A cup of coffee starts the day off right

I guess I’ve always been a coffee drinker, at least since high school.

A lot of people think coffee is coffee. I think not.

I’m a connoisseur of a good morning brew. To me coffee is the essence of getting up in the morning and starting the day right.

I realize there are those who disagree for a variety of reasons, like caffeine bothers them. They never liked the taste or aroma of coffee brewing. Everyone has preferences, likes and dislikes. I like coffee.

The great part of the coffee scene is the fact many a deal has been struck, small talk enjoyed and meetings held over cups of coffee.

My morning starts at 5:30 a.m. with, you guessed it, brewing a pot of coffee. The aroma fills the room and my senses awaken after a good or bad night’s sleep.

In the mountains on camp trips, I especially enjoy a cup of cowboy coffee. That’s basically the only way I can make it with a simple gutless, old-fashioned enamelware coffee pot, designed for the camp stove or open fire.

Without a coffee grounds basket, a plain coffee pot simply boils the coffee.

When done, just a few minutes after it boils, take it off the fire and add a tablespoon of cold water or eggshell and the grounds all settle to the bottom and you’re ready to have that first cup.

There is coffee and there is coffee. I became fond of Starbucks varieties, morning, afternoon and evening blends, although I don’t indulge much past 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. Yuban and Folgers are my second choices, but I do like Peets now and then.

Probably the best wake-up for me is the aroma of coffee brewing.

I can still picture spending time with my aunt in the Los Angeles area when each morning she had a glass percolator on an old gas range, one that is highly collectible and sought after. The coffee aroma filled the 100 plus-year-old home that my parents once owned when I was a baby.

The old house stayed in the family for decades and coffee was brewed just about every morning.

We all grew up loving that first sip of coffee in the morning. I was allowed to have coffee milk at a young age and acquired the appreciation for the mostly morning brew.

My parents had coffee for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but I usually only indulge in the morning hours.

Today, coffee has become an art and big business. I remember when the first coffee houses cropped up in our communities. Drive-through was and still is popular. In fact some mornings it is so popular, I have to park my car and go inside to get an order to go as the drive-through lines sometimes back up all the way from the speaker to the pay window.

The drive-through concept is quite handy on the way to work if you run out of coffee at home. Every now and then, I see bumper stickers encouraging motorists to try this coffee or that coffee brewed with various flavors added for a drink that is actually more a dessert item.

When the holiday seasons arrive, you get special treatment at some coffee houses as they encourage sampling of the holiday flavor — pumpkin, mint, caramel, and spice. You know the winter holidays are near by the flavors and brews in each of the popular coffee spots.

I’ve tried them all at one time or the other and wouldn’t attempt to prepare these specialty varieties at home without consultation or a recipe book.

Recently, I found a tall jar of caramel syrup that a friend brought back from her overseas trip to Italy. The jar had been tucked away in the back of my kitchen cabinet.

When I poured a dab into my freshly brewed cup of Joe, man was it good. I simply substituted the caramel for sugar and it was excellent. I wouldn’t do it every day or I’d be sending to Italy for this concoction or seeking a gourmet outlet for something that hopefully will compare. I’ll savor it and make it last until I find a reasonably priced source more local.

I suppose one of the best cups of coffee I enjoyed in the early morning hours was on the Nevada desert just at dawn before heading out to round up a herd of cattle. It was simple, cowboy coffee that hit the spot. I carried a small thermos of it on the saddle to warm me up until the sun peeked out of the east. Those are the times, along with fishing and camping trips, when morning coffee really hits the spot for me.