Song of the Day: I Feel Good by James Brown

Dearest Readers,

I hope everyone is staying healthy, happy, and enjoying SOME of the newfound freedoms we’ve been allowed to enjoy over the past few weeks/ months. While I know it’s not like the life we knew prior to March, I’m happy to have the choice to go out and do things.

I have to confess something… I’m drinking coffee again. *insert epic forehead slap, sheepish shoulder shrug, and massive sigh here*

I successfully quit coffee for about a month and a half; then COVID and the world went crazy and shut down. My alter ego has a job that can be quite stressful, but she enjoys most aspects of it. When COVID happened, her job, like most “traditional” work places, ended up having to be boosted forward about 10+ years into modern day tech society. Tech is an accepted utility in her workplace, but not mandatory… SOOO- a lot of people ended up getting a robo wakeup call that they were hoping wouldn’t (ever) happen. So having a little bit of that sneak peak, let’s just say that the day job encouraged the cravings for the sweet, sweet nectar that is Stok Cold Brew mixed with my sweetener from Whole Earth Sweetener Co.

I believe it all started towards the end of March, the denier in me says it was April. Believe me, I’ve tried, SO hard to quit multiple times since then, but… everyone has their vices and if this is my worst one- I totally embrace and accept it!

I’ve really been benefiting from some of the healthier benefits of coffee, actually. I drink no more than 12 ounces, most mornings; I’ll drink 24 ounces if I really feel the need. I just went on a coffee buying binge last week and bought one of my old favorites: Blue Island “High Tide” cold brew pouches, and then the Starbucks shelf life cold brew in a plastic bottle… Please don’t tell me how many additives are in that… (I had two coupons that made them that much more tempting, don’t judge). I actually really enjoyed the caramel one, to my surprise. I don’t like caramel unless it’s the creamy, gooey ones that are homemade, it’s part of a praline, salted and covered in dark chocolate, or the salted caramel macarons from The Magical Macaron…. I’m open to people attempting to convince me otherwise though!

            I also feel like coffee is a good social thing too, although most places carry really good tea selections. I’m friends with a few coffee connoisseurs that always have something fun to share in terms of coffee and conversation. I somehow feel that coffee will probably always be here to stay, especially when most of the international borders open up again! There are some amazing countries out there that specialize in their coffee and it shows!

            Ok, so a little back story on this: I traveled to Europe for the first time in 2016(ish) and was drinking my diet sodas like water around then, too. BUT most of the hotels we stayed at didn’t have soda on hand, they had coffee or espresso instead. SO- I made do, and I’m so glad I did! Can we just say mind blown? I can’t drink espresso stateside, but when in Italy… I guarantee that you cannot get bad espresso or coffee there. We stayed in a few other countries too, but Italy’s coffee was most memorable. If anyone wants to try to change my mind about stateside espresso, be my guest! I always welcome a new learning experience!

Coffee in Mexico is phenomenal, too. I frequent Mexico, usually the Cancun/ Riviera Maya region, and love staying in the all-inclusive resorts. I also always get teased for asking for iced coffee anywhere we stay, why? Because Mexican coffee usually has a hint of chocolate and cinnamon in it! It literally makes my taste buds dance and my brain just melt like an ice cube, it’s THAT good.

I miss travelling! I am looking forward to the days when we can travel at will and go explore the world again! Til then, coffee and tea in hand…

Much love,  

Moi

P.S. I am not getting paid by any of these entities. I am linking them so that you’ll know what I prefer and if you want to enjoy them too, you can! Cheers!