Food memories

Today while I was drinking my coffee, there was a taste that seemed familiar! It was from the past but not exactly...

Usually when I have my java at work I stick with 2 Coffeemates and 2 sugars, today we were out of Coffeemate. So I used the powdered creamer. Not my usual but in a pinch it works. As I sat at my desk I was reminded of being a kid sitting in my Grandma's kitchen drinking coffee. Grandma and Grandpa always gave us coffee. Some folks might say that coffee stunts your growth and other unfavorable things but we never knew that stuff. Mami as we call Grandma would make us coffee with warm milk. What it really was, was warm milk with just a taste of coffee.

Papi, that was what all of us called Grandpa would get the milk warm on the stove and have hot water at the ready. Mind you this was the early 80's before the days of Starbucks or Peet's rise to fame, my dad would laugh at me for paying 4 bucks for a cup of coffee. Folgers crystals were the specialty of the house.

Speaking of hot water, Papi would have the hot water ready on the stove at all times. He had (probably still has) this old 2 quart percolator coffee pot with no guts ready with hot water on the stove at all times. In the middle of the night you could find your way to the kitchen by the glow of the stove under that kettle. It was always on!

If you wanted a cup of coffee any time of day Papi and Mami's kitchen was the place to go. But you had to follow some rules.

#1 Never use Papi's cup... that was the first cup on the rack. it didn't matter if that was the second cup yesterday.
#2 Always offer to make Papi's cup of coffee first. He would always do the same.
#3 Be sure to put your spoon in the sugar before you put your spoon in the jar of Folger's. That way you never saw the coffee crystals in the sugar!
#4 Add the milk first. It was always easier to top off your cup with hot water than the other way around.
#5 Wash your cup after you were done. Nobody should have to clean up after you!

This was the routine when we had coffee as kids. It did seem simpler now that I look at it! Were we that simple as kids? I think so. I miss it, I mean really who needs coffee that is more complex than DNA?