I don’t know about you, but I really like coffee. Call it a quirk of mine if you wish, but I thoroughly enjoy a cup of coffee every morning and afternoon. I always make time to get up, usually with my husband, an extra 45 minutes before I have to start getting ready for the day, just so I can enjoy a wonderful cup of coffee with him.

Coffee was something I never liked growing up. My parents always drank it black–”navy” coffee is what my dad called it. I called it “yuck!” But then I fell in love and got married. In my husband’s family, they drank coffee, but it was always with sugar and milk. It was quite an improvement for me and I’ve never looked back.

Over the years, my cup of coffee has gone through several evolutions. When we were first married, we would put on a small canister of coffee in the morning and drink from it throughout the day. Now, I only want a cup when it’s freshly perked. What once made me happy with the taste of my coffee by pouring skim milk into my cup, now needs to be half ‘n half. And of course, sugar has become a “no-no” so I’ve made the progression from sugar, to Sweet ‘n Low, to Equal, to Splenda, and finally Stevia.

Even my coffee beans have gone through their own changes. Once upon a time it didn’t matter to me if a coffee bean was French roasted, Colombian, or flavored. Back then it was Maxwell House and Folgers in a can. But now, I like it fresh ground, and I like a medium to dark roasted bean. And speaking of coffee beans, I found this great website called Coffee Bean Direct that has some of the best prices on coffee beans you’ll find anywhere on the Internet. Their prices are better than any I’ve ever found at Publix, Kroger, and even WalMart!

This company will also send you ground coffee, but I prefer to grind my own. If you buy 25 lb. or more, shipping is free! Twenty-five pounds–not a problem here. Also, consider their organic coffees, too. They’re delicious!

I’m still on a quest of finding the perfect coffee pot. We always used to perk our coffee, but over the last several years we’ve tried the drip method. I suppose it does taste better than perked, but for me the biggest challenge is finding a drip pot that keeps it really hot. I don’t like lukewarm coffee first thing in the morning.

Right now I’m pretty happy with my coffee pot. It’s quite simple to operate, has a programmable timer so it’s ready when I tell it to be, makes a good hot cup and keeps it hot in a stainless steel carafe. I even have the coffee maker located close to the sink so I can use the water sprayer to fill up the water tank!

I’ll keep singing its praises for now, but if it ever quits doing the job the way I like it, I’ll start another search for “new and improved.”

Well, as far as I can tell, coffee and I will continue to enjoy a close relationship with each other. If the day ever comes when some doctor tries to tell me that I need to give up coffee, well…I just might have to disobey doctor’s orders.

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