post the hundred-fifty-sixth, 2013

why i spend money on coffee and why i walk down the block to do it.

1. scott-the-barista knows me. it's like walking into "cheers" every morning only my name isn't norm and i'm not drinking beer. come to think of it, scott-the-barista might not even know my name... i always pay cash and he never asks, and you know what? that's how i like it. he doesn't pry - he just he recognizes me and that's all that matters. an impersonal-personal greeting first thing in the morning goes a long way to starting the day right.

2. scott-the-barista knows my order. this is sort of part of #1, but also separate. he remembered after, like, the second day. i mean, it's not a difficult order -- small americano, add a touch of skim -- but still, he's got it down. this isn't because i am special or my order is easy. it's because he's a good barista. being in the presence of professionalism is simultaneously comforting and inspiring.

3. the coffee is very good. it's not stellar blow-your-mind coffee, but the combination of good product and professional handling results in a cuppa that's quintessentially sessionable. not too bitter, not too sweet, not too toasty-roasty, not too bland. it's just right, goldilocks.

4. it's reasonably priced. yes, this is completely subjective. it's $2.19 and i think that's a reasonable price for a freshly made americano. at this point in my life, i am ready to indulge myself, and i choose morning coffee as my indulgence. yes, there are children starving, but i support efforts to feed them, so don't judge me. compared to maxing out credit on manolo blahniks or refinancing the house to purchase an audi convertable... $2.19 for a cuppa isn't all that bad.

5. scott-the-barista does things the long way but doesn't take a long time. he grinds beans and draws espresso shots through traditional machinery. i don't mean he's got a mortar & pestle and a campfire going back there, but if you know coffee, you know what i am talking about. and he gets it done faster than any barista i've known to use that system. yes, even faster than khalil-the-barista, who is not to be sold short himself.

6. walking down the block to get coffee each morning feels urban and hip in a way this town has never felt to me. having coffee in walking distance is a relatively new phenomenon - maybe a couple years or so - and participating in this morning-city ritual makes me feel connected in a way that firing up the coffee maker perched on my in-cubicle fridger never could.

7. it's easier to purchase a made cup than to make it myself. keeping coffee and filters onhand is a hassle. the tiny 4-cup coffee maker is noisy and messy, and even with this tiny carafe, there's always something left to burn and smell and be a mess to clean up. office coffee pools, the other option, are notoriously not good at spreading the cost and very good at spreading gossip. no thank you, too-personal coworker who hasn't put a dime in the cup since january.

8. i walk past two coffee shops to get scott-the-barista. one of them has a thermos of starbucks, so they really shouldn't be calling themselves a coffee shop at all. the other is actually my former go-to shop, but since khalil-the-barista left, it's become way too painfully pretentious and i can't be party to that.

9. going to the in-building cafeteria for coffee feels like losing. plus, the coffee is atrocious. i mean, like, really bad. it's not possible that the people who make that coffee are coffee drinkers because one taste of that should humiliate the maker into never touching a coffee bag, bean, filter, carafe, or cup ever again.

10. coffee good. tired bad.