Another Important Matter Concerning the Existence of Humanity- Coffee

That is true. I put it in my coffee frosting when I make spice cake. I used to make the frosting from scratch, but a plastic cup of ready-made vanilla frosting with some instant coffee dissolved in it is just as good, and a fraction of the work.
 
I've done most of the above with coffee. I, too, use the Starbucks version...adding to whatever I get at places on the road that don't make it strong enough for my taste. Used to pack it when I visited my in-laws who brew coffee-flavored WATER. BLECH.
 
Ok, never really cared for coffee, but I DID try it once... when I was five or six years old.

Dad took me dear hunting, in the middle of winter in Nowhere, Wyoming. Long story short, he convinced me to try the "hot chocolate" from his thermos. What a mean prank to pull on a kid.

I took a big gulp and spit it out about two seconds later. The man drank straight, black coffee. Literally everyday for 36 years. I wanted nothing to do with it then, and I still don't, even now.

Not hating on y'all, just inserting my opinion.

Carry on...
 
Dad took me dear hunting, in the middle of winter in Nowhere, Wyoming. Long story short, he convinced me to try the "hot chocolate" from his thermos. What a mean prank to pull on a kid.

I took a big gulp and spit it out about two seconds later. The man drank straight, black coffee. Literally everyday for 36 years. I wanted nothing to do with it then, and I still don't, even now.

You're lucky....if he really wanted to toughen you up jarhead, it would have been his spit cup. (only if you're from Rock Springs)
 
When I was a wee lad back in the 70s, back before medicating squirrely third graders was normal, my doctor recommended Ritalin for me to my parents. To be fair, I was a piece of work at the time, but my mother felt drugs were not the answer. She had five brothers and knew that with a little time and a lot of luck (or maybe a lot of time and a little luck) I'd grow out of it, so she went with the next best thing: I was put on a regimen of a half pot of coffee at night to get me through my homework.

Now I know you're picturing a four foot tall StPaulDad, late at night, hunched over his multiplication tables with a mug of straight black java and a slowly moldering heater in the ashtray. But I was not ready for that, not yet, so I went with various cans of the instant flavored International Coffees that came with loads of sugar and powdered milk. It turns out if you jack up a 50 lb kid on caffeine at 7:30pm he can get a bunch of homework done before he crashes. It was quite the academic low point, but I did grow out of it, eventually moving to pots of straight black and a lot of harder math. (Still no Raymond Chandler ashtrays though.)
 
I could never get DS to drink coffee. He was a tea guy like his mama. At some point in his active duty Marine life, I think it was at 29 Palms, he became a confirmed coffee drinker. He took a deep dive, as he does with everything, and became something of a connoisseur of the coffee arts. While a young 2nd Lt in Oki his Captain was complaining about the coffee he was brewing at home. Evidently the Capt. had a new pot, and got some Blue Mountain Coffee shipped to him and he told the kid "I'm even using distilled water to brew it, but it tasted like crap". DS told him to lose the distilled water. "Use the tap, you need some minerals in that water". Sure enough the next day the Capt. came in with a happy face because his coffee was so damn good. Who knew?
 
Last winter my 19yo son started plowing snow overnights and went to the new standby, Monster, to stay awake. It always left him feeling kind of sick the next day so he recently announced that this winter he's going to gas station coffee. So proud, just so proud...
 
They should supply gas station coffee at the pump. Separate spigot, of course.

1. Insert loyalty card
2. Insert payment card
3. Do you want a car wash? (Ultimate, Works, Standard...)
4. Do you want coffee? (Trenta, Vente, Grande, Tall...)
5. Lift handle and choose fuel type...
 
I realized a couple of months ago that I was probably drinking more than the normal amount of coffee when some kid sent me a survey on coffee consumed which asked how many "8 oz" cups/day I drink. My cup is an insulated 22 oz travel mug and I drink 4 each morning- when I answered 11 he wanted to make sure that I understood he was asking about cups/day. I did fess up and admit that occasionally I will have one more mug after lunch so it is sometimes the equivalent of 14 cups- though never after about 2:30 in the afternoon. I thought that I was a big coffee drinker till I went to visit my cousins in Norway in early July. Since the sun never really goes down, they thought nothing of putting on a pot after midnight while we were out on the boat. Needless to say- I met my match! (And the first time this happened with my then pregnant wife on the boat it almost precipitated a crisis- apparently pregnant women have control issues that arise from too much liquid when a decent head is not immediately available?
Something I don't understand though- when did "Iced Coffee" become a real drink as opposed to something to drink when the pot kicked off and you didn't notice till you poured another cup? It seems like such a redundant question at Dunkin Donuts drive through when they ask if I mean "Hot Coffee?" Below is a picture of my dream travel mugcoffee.JPG
 
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I normally drink 2 mugs of coffee each morning. In the summer I save that 2nd mug and turn it into iced coffee in the afternoon. I've drank iced coffee since I was a kid back when Rudolph was a mere twinkle in Donner's eye.
 
I actually lump decaf coffee into the same group as turkey bacon, diet soda, fat-free anything, and alcohol-free beer.

In short, a waste of time and an offense against the natural order.

Oh, and include margarine in that group.
 
As a former owner of a coffee-roasting business, I have some opinion on this...

Throw the Keurig out or make a paper weight out of it. If you don't have the time or desire for a french press and only want to make one cup at a time, get the Toddy system. I've been making my morning coffee from my home-made cold brew every morning for 20 years.

I chose to trust your opinion, and bought a Toddy system. I haven't used it yet, but I really do love the bottled cold brew stuff (which I warm up in the microwave). If this thing makes it like that at home, I may never use the auto-drip maker again.

If readers haven't tried cold-brew coffee, I personally think that STOK® will make believers out of you:
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It makes for a wonderfully smooth and decidedly not-bitter, cup of coffee.

It's kinda "spendy" though. I think a bottle as pictured runs about 5 bucks.
 
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My third ship was an oiler. Not long after checking aboard I asked the CMC if the oil slick on my coffee had been happening for very long. He had been aboard for nine years and knew everything. He was an old bosun’s mate who wore a combo cover instead of a ball cap and it was always canted to starboard. He had hands like grizzly paws, leathery skin, and a face like a catcher’s mitt. About the coffee he said, "Doc, when you spend as much time on tankers (sic) as I have, you'll not only expect it but learn to love it. Plus, it's good for my skin." He turned and walked away leaving me shaking my head.

Mess decks coffee on my previous ships occasionally had various tastes, smells, and appearances but this coffee had an actual oil slick. I was later treated with an oily shower complete with a petroleum odor. I had no preventive medicine technician (8432) onboard like the AOEs had so I was the preventive medicine guy. After some digging around I was told by the water king, the BTCS, and again the master chief that life on an oiler included oily water, and, DFM was leaching into a water tank that we don't like to use but sometimes have to. It's OK they said. INSERV and COMLOGRU 2 know all about it so just relax and enjoy the ride. So I did. Relaxed and enjoyed my time aboard the Navy's First and Finest Fast Attack Oiler, the USS Savannah AOR-4.
 
...He was an old bosun’s mate who wore a combo cover instead of a ball cap and it was always canted to starboard. He had hands like grizzly paws, leathery skin, and a face like a catcher’s mitt...

The quality of writing around here is getting better. I applaud all those posters who choose to use the King's English with panache.
Thank you, Senior.
 
He was an old bosun’s mate who wore a combo cover instead of a ball cap and it was always canted to starboard. He had hands like grizzly paws, leathery skin, and a face like a catcher’s mitt

I think I remember the guy .... BMC on my first Midshipman cruise. I am still impressed by his ability to take a drag on his cigarette, take a hit of coffee, then exhale the smoke. He was certainly an old school CPO , as salty as they come !
 
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