Como Siempre

My coffee ritual as of 2022. Video has sound!

As a kid, my Mom always drank black coffee and lots of it. ‘It’s my only vice’ she would say.

I didn’t start drinking coffee until I did a study abroad program in Venezuela many years later. A new friend invited me to coffee, and I said yes. The rest is history. We drank so much milky coffee together in our time there that we became regulars. (We also had a LOT of intestinal distress). When we walked into our favorite cafe the barista would say ‘Como Siempre?’ and we would reply ‘Como Siempre.’ Like always. The usual. It was the best feeling in the world. And they would bring us two cappuccinos and a plate of cookies.

She became one of my best friends, we were in each others’ weddings, and now nearly 20 years later we still talk over coffee, though usually virtually.

And now, just like my mom, coffee has become my one and only vice. My daily coffee is a connection to her, and a connection to that feeling of connection, friendship, and sharing.

One response to “Como Siempre”

Mm

July 15, 2023 at 1:53 pm

I gave up caffeine since I wrote this post, but I haven’t given up the ritual. It turns out, it wasn’t the caffeine I needed (the caffeine was making me little bit unhinged) it was the ritual. Still, without caffeine, I do this every morning. And bonus, now I can have MORE because it doesn’t make me jittery. It connects me to people and moments and places both near and far every morning. Since this post, I have also traveled to central america, where they do not have decaf, and I prepared and adapted, bringing my own instant decaf, finding the right high maintenance milk and buying a kettle from a local market so I could have my daily cup. Travel always makes it clear what’s really important – what’s me and what’s someone else? What do I need vs. what do I think I need vs what I am simply addicted to? I don’t need much, but I do need coffee, and I’ll adapt in any way necessary to have it in my life.

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