The world — and I mean every coffee shop, coffee provider and coffee drinker — is “celebrating” International Coffee Day on October 1, 2024. What this means is that you’re probably getting a good deal for your favorite “cup of joe” at a coffee shop near you.
It’s a good time as any to pay homage to a drink which has been such an integral part of my life and the lives of countless others. Remember, I hark back to a time when there was no social media and MTV portrayed a chilled glass of coffee as almost aspirational. For millennials, there was no coffee mafia telling their parents how wrong it was to feed caffeine to children. So let’s be honest, if you were born before the 2000s, coffee was a part of your diet.
It all started when we made “cold coffee” an evening staple and told our parents to add extra sugar and chocolate in a milky, heavenly concoction which hit all the right notes. As we grew up, that coffee became a staple to kill the awkwardness of first dates. Trust me, a Matcha Latte cannot come close to the dulling powers of a cappuccino especially when stuck in poor company.
As social media and science joined hands, most of us cut out the milk, added Soy, Oat or Almond Milk to our lattes; the rest of us guzzled down black coffees like it was water.
Cut to 2024. Social media tells us coffee is horrible. Doctors tell us to have it in moderation. The tea lobby tells coffee lovers that their daily cup is adding to their stress. The coffee lobby tells us that coffee is great for the heart, liver, brain, and everything else. Also, do keep in mind that climate change is making coffee expensive and rare as extreme weather parches the world’s biggest coffee-growing regions. So ordering coffee is not an easy choice anymore; it’s a lifestyle preference.
Open social media and women will greet you with bags under their eyes as they get ready to send their kids off to school or head to work themselves. Some are gearing up to tackle the demands of their day with a frothing cup. In their hands will be the perfectly-brewed cup of coffee.
You see, for most of us who have grown up trying to do it all, shielded from the work-life balance myths of the present, that cup of coffee serves as a tool of survival. A cup of coffee has become a ritual for many women across the globe and its preparation is as crucial as its enjoyment.
Some like it hot, strong and black first thing in the morning to wake them up and get them ready for that workout. Sure, they’re taking it with their supplements, their protein and collagen. Others like the cold brew or classic cappuccino to help them focus. Some have it as a nightcap. An expresso machine has become a staple in most upwardly-mobile homes and is not “exotic” or “aspirational” anymore.
Coffee enthralls me and you. The National Library of Medicine says 85 percent of Americans consume coffee in some form each day. Another study in the journal Psychopharmacology says that a low dose of caffeine can lead to a “significant increase in … happiness and calmness and decreases in tenseness.” So yes, coffee makes you happy.
I bet you feel the same way about tea but that’s a story for International Tea Day.
