I Like Coffee!

I really like coffee!

Sometimes I like coffee more than I like food (well, I also tell people I retired 30 lbs ago).  One of my favorite times of the day is early in the morning before the sun comes up, reading a book, enjoying that first cup.  Sounds kind of silly, but that first cup is pretty good. They go downhill from there.

The only time I don't like coffee in the morning is if I drink a cup late in the evening.  That really screws up the routine.  The drill goes something like this: Nice dinner, a few beers or glasses of wine, and...drum roll... a coffee.  

There are all kinds of little qwerks I have with coffee.  Like I can drink Dunkin Donuts Coffee for about six months then just can't bring myself to buy another cup.  So I transition to Wawa or McDonalds or Starbucks.  It's almost like my body just gets bored of the brand and I have to move on.  I have no idea why that is.  You would think that I would find a favorite brand and stick with it.  Nope.

We have a Keurig Coffee Maker in our office.  It's quick, efficient  and "just plain average".  No standing ovation for coffee coming out of a Keurig from me.  I've tried all different types with similar results.

I hate coffee that has perfume in it.  My brother-in-law likes hazelnut coffee. I call it foo foo coffee.  It's kind of like drinking Weisen (wheat) beer.  Wheat beer is like getting the last beer in the keg with all the nasty particles.  Why put perfume in your coffee?

About ten years ago when I was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany I was living on coffee.  From about 5:00AM untill the afternoon.  Not a real healthy habit.  I think I burned a hole in my esophagus.  I felt like crap and eventually went to get a bunch of tests done to make sure it wasn't something serious.  The tests revealed nothing and in the end I self-diagnosed that I needed to drink a little less coffee. I still drink a lot of coffee, just not that much.

My favorite coffee is an Americano.  It's a couple shots of espresso in a cup of hot water.  Now that's a good cup of coffee.  Someone told me that an Americano has its roots from WWII vets in Europe pouring water into their espresso to make it more like the coffee they were used to.  Next time you go to a decent coffee shop ask for an Americano.  You will like it.

I started out in Artillery.  The younger Marines held back a little trust in anyone who drank coffee.  They called it "Lifer juice".  I was probably younger than most of them, but kept my canteen cup full.

I was at a retirement ceremony about 20 years ago.  A 50+ year old Chief Warrant Officer was packing it after 30 years.  He said something like... I've had a great career... I can only hope that when I'm gone and other Marines talk about me, they will say "He was a good Marine, and he could make one hell of a pot of coffee"!

Did I say I really like coffee?

A Beginning

Here we go! As Ze Frank said "I don't need to sharpen my pencils anymore, they are sharp enough, even the dull ones will make a mark."

A Beginning!

I have decided to write about products, companies, and other random stuff and events that I use and/or experience.  I'm not going to use this blog like a journal, but more like a logbook of stuff I like and dislike.  

I just got home from manning our booth at the Modern Day Marine Trade Show on Marine Corps Base Quantico.  There were hundreds of companies in attendance showing off some pretty cool military hardware and personal gear. I may spend a few weeks writing about some of these companies and their specific products.  If you are living near Quantico, Camp Lejeune, or Camp Pendleton you need to make the effort to attend one of these shows.  If you do, make sure to stop by the MilitaryByOwner booth and say hello.

One of the things I like best about attending the Modern Day Marine series of trade shows is bumping into Marines that I served with in the past.  Today was a great day for that...  I ran into a Marine that was in my squad at TBS.  I had another Marine stop by our booth that was our PAO on 15th MEU.  Another that I slugged to the Navy Annex with on the painful commute up highway 95.  We always throw a few names out to see if the other guy has heard from a long lost buddy. Most of the time they are just brief encounters, but I take some comfort in knowing they still have a heartbeat and are moving along with their lives.

So I'll close this first post and cross my fingers that I can stick with this.  This is my little experiment.  I hope I'm right.