I Smell Like Coffee....Always

Just to inform everyone- I'm a barista at Uptown Coffee, a small coffee shop in Pittsburgh, for the summer. This is the second cafe I've worked in, and I've almost exclusively been working in them while I'm home, and even when I studied in Scotland, for the past three or four years. I love working with coffee, and let's face it, I'm good at it. Here's the rub: when not working, I still smell like coffee. I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't need to see other people. I honestly think I sweat coffee now- which doesn't help when it's almost 90 degrees outside. It's like that guy from Peanuts (Pigsty I think- you know the one with just dirt and bugs around him always) except instead of dirt, I just have a haze of coffee essence around my being at all times. It's something those who love me have just learned to accept.

Let's discuss the humble beginnings of my relationship with coffee. Flashback to the year 2000 (remember Y2K???). There I was, a 10 year old in Indiana, and 'working' for my grandmother at her gift store. She also (still) roasts here own coffee, which she sold at the store. One day she offered me some to relieve my headache. I've been hooked ever since. Lattes and mochas and cappuccinos and frappiccinos and all that crap didn't exist to mainstream America yet, I don't think. No. Just straight up, working man's coffee. I was in love. I loved the smell (probably because I didn't smell like coffee myself yet), the taste, the complexities. Some may say that it's bad how much I drink (what's wrong with 4 or 5 cups a day?) but hey, I'm a college student, and coffee has been the drink of the intellectual for centuries. Thank you, Enlightenment.

It's not like caffeine does anything weird to me

But just real quick- I'd like to mention that I greatly dislike INSTANT coffee. It is the worst thing that's ever happened to my favorite drink (ok maybe wine is my favorite but I just don't drink it quite as often). Who wants weird little bits of gross coffee floating around in their mug- and you all know you can never dissolve all of it. It's just not good. My dad disagrees, and likes putting instant coffee in heated up milk. This is a 'milky coffee'....I guess? I still think it's gross.

 I guess that concludes my first blog post. Stay tuned for more coffee rants!

DRINK OF THE DAY:

Iced hazelnut coffee with a splash of soy milk. It's been super hot in the Burgh lately so iced drinks are a necessity.