onegoodmove

I started drinking coffee in 1962. I remember ordering some coffee at the local greasy spoon. It was the typical fare, weak, black coffee, to which I quickly added sugar and cream to make it palatable. If you grew up in Utah where drinking coffee was a sin. Postum a cereal beverage courtesy of Mr Charles William Post, was the substitute the Mormons used to remain pure. So in Utah drinking coffee was a coming of age activity. I eventually acquired a taste for the beverage and it wasn't long before I was drinking it regularly and black. I went along for years drinking the very best brew Folgers (good to the last drop) from the local grocery store, no Starbucks no Peet's, at least not in Utah. In fact the coffee bar phenomenon reached Utah about five years behind the rest of the country, but of course that's Utah. It must have been about 1986; I was traveling to Northern California, San Mateo to be exact to help my brother set up a computer system. We had just opened a branch office of the family collection agency, and of course computers were a great advantage in those days, not every small business had one. Our first computer was manufactured by Ohio Scientific and used the famous 6502 processor also used in the first Apple, and Commodore computers. Of course the Ohio Scientific was a Business Computer. It was about the only Micro to support multiple users. Not a networked setup, but four terminals, (I’m sorry for this interruption but I simply must. We used Soroc terminals. The story is that the guys that designed the Soroc terminal were having trouble coming up with a name. They were sitting around drinking Coors beer and there you have it Soroc an anagram for coors) and one lowly 6502, a giant 23 Megabyte Seagate Hard drive, even file and record locking were supported. It is amazing I think back how truly functional it was. Running a very fast BASIC, performance was perfectly acceptable. But I'm getting off track here this is about coffee. So I'm in San Mateo setting up this computer and training my brother on the software. Each morning on the way to office, he lived in Los Gatos at the time, we stopped at Peet’s Coffee on the way to work. The first day we stopped I got what must have been the house blend or coffee of the day whatever they called it then. We walked out the front door and I took my first sip of real coffee. Well, I don't recall now, but it either put hair on my chest or removed it. “Holy shit,” I said “This is strong. How can you drink coffee like this”. My brother gave me a look I didn't recognize at the time, but it wouldn't be long until I did. Back at the office I added a bit of cold water and was pleased. He smiled. The next day it was back to Peet’s I ordered a cup of the daily brew and then added, could you add a little water to that, you make really strong coffee. I can't describe the look on his face was he amused, pissed, I wasn't sure. His reaction however was quick and decisive. Loud enough for the entire clientele to hear he said "No”, and then to the customers, "Can you believe this bozo he wants me to add water to his coffee." The whole place erupted everything from polite giggles to loud guffaws. Damn was I embarrassed. I'm fortunate he didn't know I was from Utah he would certainly have said "You ought to be drinking Postum.” I couldn't get out of place fast enough, but by the end of week I was acquiring a taste for this new breed of coffee. When I returned home, I soon discovered where to buy real coffee, even in Utah. The Salt Lake Roasting Company, roasts some quality beans. The other night I somehow stumbled across Peet’s site on the Internet. I couldn't resist. I ordered a couple of pounds of my favorite "French Roast" . It arrived today, and tonight as I'm writing this I'm enjoying cup of Peet's finest.