Today is National Coffee Day, a splendid irony because in the past few weeks I have been wondering why my personal coffee consumption is down in recent years, and talking about writing a post about it.
I still enjoy coffee, and start my way-too-early workday with a cup every day, but most days I have just two cups.
Back in the day I would have several cups in the morning...a cup or so midday...and even a cup or two after dinner. The caffeine never kept me awake.
So what's changed?
Taste buds change as you age, but even more importantly, so does you sense of smell.
And as much as anything we eat or drink, it is the aroma of coffee that I think I am addicted to.
At Alabama News Network, the coffee pot is about as far away from my desk as it could get, several closed-door rooms away. Yet I'll know it when someone has put on a fresh pot.
But somehow my consumption is down to one cup at 1:30 and a second cup around 2:30.
Despite that, national coffee consumption is on the increase, reports USA TODAY:
That report also notes that younger people are drinking less coffee. And I certainly can see that at work. Most of the younger producers and reporters, even those there with me at the crack of dawn, do not drink coffee.
There are other workplace restrictions that may part a part in my personal stats. No coffee at my desk, for example, and there is precious little time for hanging out in the break room in those early morning hours.
I'm notorious for making "bold" coffee...i.e., I add some of my own stash to the little packets the supplier provides per pot. And there is an art to knowing exactly how much coffee to use per pot. My long-time friend Gary insists he can never get it right, that no matter how much or little he puts on the filter, it never quite tastes right. Than again, he's my age, so perhaps it's the above-mentioned changes in taste and smell?
[Sunday Focus is a regular feature of TimLennox.com]
I still enjoy coffee, and start my way-too-early workday with a cup every day, but most days I have just two cups.
Back in the day I would have several cups in the morning...a cup or so midday...and even a cup or two after dinner. The caffeine never kept me awake.
So what's changed? Taste buds change as you age, but even more importantly, so does you sense of smell.
And as much as anything we eat or drink, it is the aroma of coffee that I think I am addicted to.
At Alabama News Network, the coffee pot is about as far away from my desk as it could get, several closed-door rooms away. Yet I'll know it when someone has put on a fresh pot.
But somehow my consumption is down to one cup at 1:30 and a second cup around 2:30.
Despite that, national coffee consumption is on the increase, reports USA TODAY:
Coffee has become more than just a shot of caffeine. It's a $30 billion-a-year national industry, a foodie fixation, an affordable luxury, a boost of disease-fighting antioxidants, a versatile ingredient, an intoxicating aroma and a beverage that brings people together.
That report also notes that younger people are drinking less coffee. And I certainly can see that at work. Most of the younger producers and reporters, even those there with me at the crack of dawn, do not drink coffee.
There are other workplace restrictions that may part a part in my personal stats. No coffee at my desk, for example, and there is precious little time for hanging out in the break room in those early morning hours.
I'm notorious for making "bold" coffee...i.e., I add some of my own stash to the little packets the supplier provides per pot. And there is an art to knowing exactly how much coffee to use per pot. My long-time friend Gary insists he can never get it right, that no matter how much or little he puts on the filter, it never quite tastes right. Than again, he's my age, so perhaps it's the above-mentioned changes in taste and smell?
[Sunday Focus is a regular feature of TimLennox.com]
Your "stash?"
ReplyDeleteThat's illegal in Alabama, you know.
That's exactly what I was thinking too, Jay, ha ha. I could make coffee fine with the old percolator type pots & yet I screw up these simple ones! I tell my co-teachers that I screw up the Keurig cups!! I still prefer my senior citizen McDonald's coffee the best.
ReplyDelete