I can remember standing on tippy toes, peering over the counter just enough to be able to look down into my father's coffee mug. As he poured the cream into the deep brown, the white billows would rise up and swirl. Even before I learned to like the taste of coffee, I loved the aesthetic experience. It was a simple but romantic nightly ritual that my parents shared. My own enjoyment of coffee began in eighth grade with regular visits to Dietrich's (which sadly no longer exists outside of the keurig cup distribution). But the romance of the drink did not come for some time later.
I married a man who did not drink coffee. I brought my coffee maker into our marriage, but for years had to use it alone. Until one night, we had our friends, Faith and Erick, over to our place. As I made some coffee for the rest of us, Erick remarked with great shock at how Manny, a graduate student no less, wasn't drinking any with us. Manny is the last person to let peer pressure force his behavior. But when I mentioned to Erick how drinking coffee together was, in my mind, such a romantic ideal, Manny picked up on it, and resolved to learn to love coffee for my sake.
This 180 degree switch felt romantic enough to me. I felt heard and loved. But it was a switch that kept on giving, as coffee has facilitated so many romantic experiences for us since Manny's conversion. As students studying together for hours on end in cafe's, as parents finding the liquid strength to open our eyes to yet another day that comes too early, as two people in love relishing one another's company, Manny and I have greatly enjoyed exploring all the flavors and aromas of some good cups of joe.
Our caffeinated journey has taken us to several establishments that hold fond memories for us and perhaps some fun recommendations for YOU!
In Santa Barbara, there are a handful of cool coffee shops, but our hang out was always the Coffee Cat. Being pre-coffee-conversion for Manny, he always ordered the Calico Cat - a peanut buttery chocolately glass of goodness that they rarely ever actually had the ingredients for on hand.
In and around Berkeley, the coffee shop you frequent is an important part of your public identity. This was too much pressure for us, and also parking is a pain near campus, so we generally stayed off the beaten paths and just found our own humble little hang outs. 33 Revolutions, a record store/concert venue/cafe/coffee shop was one of our first favorites - great open atmosphere for studying - but it has since gone out of business, I'm sad to say.
Other shops where we spent hours upon hours reading, studying, and writing theses included:
- Tomate Cafe Great breakfast and lunch too!
- Buttercream Doesn't the name just make you want to go? The owner is beautifully invested in the local community of Albany, and you can feel it in the vide of the place. Delightful spot for a tea time treat!
- Blue Bottle Coffee Wanna feel cool in the Bay Area? Drink Blue Bottle Coffee. We enjoyed cups of Blue Bottle at the Ferry Building Farmers Market, but our most memorable romantic moment was at the Oakland cafe - one of our first coffee shop dates unencumbered by back packs and laptops - this was a treat we regret not partaking of more!
One characteristic about San Diego that I adored was how often you could find public spaces where older men tended to congregate on a routine basis to hang out. It made me feel like I was in Italy, visiting the piazzas. Something about all the military bases being there perhaps. Anyways, Manny and I often found these men lounging around the coffee shops we frequented and I often had trouble focussing on my work of the day because I was so intrigued by ease dropping on the men chattering about their lives, politics, cars, weather, what have you. Not necessarily all old-men-hang-outs, but a couple of our favorite coffee places in San Diego were:
- Zumbar High quality coffee - love the hummingbird roast!
- The Living Room Yummy pastries, cozy atmosphere, ocean view [though just a sliver] - this was probably my favorite hang out spot in SD and the site of this precious moment.
Now we're in Maine and trying to discover our new favorite coffee shops. So far we've thoroughly enjoyed the following spots and look forward to warming up at each of them throughout the long winters!
What rituals do you find romantic, Lobsters? What are your favorite coffee hang outs? How many of you are concerned that I might have a caffeine addiction?
No comments:
Post a Comment