“Without caffeine, I have no personality whatsoever.” – Mercy Hollings, Beg for Mercy

 

People ask me if Mercy Hollings, the character in my series, is based on me.  The short answer is “no.”   I am neither brooding nor a loner, I wear bright colors and own enough makeup and hair-care products to pose a storage issue.   I have no paranormal abilities beyond an aptitude for Tarot cards and would no more own a 135-pound Rottweiller than I would a baboon.  And I really don’t like baboons.

That said, Mercy and I do share a few traits and a common experience or two.  We like the same restaurants.  We both wish Sam Shepherd was fifteen years younger, single, and living next door.  We like dirty vodka martinis with blue cheese olives.

And neither of us can function without coffee.

My doctor told me I should “lay off the caffeine.” 

Whoa, I tried to protest.  I’ve already cut back from six or eight cups a day to one or two.  I stopped using artificial sweetener and, when at home, lighten my coffee with soy rather than my preferred half and half. 

So, for the first time in my life, I am going to completely ignore my doctor’s advice.  Sorry.  I’ll quit a lot of things, but not coffee.

Does anything smell as wonderful as a freshly opened bag of Columbian beans?  Kona while it’s brewing?  A corner shop that roasts its own beans?

Coffee is what gets me up in the morning, especially on those days when the bed is just sooooo comfortable.  I imagine that freshly brewed cup, and my feet find the floor.

Currently, I’m hooked on Senseo dark roast.  My ex-boyfriend got a Senseo pot with a selection of coffee in an office gift exchange a few years ago.  It sat in the box for a good six months.  Neither of us, accustomed to grinding our own beans as needed, could imagine drinking coffee made from pre-prepared pods.  But, one morning we were out of coffee, so we set it up.  And were immediately hooked.

Of course, the cost of Senseo pods is about three times that of whole beans.  And it uses so much electricity (for about thirty seconds) that, when I use it in my motor home, the generator audibly struggles.    But I love them.

I’m not big on flavored coffee, with the occasional exception.  I like coffee made with real pecans, like you see in some southern cities.   Chicory is okay, at least at the Café du Monde with a beignet on the side.  And I used to get the organic beans mixed with dehydrated orange peel that were kind of interesting.  But mainly, I just want a basic dark roast Columbian coffee.

Mmmmm…time for another cup!

WHAT!?!?! Is that doctor crazy - cut out caffeine! Sheesh, is it not bad enough that I have cut out cigarettes, all recreational drugs, most alcohol, most processed sugar and processed flour, but coffee?!?!?! "Get thee back Satan!" Clearly, your doctor is insane and it is best that you decided to ignore his "medical" advice.

I, too, am a coffee 'ho'. During the last BIAW challenge, I asked for pictures of coffee over chocolate and hot unavailable men. Don't get me wrong, I'd take any of the men from Lost, I want Sam Elliott twenty years younger, etc... but I am far more likely to get coffee, yummy, scrumptious, I'll take it anyway I can including decaf after 3:00 pm...

Ahh, the nectar of any god that counts!

I know what you mean. I miss your Seneo coffee and am waiting for them to make a much smaller maker. This morning I got out one of my espresso machines and a can of Bustelo café espresso and made myself a cup. I foamed the Silk creamer and am sitting here enjoying it.
Can't give up chocolate either!