Like most kids I know I grew up hating coffee – the thought of it was repulsing. How could anyone like something that tasted that bitter? But what really blew my mind was the fact that my grandparents didn’t put any sugar in their coffee. Gross. I now feel guilty for telling them how disgusting that was because it is how I enjoy my daily cup of happiness, but that’s beside the point. These days I might as well have an IV injecting the substance straight into my bloodstream. It’s that bad.

When I first started drinking coffee, I was into all of the fancy drinks, the drinks that don’t really taste like coffee, but imposters. I was already a coffee drinker before I became a Barista at Starbucks, but working around coffee all the time quickly changed my mentality. It took no time for me to be downing espresso shots like they were nothing. I now realize how bad that must have been for me, but I’m just going to ignore that part.

This all leads to the conclusion that I’ve come to - drinking coffee is an experience in itself. Try to think of a better smell to wake you up in the morning. I guarantee you can’t. I like to think of coffee as my reward for getting out of bed in the morning, but maybe that’s just me.

While I am enjoying my cup of coffee, I like to think of it as my time to myself. It is my precious time to wake up and relax before the craziness of the day sets in. I take advantage of that time – even if it’s just the walk to class, at least I have my coffee tumbler by my side. If I don’t have my coffee, I’m useless. I say that jokingly but it’s the sad truth.

Once I’ve finished my cup of joy I feel like a new woman. I feel like I can take on the world and anything is possible, but that’s most likely the caffeine talking.

One thing that really gets to me is when someone tries to speed up my coffee drinking process or better yet, when someone tries to criticize my cup of coffee. I like to take my time and really enjoy my coffee. I didn’t slave over my coffee machine just for you to be rude and interrupt my routine. Better yet, I didn’t just spend $6 for you to not even let me enjoy this wonderful beverage.

Coffee has become such a big part of our culture that it’s almost weird if you don’t drink it. It’s definitely a taste that you acquire over time, but once you’re hooked, there’s no going back. I really don’t understand how one cannot love it, there’s literally so much to love.

So fellow coffee lovers – keep enjoying your cup of Joe and never let anyone tell you to stop drinking so much coffee, because there’s no such thing.