# Coffee Pet Peeve



## larry_stewart

Let me start by saying I hate coffee.
I try it once or twice a year , when I see my wife enjoying it so much.
I feel like Im missing out on something.
But, every time I try it, I just think it taste like crap.

But what annoys me, is when I see my wife carefully adding here sweetener and cream ( or milk) to the desired amount, when we are out to eat.

And then, the waiter ( or waitress) comes over and fills up the half filled cup to the top, obviously screwing up the sweet/ cream ratio of the drink.

It annoys me so much, and its not even my place to be annoyed.

Maybe Im just easily irritable  .

Does this bother all you other coffee drinkers out there ??


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## PrincessFiona60

Bothers me, I also use cream and have it down to a science.  When I see them walking around with a pot I cover my cup with my hand.


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## CraigC

My coffee pet peeve is that there isn't any Bushmill's in the house!


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## rodentraiser

Larry, are you a super taster? Because to people who are, sweets taste too sweet, and things like coffee taste too bitter.

I personally love the aroma of coffee and hate the taste.


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## larry_stewart

rodentraiser said:


> I personally love the aroma of coffee and hate the taste.



Im kinda the same.
When I smell coffee, I can understand why people like it.
I can even tolerate a hint of coffee flavor.
But when i take a sip, of what my wife seems to be enjoying thoroughly, I wince, make a face of disgust, and complain how bitter it is.  then my wife yells at me for even tasting it, cause  i do the same thing every time.

I just feel like Im missing out on something.

That being said, she does the same thing when I have either hot and sour soup, or something with cilantro in it.


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## blissful

DH doesn't like coffee either. He did mention that he likes how it smells each day when I make it for myself.


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## Dawgluver

I stopped drinking coffee on a regular basis in my late 30's.  Had a headache for a week.  Now we might drink a cup or two on Sunday.

I made a huge mistake a couple days ago.  Got a latte grande with chocolate sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream from the place across the street.  Then we went out for rum and cokes in the afternoon.  Neither one of us are used to caffeine, so it was 2 am before we fell asleep!


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## GotGarlic

Coffee *is* bitter. That's why so many people add sweeteners and flavors. I never drank it before I met DH because my parents drank it black and it never occurred to me to add sugar. He started drinking it in middle school when he had an early-morning paper route. 

I add sugar and, at home, hazelnut creamer to my coffee and yes, when I have it seasoned just right, I stop wait staff from refilling my cup. I also only drink at most two cups a day, so I don't usually need a refill.


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## bakechef

I can't drink coffee black, I need creamer (vanilla) and sweetener.  I love coffee and cream flavor, but on its own it's overwhelmingly bitter to me.  I can't deal with red wine or dry white wine either.


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## Dawgluver

I don't drink my wine with cream 

I've found that since I've not been drinking coffee much, it tastes wonderful witha scoop of ice cream!


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## jabbur

I started drinking coffee in nursing school when I worked weekends as an aide on the night shift (11pm-7am).  Then it was cream and sugar in the coffee.  I eventually cut out the sugar but can't go full on black.  I can do just cream.  Here at home, I make it a cup at a time with my Bunn My Cafe and have it set on the light setting and add flavored creamer like hazelnut or french vanilla.  Sometimes it'll just be milk though.  One cup in the morning is all I need.  If I drink too much caffeine I'm up all night with a racing heart.


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## medtran49

I got the really _brilliant_ idea of making Irish coffee with espresso, strong espresso at that once, and had 3, maybe 4 with Bushmills because they tasted oh so good.  I ended up having the equivilent of 6-8 servings of espressor, plus the sugar and whipped cream.  Didn't get any sleep at all the first night or next day, a couple hours dozing next night, none all the second day, and finally was able to go to sleep the second night.  Was having some heart racing and palpitations on and off.  Never did that again.  You'd think the Bushmills would have mitigated the effects somewhat.  I've found that I can have 1 espresso serving and be fine, though I won't be going to sleep for several hours, but anymore than that and I'll be up the entire night.  

Back to the original topic, I really don't mind it as long as they ask.  I'll just take a quick look to see how much is left so I'll know how much sugar and cream to add.  If somebody just started pouring coffee into my cup though it would be another story.  I do limit myself to no more than 2 cups of regular coffee otherwise I get jittery.


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## Dawgluver

Medtran!  I learned (and still have to relearn apparently) to only drink coffee in the morning.  Even after one cup on Sunday morning, DH and I still jitter around.

I actually enjoyed black coffee.  Not the swill they made at work, good restaurant stuff.  I didn't start to use cream and sugar until a few years ago.


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## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Bothers me, I also use cream and have it down to a science.  When I see them walking around with a pot I cover my cup with my hand.



A lot of places give you those individual littler cups of creamer. I always ask for extra. In fact I tell them I like my coffee extra light. Then when they come around for a refill, I have the cream on hand. I don't have to ask them to go and get me more. Most often there are the individual packets of sweeteners or sugars already on the table. I take mine with cream and sugar. This way I am always able to keep it the way I like it.


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## Cooking Goddess

*larry*, that used to drive Himself nuts when he used both cream and sugar. When he was diagnosed with diabetes, the doctor advised him to drop the sugar and he did. He doesn't find adding the right amount of just cream to be a bother because, honestly, there is NO such thing as "too much cream". 

*Addie*, with all of the comments you make about your health, I'm surprised you still use sugar...and still smoke. You must be a physician's dream patient...



Dawgluver said:


> ...I actually enjoyed black coffee.  Not the swill they made at work, good restaurant stuff.  I didn't start to use cream and sugar until a few years ago.


That's similar to the my progression of drinking coffee, except that I don't use sugar.

As I was growing up, after supper I would go around the table and pour any leftover coffee in the mugs into my Dad's mug (Aunt=cream only, Mom=black, Dad=cream and sugar) and drink the combo down. Left the last sip behind because I might have grounds - perc coffee. Mom would tell me I shouldn't drink coffee until I could drink it black and plain.  Fast forward to me at age 20, taking SCUBA diving lessons. After class, everyone headed over to the nearest Manner's. Since tea wasn't grown-up, that's when I started to drink coffee. Black.

I still drink it black, right up to my last cup of the day. The last cup is what I refer to as my dessert coffee. That one gets a generous pour of cream. My cut-off for coffee/sleep is 6:00 PM, but we don't head to bed until after 3:00 AM. Himself? He can drink it right up to bedtime and fall asleep immediately.


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## CharlieD

Having spent 6 month in Italy, I have gotten used to very strong, very flavourful, very yummy coffee. I've been in America for 26 years and I have to say coffee has gotten better, much better, it is Not simply brown water any more, but it is yet to reach to the world class coffee I've gotten used to all those years ago. Back to the original question, it would make me crazy if somebody did that to my coffee. 

BTW, how does your wife reacts to it?


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## CraigC

CharlieD said:


> Having spent 6 month in Italy, I have gotten used to very strong, very flavourful, very yummy coffee. I've been in America for 26 years and I have to say coffee has gotten better, much better, it is Not simply brown water any more, but it is yet to reach to the world class coffee I've gotten used to all those years ago. Back to the original question, it would make me crazy if somebody did that to my coffee.
> 
> BTW, how does your wife reacts to it?



In your travels to Miami, have you ever tried Cuban colada? You buy a normal size cup (8oz) and they give you a bunch of 1oz cups to share. This is the coffee version of Jolt cola.


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## Addie

CC, you are right. I do  have a lot of health problems. But at my age, the damage is done, and I don't really care. As for the smoking, I got my supply of Chantix today. Will keep you informed of my progress. 

I have a cup of coffee going 24 hours a day. I make sure there is a cup on my nightstand when I settle down for the night. I would rather have coffee than food. I am so used to my cup going cold on me, that I no longer notice. 

You can't call me a coffee aficionado, more like a coffee guzzler. At one time I only drank tea black with just a small amount of sugar, if it was available. 

I use to have a big brown tea pot. You could buy loose tea at Fanuiel Hall in Boston. Alas! They have closed. Now I can't even find it on the shelves at my grocery. I prefer English Breakfast Blend. So I have to settle for tea bags. I got rid of the tea pot. So if I don't have any coffee in the house, I will resort to the tea bags. And I never put milk in it. Just a tad bit of sugar, if that.


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## roadfix

I've been drinking coffee ever since my early teens.   One day my father told me to try coffee without cream and sugar for just one week.    I did, and tolerated the bitter taste for a few days but stuck to it.    I've been drinking coffee, black, ever since.

What really eeks me is when I see people dump packets and packets of sugar and loads of creamers into their coffee.    They practically have to dump half of their coffee to make room for this....


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## Addie

roadfix said:


> I've been drinking coffee ever since my early teens.   One day my father told me to try coffee without cream and sugar for just one week.    I did, and tolerated the bitter taste for a few days but stuck to it.    I've been drinking coffee, black, ever since.
> 
> What really eeks me is when I see people dump packets and packets of sugar and loads of creamers into their coffee.    They practically have to dump half of their coffee to make room for this....



I am not that bad. If getting a coffee from a drive-thru, I always order extra light with extra sugar. That way I know I will get a regular coffee. That means two squirts from the cream dispenser and one and a half tsps. of sugar.


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## Steve Kroll

Well, I LOVE coffee myself. Many years ago I always drank it black, but in the last couple of years have come to enjoy it with a splash of full fat cream and, very occasionally, just a little sugar free sweetener. Something about real cream just takes coffee to a whole different level.

Strangely enough, you get weird looks in restaurants and coffee shops when you ask for real cream. They either try to give you milk, half and half, or non-dairy creamer. Years ago, cream was the norm. Now it's a rarity.


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## Addie

Steve Kroll said:


> Well, I LOVE coffee myself. Many years ago I always drank it black, but in the last couple of years have come to enjoy it with a splash of full fat cream and, very occasionally, just a little sugar free sweetener. Something about real cream just takes coffee to a whole different level.
> 
> Strangely enough, you get weird looks in restaurants and coffee shops when you ask for real cream. They either try to give you milk, half and half, or non-dairy creamer. Years ago, cream was the norm. Now it's a rarity.



Like myself, Spike makes his own whipped cream. He has the same  problem as I do. Making sure there isn't a sip or two missing from the container.


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## Andy M.

Steve Kroll said:


> Well, I LOVE coffee myself. Many years ago I always drank it black, but in the last couple of years have come to enjoy it with a splash of full fat cream and, very occasionally, just a little sugar free sweetener. Something about real cream just takes coffee to a whole different level.
> 
> Strangely enough, you get weird looks in restaurants and coffee shops when you ask for real cream. They either try to give you milk, half and half, or non-dairy creamer. Years ago, cream was the norm. Now it's a rarity.



You got that right!  We've noticed when we go to Aruba, you get what looks and acts like skim milk no matter what you ask for.  We use light cream at home.


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## roadfix

I remember up until several years ago, McDonald's, for instance, used to automatically give you a small bag full of sugar packets and creamers without even asking for every cup of coffee at their drive through.
All the fast food chains wised up and now ask you how many cream and sugar you want.  Every time I drive up to the window most clerks seem perplexed when I tell them I want zero cream and zero sugar with my coffee, like I'm some kind of a rare breed......


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## Kayelle

Well, I love my morning Joe! Cream only, no sugar, two cups. We recently gifted each other with these very beautiful and very special Polish Pottery mugs. Mine is on the left. Somehow they seem to make the morning coffee special.


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## Cheryl J

I like coffee and usually have a cup first thing in the morning, maybe 2 cups at most - then I'm done.  I like a little half and half in mine, no sugar.  Sometimes I'll buy a flavored coffee creamer, usually hazelnut or almond.  

As mentioned above, if I'm out to breakfast I also cover the cup with my hand when I see the server coming around with the coffee pot. 

edited - just saw your cups, Kay, they're beautiful!  I agree that special mugs make that first cuppa more enjoyable.


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## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> Well, I love my morning Joe! Cream only, no sugar, two cups. We recently gifted each other with these very beautiful and very special Polish Pottery mugs. Mine is on the left. Somehow they seem to make the morning coffee special.



Those are gorgeous. I guess when DH retires we can have morning coffee together. Sorry, sweetheart, but I'm not getting up at 5 a.m. when I don't have to. And he wouldn't want me to


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## CharlieD

Yeah, Cuban coffee is indeed very good. Unfortunately they've managed to ruin that too. I've going to Miami for 25 years, sometimes twice a year. And progressively quality of Cuban coffee has gone down. Still it's better than star box 


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking


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## Zagut

Larry, It sounds to me you have more of a service pet peeve then a coffee pet peeve.

The server is only doing what they are instructed to do.
That is making sure the customer has all the coffee they want at no additional cost.
If you had added something like sugar or lemon to your water would you feel the same if they wanted to top off your water?
As many have pointed out. All you need to do is express your feelings to the server that your cup/glass is full enough and problem solved.


And since the thread drifted towards how folks like and think about java I'll spew my idiotic opinions. 

I used to drink a pot of coffee in the morning before heading off to work.
IMHO black is the only way to go. 
You'll never be disappointed if you don't have it and miss C&S if you drink it black.

Once in a Blue Moon as a treat a scoop of Ice Cream is a great desert java treat.
Different flavors of Ice Cream make it interesting.


I've roasted my own beans and used to always buy whole beans and ground my own.

Was never satisfied with most java ordered out but some places did serve what I liked.

Now I look at it as it's all about the roast and grind you personally like. Then it should be brewed to the strength you personally like.
A lot of dislike of coffee is due to the strength of the brew as opposed to the flavor of the bean or brewing method.
And don't forget the additives. Put in it what you like. I'm not much of a Starbucks supporter but they would be no where if it wasn't for the additives. 

That's what I learned from my java past.

Now I only make coffee on the weekends.

Don't ask me why.

And I don't buy whole beans anymore or search for that bean or roast I must have.

Now a days I buy the pre ground java that's on sale and brew it to the strength I like at the temp I like to brew it at.

Some say that the best cup of Joe is the one you have with folks enjoy being around.

I'll have to agree with that statement even though I'm one of those people that no one wants to be around and I'm happy not being around others.


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## bakechef

Kayelle said:


> Well, I love my morning Joe! Cream only, no sugar, two cups. We recently gifted each other with these very beautiful and very special Polish Pottery mugs. Mine is on the left. Somehow they seem to make the morning coffee special.



Those are beautiful!  Most of my mugs are from my travels.  I try to find really high quality mugs, it's a nice reminder of where I was when I bought them.


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## larry_stewart

Zagut said:


> Larry, It sounds to me you have more of a service pet peeve then a coffee pet peeve.
> 
> The server is only doing what they are instructed to do.
> That is making sure the customer has all the coffee they want at no additional cost.
> If you had added something like sugar or lemon to your water would you feel the same if they wanted to top off your water?
> As many have pointed out. All you need to do is express your feelings to the server that your cup/glass is full enough and problem solved.



To me , personally, I don't care as I never drink coffee.  But it seems to be a very personal experience and precise and individual liking as to the balance of sugar/ creamer to the cup.  Unless the cup is completely empty, any additional amount is going to mess up the desired balance of the individual's liking.

If it is the individual server taking it upon themselves  to fill up a cup cause its not full, then common sense should kick in to ask first.   If it s the restaurant directing their staff to do this, then they should also train them to ask first.

Sure, I think the intentions are good, but its not a simple glass of water.


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## larry_stewart

CharlieD said:


> BTW, how does your wife reacts to it?



My wife didn't see it coming, so she was unable to stop the waitress from filling up the cup.

To her, it wasn't a big deal, she just would prefer that the cup was empty first.


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## Andy M.

larry_stewart said:


> My wife didn't see it coming, so she was unable to stop the waitress from filling up the cup.
> 
> 
> 
> To her, it wasn't a big deal, she just would prefer that the cup was empty first.




Of course she didn't see it coming. She was too busy eating all that French toast!


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## larry_stewart

Andy M. said:


> Of course she didn't see it coming. She was too busy eating all that French toast!



 very true, and same restaurant.

maybe the felt she needed more coffee to wash down the french toast to keep up her pace


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## Zagut

larry_stewart said:


> Sure, I think the intentions are good, but its not a simple glass of water.


 
Yes it's as simple as a glass of water.

Like the war on drugs "just say no".

A sneak attack is another story but then again it's a service problem and not a java problem.

Asking first is a given in polite society and I can't envision how a server could attack my plate/cup without my consent?

But I don't eat out often so I know nothing about service these days.


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## Mad Cook

Steve Kroll said:


> Well, I LOVE coffee myself. Many years ago I always drank it black, but in the last couple of years have come to enjoy it with a splash of full fat cream and, very occasionally, just a little sugar free sweetener. Something about real cream just takes coffee to a whole different level.
> 
> Strangely enough, you get weird looks in restaurants and coffee shops when you ask for real cream. They either try to give you milk, half and half, or non-dairy creamer. Years ago, cream was the norm. Now it's a rarity.


I drink mine black, too ( “Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love.”) but I do like double cream (=heavy cream, I think) poured over a spoon so it floats on the top of the coffee and you drink the coffee through it. Yum! Even better if a slug of Tia Maria liqueur is stirred into the black coffee before the cream is floated on top.

I didn't like coffee until I grew up and I discovered that you could drink it without milk!

NEVER instant coffee, though


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## Mad Cook

Zagut said:


> The server is only doing what they are instructed to do.
> That is making sure the customer has all the coffee they want at no additional cost.


"*The server is only doing what they are instructed to do*."
No, Zagut, I can't agree with you. Irrespective of whether coffee is free or not the waiter should _ask _the customer if s/he would like more coffee rather than foisting it on him/her regardless.

It's a matter of good manners. I waited tables, among other things, when I was a student and would never have dreamed of doing anything so rude and pushy.


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## roadfix

Off topic, but still coffee talk.
I ran out of paper filters at work so I've been making cowboy coffee, directly in my insulated mug.    The grounds will all sink to the bottom of the mug after a couple of minutes.   Same great taste, easy clean up.


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## Zagut

Mad Cook said:


> "*The server is only doing what they are instructed to do*."
> No, Zagut, I can't agree with you. Irrespective of whether coffee is free or not the waiter should _ask _the customer if s/he would like more coffee rather than foisting it on him/her regardless.
> 
> It's a matter of good manners. I waited tables, among other things, when I was a student and would never have dreamed of doing anything so rude and pushy.


 

Mad Cook I agree that it's a matter of manners and that asking is the correct approach.

But way, way back in the stone age when I was employed at a greasy spoon I was actually instructed to fill the cup and use it as a way to get the customer talking.

A hand over the cup or a no thanks stopped me and I was never one for a sneak attack on there java cup.

But it did open a dialog and what the customer desired was then related and then fulfilled.

Maybe things have changed since I was young and stupid.
I'm sure they have. 
But now that I'm old and stupid I can't help but believe communication between the consumer and service provider have changed much.

And with my personality it's a good thing I got out of the food service industry.


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## PrincessFiona60

Putting my hand over the cup is my only recourse, I usually have a mouth full of food when they approach.  Good manners dictate I don't talk with food in my mouth...


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## Mad Cook

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Putting my hand over the cup is my only recourse, I usually have a mouth full of food when they approach.  Good manners dictate I don't talk with food in my mouth...


I don't think we have the pay-for-the-first-cup-and-get-free-refills thing over here. At least I've never come across it. The waiter may ask if the customer would like another cup but it's not usually free.


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## roadfix

I've only been to few places where they pour without asking.    Most coffee shops I frequent, even raunchy, hole-in-a-wall coffee shops ask if I want more coffee.    It basically boils down to common sense.


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## Zagut

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Putting my hand over the cup is my only recourse, I usually have a mouth full of food when they approach. Good manners dictate I don't talk with food in my mouth...


 
It's good to see someone has good manners.

I'd have spewed whatever I was eating all over the place. 



Mad Cook said:


> I don't think we have the pay-for-the-first-cup-and-get-free-refills thing over here. At least I've never come across it. The waiter may ask if the customer would like another cup but it's not usually free.


 
Mad Cook, On this side of the ocean (I can't call it a pond) we have what is known as a bottomless cup of coffee.
If you like Java it's a good thing. 




roadfix said:


> I've only been to few places where they pour without asking. Most coffee shops I frequent, even raunchy, hole-in-a-wall coffee shops ask if I want more coffee. It basically boils down to common sense.


 
Yep, Common sense is the key but how much of that exists in this day and age?


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## Addie

Mad Cook said:


> I don't think we have the pay-for-the-first-cup-and-get-free-refills thing over here. At least I've never come across it. The waiter may ask if the customer would like another cup but it's not usually free.



We don't get it here in New England either. It is found more through the south and out west.


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## Andy M.

Addie said:


> We don't get it here in New England either. It is found more through the south and out west.



You'll find diners and similar restaurants give free refills.  Tablecloth restaurants don't.


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## erehweslefox

Kayelle said:


> We recently gifted each other with these very beautiful and very special Polish Pottery mugs. Mine is on the left. Somehow they seem to make the morning coffee special.



Isn't it nice to have good mugs? I have a collection of mugs, and ceramic cups which I have gotten all over the place. It is fun to have a bit of ritual about it, and I have mugs for different things, my wife when we first met used to just grab one from my cabinet, and I'd have to bite my tongue as she was using a tea mug for coffee, or my sunday morning mug on a Tuesday evening... I know I am weird.

Larry, my relationship to coffee is complicated, started drinking it in prep school, where it was just a Caffeine Delivery System, and we had either instant in the microwave, or a secret coffee maker hidden somewhere, no refrigerator access also, so it was black with sugar or nothing. I quickly eschewed sugar, and got used to drinking it black for convenience sake. I can say it is an acquired taste. For the longest time I thought it was bitter horrible stuff. It grows on you.

I got into tea when I was over in Russia, where that is pretty much what you drink to exclusion of water. We, when I got back, didn't really have much options for GOOD tea in the states, loose leaf, so until people like Upton Tea Imports etc... started getting available on the internet back in the early 90's I stuck to coffee.

Nowadays I mostly drink tea, and have a series of thermoses, tumblers, devices, and cheats so I don't have to rely on the restaurant I'm at for a cup, they generally have one of those horrible boxes of stale bags of Twinnings and Celestial Seasoning that has been there for a year. 

I am partial to a good cup of black coffee on occasion, and I have trained myself to drink it black, I will do that in a restaurant. At home I have a mocha pot, and will make myself two shots of espresso, dilute it with a similar quantity of hot water, and add devonshire cream and a little bit of vanilla sugar. 

So I agree with your point on service, I'd say in practice most people I know that are coffee drinkers take it in stride though. One reason for it, is that one of the key things about coffee is that it be hot, and it cools quick in those shallow six oz cups you get, it is generally not difficult to get it back to the sugar and cream you like by taste.

Still prefer tea most of the time for drinking, but coffee is a nice change of pace.

Cheers,

TBS


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## Cooking Goddess

*Kayelle*, those mugs are a very pleasant way to start your morning. How much coffee do they hold? One year I bought a huge (22-oz) mug for Himself as a Christmas gift. ordered from the Christmas catalog. It was hand-made in Ecuador and had pretty graphics and a nice glaze. He says it's too big. I tell him he _can_ fill it only half-way. 



Addie said:


> We don't get it here in New England either. It is found more through the south and out west.


I thought Connecticut was part of New England.  We treat ourselves to brunch at a cute little cafe in Putnam. Not only do they keep your coffee hot and the cup full, when you are ready to leave they ask if you would like a fresh to-go cup.


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## Cooking Goddess

erehweslefox said:


> ...It is fun to have a bit of ritual about it, and I have mugs for different things, my wife when we first met used to just grab one from my cabinet, and I'd have to bite my tongue as she was using a tea mug for coffee...


You are not alone in your weirdness when it comes to which-cup-what-liquid. I'm the same way. As far as "Day of the Week Cup"? You're on you own with that one. 


erehweslefox said:


> ...Nowadays I mostly drink tea, and have a series of thermoses, tumblers, devices, and cheats so I don't have to rely on the restaurant I'm at for a cup, they generally have one of those horrible boxes of stale bags of Twinnings and Celestial Seasoning that has been there for a year....


Are you familiar with *Harney & Sons* tea? They offer a product called a "Tagalong", a round tin with five sachets of tea. They also sell their same quality loose tea in boxes of 20 sachets, so you could always slip one or two wrapped sachets into your pocket and ask your server for "a cup of hot water, please?"  I did that in the past and never got an argument. Now, I just drink water when we go out.


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## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> We don't get it here in New England either. It is found more through the south and out west.



Your neighborhood /= New England.


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## erehweslefox

Cooking Goddess said:


> Are you familiar with *Harney & Sons* tea? They offer a product called a "Tagalong", a round tin with five sachets of tea. They also sell their same quality loose tea in boxes of 20 sachets, so you could always slip one or two wrapped sachets into your pocket and ask your server for "a cup of hot water, please?"  I did that in the past and never got an argument. Now, I just drink water when we go out.



H&S are good, I keep a couple of their bags with some Twinning at work in the break room, mainly the darjeeling Twinnings and the Russian Caravan H&S blend. 

I also have a friend from India that got me as a gift six silk teabags. They are looser than I'd expect silk to be, so I'm not convinced if they are made of silk, or that is the name, but they are reusable as heck, don't hold flavor, you just have to rinse them off and dry them and they are ready to go, and they are the most awesome thing ever. I keep them in an altoids tin, and when I go out for serious dinners at nice place, and I want a very good cup of tea appropriate to a good meal, I fill them with my favorites.

 Generally I will at a fancy place tell the waiter I brought my own tea, and just charge me for a cup of tea and bring hot water. Everyone is cool with it, except once, at a very fancy Indian restaurant, chef sent me out a pot of his own private tea, and came out, it was if you know teas a SFGFOP1-CL from Margareta's Hope Estate, 1st flush, he had gotten it sent over from India, and came out to talk with me about teas. 

I gave him the content of one of my little bags (they are awesome I won't give a one of them up), which was a Temi Estate Sikkim FTGFLOP1-CL, also first flush which he hadn't seen. Damn, to explain all this I should find or make a tea thread?

 If you don't know what I'm talking about, you might have thought I had a minor stroke, and am only capable of stringing nonsense letters together. TL;DR is TEA GOOD.

CG, yeah I have a couple of mugs only for certain days, it sounds weird, but I only have about 20 mugs, right? I also have a sad mug, a happy mug, and one I keep in my darkest cabinet, that is only used on Friday the thirteenth and Halloween. 

Cheers,

TBS


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## Cooking Goddess

erehweslefox said:


> ...chef sent me out a pot of his own private tea, and came out, it was if you know teas a SFGFOP1-CL from Margareta's Hope Estate, 1st flush, he had gotten it sent over from India, and came out to talk with me about teas.
> 
> I gave him the content of one of my little bags (they are awesome I won't give a one of them up), which was a Temi Estate Sikkim FTGFLOP1-CL, also first flush which he hadn't seen. Damn, to explain all this I should find or make a tea thread?
> 
> * If you don't know what I'm talking about*, you might have thought I had a minor stroke, and am only capable of stringing nonsense letters together. TL;DR is TEA GOOD...


Ah, *tea grading*. I've had several multi-lettered teas from Harney's, but not by design. Instead, I've been to their tasting room in Millerton, NY, where you gaze in wonder at their walls full of canisters of every tea they offer (as long as it's in stock). I acquired the teas by pointing and asking "what does that one taste like?". If I liked it, I bought it.

I was blessed with meeting Mr. John Harney at his original shop in Salisbury, CT. I spent a number of years traveling between MA and suburban Cleveland after we moved to MA, fixing up my parents' house in OH after Mom died. Himself encouraged me to get off the interstate and take state routes if time and weather allowed. While driving US 44 into CT, I passed a small shop with a sign out front that said "Tea Shop Open". There was John behind his counter, giving a talk to a group of prospective tea shop owners who were attending as part of a seminar being conducted by Pearl Dexter, a tea aficionado. He invited me to join them, as they were leaving shortly for his new, state-of-the-art plant in Millerton. I followed like someone on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and learned much about tea and Harney's. Still, the letters mean nothing to me without a scorecard.  Methinks Himself and I need to take a (long) day-trip out there this autumn...


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## Addie

I have two large DD mugs that I only use to grab for a cup of water. And two smaller plain white mugs just the right size for a cup of coffee. When not in use, they are inside a cabinet behind a closed door. So no one sees them. 

I am not out to impress anyone anymore. And I don't want a bunch of stuff collecting dust. As long as I have what I need, I am happy. Less dishes and cups to wash.


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## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> I have two large DD mugs that I only use to grab for a cup of water. And two smaller plain white mugs just the right size for a cup of coffee. When not in use, they are inside a cabinet behind a closed door. So no one sees them.
> 
> I am not out to impress anyone anymore. And I don't want a bunch of stuff collecting dust. As long as I have what I need, I am happy. Less dishes and cups to wash.



Those of us who like functional items to also be pretty are not out to impress anyone. It's part of enjoying life. Too bad you don't get that.


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## Souschef

GotGarlic said:


> Those of us who like functional items to also be pretty are not out to impress anyone. It's part of enjoying life. Too bad you don't get that.


I agree-We have a beautiful hand painted olive oil dispenser that we bought in Ravenna Italy. It sure looks nicer than an ordinary olive oil bottle.


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## Mad Cook

erehweslefox said:


> Isn't it nice to have good mugs? I have a collection of mugs, and ceramic cups which I have gotten all over the place.
> 
> TBS


I counted my mugs when I unpacked after moving house. 32 ....and I live alone. How did I get there?

Still one never knows when one will need them. I'm thinking of trying to persuade my next door neighbour that we should get involved in the MacMillan Cancer Support Charity's "World's Biggest Coffee Morning" in September.(What's the World's Biggest Coffee Morning about? | World's Biggest Coffee Morning | Macmillan Cancer Support)


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## Mad Cook

GotGarlic said:


> Those of us who like functional items to also be pretty are not out to impress anyone. It's part of enjoying life. Too bad you don't get that.


A rather spiteful repost, I thought, GG.


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## GotGarlic

Mad Cook said:


> A rather spiteful repost, I thought, GG.



No, I'm sad when people can't appreciate beauty and think other people only have beautiful things in order to try to impress still other people.


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## di reston

I agree with Mad Cook: I learned that a good coffee should be 'black as night, pure as an angel, hot as hell and sweet as love' the very first time I went to Italy over forty years ago. Here it really is a culture, and the first thing a good local barman has to learn is how to follow the rules as above. Quantities are much smaller than elswhere, and an espresso usually only comes halfway up the little cup, but the kick it gives you is staggering! You can get a 'high' with one of those! Cappuccino's and other styles of coffee also come in smaller quantities, and aren't consumed with meals, with a snack at the most. The coffee bars are meeting places and usually a hive of activity. There's nothing quite like them!

di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast     Oscar Wilde


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## roadfix

I like cowboy coffee.   Only three components:  mug, ground coffee, and hot water.
I'm having one right now...    I let ground coffee sink to the bottom of my mug, then drink....


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## medtran49

roadfix said:


> I like cowboy coffee.   Only three components:  mug, ground coffee, and hot water.
> I'm having one right now...    I let ground coffee sink to the bottom of my mug, then drink....



Sounds like you need some Turkish coffee.


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## roadfix

medtran49 said:


> Sounds like you need some Turkish coffee.


I got used to the cowboy coffee method from the backpacking trips I've been taking.   I don't like carrying coffee paraphernalia to make a simple cup of coffee....   I've seen people with titanium coffee presses.   Nice gadget, and they weigh almost next to nothing, but not for me.....I'm not that crazy about having coffee...


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## erehweslefox

roadfix said:


> I got used to the cowboy coffee method from the backpacking trips I've been taking.   I don't like carrying coffee paraphernalia to make a simple cup of coffee....   I've seen people with titanium coffee presses.   Nice gadget, and they weigh almost next to nothing, but not for me.....I'm not that crazy about having coffee...



Yeah, I have say, neither Beloved Wife nor I are regular enough coffee people that we need it on backpacking trips, mainly I'll just bring tea (we are really tea people anyhow). 

However, there is a big exception, winter backpacking. We've only done one or two cold hikes, but given that in the winter I plan on more gear and shorter distances anyway, and we need to keep temperatures and calories up, plus milk and butter won't go bad, I feel justified taking my small mora pot. Unlike warm weather backpacking where I have taken it and used it like once, when it is cold nothing helps out on a trail break like briefly breaking out the stove and making two mugs up of heavily creamed, sugared and buttered espresso. Picks you right up and warms you up too!

Car camping I have a great 10 cup percolator that can just sit to one side of the fire all weekend, just periodically add water and change the grounds, makes mud and dilute with hot water to taste. 

TBS


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