. Quill. Quill Lincolnshire, Inc. 2016.
Accessed April 2016.
4. Pantiss, Sonia. Si Robertsons Blue Tupperware Cup. Belle News. 8 October
2013. Accessed April 2016. Web
5. Nardo Kuitert. About Coffee and Tea. About Coffee and Tea Publisher. 2016.
Web. Accessed April 2016.
6. Starbucks Logo. 2016. Trademark of Starbucks Corporation. Web. Accessed April
2016.
7. The Buzz about Buzz. Youtube. 10 October 2012. Web. Accessed April 2016.
8. How to Brew Coffee. National Coffee Association, USA. Web. Accessed April
2016.