Days of Yore: Warming Up and Waking Up

When I was little, there was nothing like sitting in front of the fireplace with a nice cup of hot chocolate topped with melting marshmallows and savoring the warmth on a cold day. That's still an accurate statement today, but it doesn't happen like that nearly as often these days. 

Photo: konradbak on Adobe Stock

Having lived in Hong Kong in the '70s, we also loved some great Chinese tea, particularly of the jasmine variety, but really, any kind. Mint tea was also great. It was also nice that teabags could be reused. That said, one of the most perplexing things we encountered was people back in the US having this creative idea that nobody (with a surprising number of exceptions) had ever thought of before. Care packages from the US were always a special treat. But a bunch of people decided it would be thoughtful to brew a nice cup of tea while they were packing the box, save the teabag, dry it, and include it in the package so the missionaries could enjoy the same tea when they got it in the mail. It gave them a sense of connection. The thing is, it doesn't work that way. Dried teabags don't reconstitute right. It isn't as meaningful to the missionaries as it sounds in theory. It's a nice thought, but odd, and honestly a bit gross. There are more practical ways of creatively encouraging missionaries, and everything else in the care packages was usually awesome. I particularly liked the flavored instant oatmeal packets.

Another nice way of warming up was chili (I love topping it with cheese), or any kind of hot soup.

Chai and hot apple cider were other options, and they had a very similar effect to hot chocolate.

When I was young, I was always told I was too young for coffee. It would be too easy to OD on the caffeine. But all that changed January 1, 2000. In the months leading up to that date, there was general panic about the Y2K bug. People were afraid computers would short-circuit because they wouldn't be able to handle the years starting with a 2 rather than a 1. My grandpa made sure we knew his typewriter didn't have that problem. He also made sure we knew some of the more reactionary were advising running for the hills because computers were scary with the impending Y2K. We had to make sure everything was Y2K compliant. As it turned out, it was a lot of fuss over nothing. The apocalypse didn't happen. But one thing was not Y2K compliant: me being too young for coffee. I was a senior in college by this point. January 1, 2000, we were having our family New Years celebration, and my mom asked if people would like coffee. I told her i would love some. She thought I was joking until I asked again. I only had a half cup to avoid OD'ing, but that was my first cup of coffee.

When I returned to the dorm after Christmas break, I decided to get some coffee at the nearby 7-Eleven. We got a discount when we brought our own mugs, and I'm very thankful I only paid a few cents for it, in this case. I was used to hot chocolate, where the powder dissolves in water. Nothing could prepare me for the shock of the coffee grounds NOT dissolving when I put them in the cup and poured hot water over them...and stirred and stirred and stirred...one might say it was a stirring experience. I decided maybe I had added too much powder, so I poured some out and added more water. Still no luck. It was not pleasant. Needless to say, I finally gave up and made a point of learning how to make it properly! 

Once I joined the workforce, I got to know the wonders of coffee shops. My favorite was Seattle's Best Coffee, but I also enjoyed Tully's and Starbucks (in that order). Caffe Ladro is good, but I'm not as big a fan of their black coffee. (I love living in Seattle, the coffee capital of the country!) I had a flavored latté every morning on the way to work until years later I started counting calories and realized how caloric they are (not to mention all those lattés add up quickly in terms of price). I then tried putting flavored creamer in my coffee...but eventually discovered a tablespoon of creamer has several times the calories of the entire cup of coffee! Since then, I generally drink it black. I try to get one or two pumpkin spice lattés as a special treat during the season when Starbucks has it.

Baristo at the Tully's where I went every morning before work.
This was the same Tully's, but not the same barista,
where I got the inspiration for my poem "Words @ Random."
(Yes, I spelled "baristo" right...the Italian way. I'm odd like that.)

Some time ago, my brother introduced me to the wonders of Senseo. It was a machine with special pods that you inserted in the machine, and put water in it, which heated up and then ran through the pod into the cup. It was great, until they stopped making it and the machine gave out. Those Senseo pods were a bit useless without the machine made for them. That would later be replaced with Keurig, which I use regularly now. They have a different kind of pod, though, so I don't believe Senseo pods work in them. (Though I don't recall if I've tried...) Since I've been working from home due to COVID, I keep a Keurig in the office, and it comes in handy. Long gone are the days when I would only have a half cup of coffee in a day. Toward the end of his life, my dad could no longer have caffeine, but he still liked to drink decaf coffee. I find decaf somewhat pointless, but it's nice for people who can't have caffeine. For me, part of the point of coffee is staying awake. Since I still like flavors, but lattés and creamer have lots of calories, I often have flavored coffee. I also have plain (unflavored) coffee on hand, and for when I'm extra tired, I have some with extra caffeine...but I try to use that more sparingly. I also have hot apple cider, cocoa and chai Keurig pods, but don't use those as often. Nespresso is another kind of machine that does coffee pods, but I've never used that.

I also like to warm up in the mornings with some good oatmeal or grits. Good stuff! I generally go for flavored oatmeal, and I usually put cheese on my grits. You have to be careful warming those up in the microwave, though, as they can overflow and make a mess if you don't watch it like a hawk.

I know what you're probably thinking right about now. "This is the part of the post where you tell us that now you drink all your coffee from your cell phone." Well...

Image by Freepik

Surprise plot twist! I do NOT drink my coffee from my cell phone! That's just silly! Who does that? I still drink it out of an old-fashioned mug. Well, assuming a mug that looks like the TARDIS, or one with a Captain America shield on it, or a sea turtle mug made by my super talented cousin Rika Blue, are what you would call old fashioned. (Seriously, go check out her pottery, and order some if you like! It is amazing!) That said, I do have the Starbucks app on my phone for the rare occasion when I go to Starbucks. I also occasionally order Keurig pods on Instacart on my phone.