COFFEE
For me, coffee is something that I "discovered" after graduating from college. Though I would accompany my dad to the local Wawa (you Philly folk know this name ... I see it is spreading, however) early mornings and despised the taste during my youth, and would be around the elixir during post-family dinners when my grandparents were with us but never touched it, I could always appreciate the aroma.
Somewhere along the lines, after spending enough time in coffee shops, I believe, I took to espresso. It was a social drink, a nice little something extra to have by one's side during conversation, or reading a book, or working. After acclimating to the potency of shots of espresso, I suppose I was set up for drinking the more watered down coffee. It still took a couple more years and an office setting with a communal coffee pot to coerce me into actually desiring to drink coffee.
And now I am a convert, and have fully embraced it. Au naturel, merci.
What do I like best about coffee? I like the culture of it. I like that it takes me to different locations to experience it. Each cafe and coffee shop has a distinct feel to it, diners have a universal flavor associated with it, even Starbucks does its best to adapt to its surroundings. Most personally, the wandering of streets during travels and walking into different cafes to explore more regional culture is most appealing to me about coffee.
