Coffee Break

I recently joined a coffee swap with a group of people in my favorite Soap Forum. Initially I planned to venture to downtown Chicago to pick up a few pounds from Intelligentsia. I like their coffee and their story, but not enough to pack up my 5 year old daughter during one of the coldest spells of weather this year and trudge through the Windy City.

So, instead I let Google lead me to a place more local. I struck GOLD in a neighboring town. Conscious Cup is a roaster that makes their magic in the restaurant in front of their giant window. Each week day morning they put on a show of the tastiest kind. I had a cup of their "Nicaragua" yesterday while Teagan munched on an oversized chocolate muffin. The coffee was light and smooth. Even at 4 O'Clock in the afternoon I didn't feel the caffeine jitters. Got a good night's sleep and awoke looking forward to my day.

I told the coffee expert behind the counter that I was looking for something smooth with little or no bitterness for my swap. She directed me to an organic free-trade variety from Brazil. I love me a good strong cup of Starbucks, but am trying to reduce the amount of sugar and cream I need to enjoy the cup. I'd like to learn to like coffee 'black' but cannot seem to get used to the taste without the amendments. Sitting here with a tall steaming cup of the Brazil blend I am on my way toward achieving my goal. It took no sugar and only little heavy cream to make my palate happy. It's much lighter than the Winter Blend that was in my coffee grinder before, but I really like it so far.

Thank you Google. Thank you Conscious Cup. Please excuse me while I return to my coffee break.