It started out quite innocently as a budding high schooler rising at the awful hour of 6:45 p.m. to be on the marching band field at 7:30 a.m. I discovered something called coffee. We didn't make coffee at my house. My mother had a sensitive nose, and such smells were not allowed (I've never really worn colognes either). I would occasionally sneak tiny cups from the math department bin in the morning. The teachers would never allow us full cups because it would stunt our growth. We were allowed to eat candy, slurp cokes and munch on fast food, but coffee was off limits. Such was the way in my innocent beginnings.

Something has happened to our culture in the last two decades. Coffee has become a big deal. You can't even buy quarter cups anymore. A mug of dirty regular will cost you over a buck. Premium blends cost two to three dollars more than that. Even 7-11 & McDonald's totes premium brands. Of course, I equate their premiums to that of Budweiser being a premium beer. It makes me wonder how premium anything is.

My college moments with coffee were very much feast or famine. I still remember one of the fondest memories with my roommate/landlord/best friend my freshman year was taking advantage of the bottomless cup of coffee late night at The Village Inn. The graveyard waitress left us the pot and we drank and talked about eighteen year old issues well into the night. Little did we know that by our sophomore year, we wouldn't be roommates or friends. I still hang out with coffee, though.

The choice used to be coffee, leaded or unleaded. That was it. In the dark corners, in the most urban areas, they spoke of something called espresso. No one knew what it meant, but it had its own machine and intimidating process to spew out black goo. Then came cappuccino and lattes and machiattos. I heard strange orders as I waited for my cup. "I'll have a half caf soy latte with an extra shot and whipped cream." Huh? "I'll have a cup o' joe, please."

It wasn't until after college when I professed to become a writer that the tables turned. Coffee started to control me. I received my first coffee maker by purchasing mail order ground coffee. While the mail order service lasted about a year (they would never change my order), I still brew my home coffee out of the freebee coffee maker I received. That's quality! The juice became my writing fuel, and I kicked it up with a little Irish Cream. Drink the coffee and write until the buzz is gone. This worked for a few years. I literally wrote until I had nothing left to say. I sometimes wonder if I really have anything fresh to scribe anymore, but I never stopped drinking the coffee even after my writing binges ceased. Creativity comes and goes, but an addiction can hang on forever.

Recently, the CEO of Starbucks stated that the company has lost their soul. I personally never knew the company when it had one. They tout drinks that resemble candy more than coffee. There food is preprocessed and packaged and dripping in sugar. They sell all kinds coffee accessories, CDs, and other random items. All that being said, I don't boycott the mighty Starbucks. I'll take a Venti Americano from them any day. See? I've even learned how to "order" coffee!

I cruise a cab, and when my coffee craving kicks in (between 7-9 a.m.), I'll go to the nearest barista. My town boasts somewhere between 20-30 Starbucks, at least a dozen of the local alternative chain Satellite, the local college hippie hang out RB Winnings, Busters, Napoli, Gold Street Cafe, The Perfect Cup and on and on. No matter where I go in town. Coffee is near. No one knows my name, and I don't know them either. Still, there are places I'll walk in, and they will know exactly what I want without me opening my mouth. I guess you can say I'm an irregular regular.

I admit I'm addicted, but it's more like a methadone addiction. I have some coffee almost every day (this is my sixth day in a row). I try to limit it to two healthy mugs at home or a one Venti (i.e. big cup) in the cab. I now have my own personal grinder at home, so I buy the whole bean packages. Coffee tastes just a little bit better when it's freshly ground. I'm something of a coffee snob when purchasing coffee in public. The coffee at Dunkin' Donuts isn't bad, but I'll still go for those humming espresso machines.

I know that coffee's waking ability is an illusion. If I didn't drink any caffeine at all, I would probably be healthier, sleep better, and have more energy. All the energy I get from caffeine is really just to feed the addiction. Monday is usually my drug-free day. This means no caffeine, no smoking, no drinking, no vices. By the end of Monday, my body is pretty tired by the lack of cheap rewards, and I go to sleep early to get in the cab by 5 a.m. Tuesday. I must admit that I feel pretty good on Tuesdays after being drug free on Monday, but I will also admit that Tuesday cup of coffee tastes pretty nice too. If we were healthy all the time, we wouldn't notice it half as much. Struggle creates appreciation.

So there you are. How did you start drinking your coffee? How are you handling your addiction? To think that twenty years ago, all we could order was regular or decaf. It's a whole new world of coffee beans, and I'm swimming in the big black pond with millions of other addicts. Drink up, my fellow junkies. Tomorrow is just another day we can't face without our favorite pick me up.

Chris Jungle had an extra cup & a half today to get in that coffee mood.