I love coffee. Perhaps even excessively. Without a doubt, it is my favorite vice, and since caffeine is the most socially accepted drug, I am able to indulge in my cravings in public as much as my heart desires (well, at least as much my wallet allows I suppose). Interestingly, coffee is largely credited with helping create the western world. With the advent of coffee houses, many of the brightest minds found new places to gather and enjoy beverages which, unlike ale or other alcoholic drinks, did not dull the wits. Coffee houses helped launch some of the oldest companies (ever heard of Lloyd's of London? Yep, that was a coffee shop if I remember history correctly) because people with a common interest would use them as gathering places.
Usually, I drink coffee at home, simply because drinking out gets expensive. But sometimes you have to treat yourself. As I write this, I've been enjoying a cozy little coffee shop in my new city. There's a lot of small cafes here, so I suppose I'll have to try a new one every time for a while. There's just something special when you can sit in a comfortable environment and are given delicious, slightly bitter and acidic espresso in a properly sized cup on a nice dish. And a proper cup and dish, not the single use ones which still proliferate since the pandemic hit. When ever I'm working on a creative endeavor, as I was prior to getting distracted by this post, these set ups make me particularly productive. The greatest part? This one I'm in right now wasn't more expensive than the chains, while providing a better environment, better drinks, and the knowledge that you're patronizing a local small business, rather than a multinational corporation.
Please excuse the poor photography - I hadn't expected to be writing this post and so I hadn't properly staged it. By the time I wrote this, both the espresso and the biscotti were just happy memories.
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