Tuesday 26 February 2008

Give me a cuppa any time

I wish you could smell it.

Not my fart, duh!

Mmm. It is the unmistakeable smell of freshly brewed coffee. There is nothing quite like it. I also love the smell of anything that is tea. I am Asian and my forbearers enjoyed colonialism by the British, after all. (I thought I’d stir up some uncomfortable sentiments. I think I failed miserably.) It is said that if coffee were to completely be wiped out from the face of the planet, life as we knot it would plunge into bloody pandemonium and ultimately, Hell on earth would come true. Tea, while it contains caffeine, has such a trifle amount compared to coffee that people would end killing each other over green tea.

Most purists would scoff at the idea of having coffee at Starbucks or Coffee Bean (I thoroughly dislike Coffee Bean, though) because these are the “fast food” versions as opposed to sitting in a dinky, dingy coffee house or tea parlour. I stick my tongue at them. I love coffee, and good coffee is good coffee no matter where it’s from. While coffee is premium business here— a small cup of coffee costs about RM7.16 (give or take the odd cent)—people are still bonkers over the delectable bean.

I grew up drinking coffee. I attribute my affinity for blacker than black coffee to my father. Every Sunday morning, my mom would make a pot full of the tar-like liquid for breakfast. A faint whiff alone would make me stop whatever I was doing, be it running with scissors or drenching my neighbour’s cat with hot water, I would grab my mug and fill it with the rich, dark liquid.

But as much as I love coffee, I’m not one of those people who must need their fix. I can go days on end, maybe weeks, without ever even thinking about it. I’ve also developed a taste for coffee without sugar. It took a while getting used to the bitterness but when I got used to it when I try to drink coffee with sugar now I feel that I’m drinking black sugar instead. The last week or so, I’ve felt really crappy. It was because I didn’t drink any form of coffee!

However, I do have the rare cravings for a nice cold mug of beer. Heck, even the occasional Baileys would do me good on a hot, sweaty day. But when I think about the cost of a single mug of beer or the unholy price of a single bottle of Chivas Regal, it is enough to put the idea out of my head before you can say, “Intoxicated you are!”

If I were to be stranded on a deserted island and the only drink of choice is a toss up between the most expensive liquor and instant coffee, I’ll take the coffee in a flash.

I’d rather be awake and hyper from all the caffeine than be drunk and eating my own vomit!

This is Chris, signing off.

PS: Starbucks all the way!

PPS: I’d like to take this opportunity (what do you mean “opportunity”, you moron! this is your damn blog!) and congratulate Syar for following her dreams. Good on ya, mate!

3 comments:

Lia said...

What's with everyone talking about Starbucks recently? I was just over at Cate's, and she's about Starbucks, too.

Wanna help me with my case study?

Anonymous said...

This post almost killed me. I gave up coffee and alcohol for Lent, so I envy you for actually having an option (and getting the chance to prefer one over the other) until Easter Sunday! Haha!
Oh sweet coffee beans, oh I miss your liquid form.

Man, that sounded wrong. =/

Chris said...

Lia: Starbucks makes poseurs out of people. That for me is the most intriguing part of the whole thing. As for your case study, I'm afraid I will not be of any significant help. You see, I have to run over to the Starbucks for my dose of poseurness!


id: I like to squeeze them beans. :)