Elixir of Life

I believe in coffee...I even believe that it may very well be the elixir of life that our alchemist forefathers talked about. Coffee really can turn lead into gold...figuratively speaking. Obviously...or I would be a very rich woman right now...There is not a surface I havent spilled coffee on...But seriously, you've been there;

Eyelids heavy as lead...no concentrational abilities whatsoever...a cup of coffee, and voilá! A golden moment of concentration and alertness.

I do find it odd, though...that something as simple as a drink made out of a bean and hot water...can taste so good or so horrible depending on how you prepare it. I am currently drinking what I believe to be the worst cup of coffee I have ever offered my palate...And I have drunk coffee many places...anywhere from Africa to Idaho, USA...to mention a few. I have drunk coffee prepared the traditional way by a coffee maker:

The easy way:


The espresso way:


The mocca way:


And my favorite way:

And all methods can create wonderful black potion...or cause a horrible gag-reflex. The cup I am drinking right now was made the easy way...by water which by itself taste awful...and prepared in a water boiler which has seen its better days...so I guess it is no mystery why it tastes so bad...But it doesnt explain why it tasted so bad in France...or London...or at my parents house.

Perhaps it is with coffee the way it is with drugs...You can have a wonderful high, or a bad, bad trip. In that case I am just recovering from a bad trip. Had it been a drug, I would never do it again...But since it is coffee...and not quite yet characterized as a drug, I will give it another shot. Just for the unpredictability of it...and the excitement. And we all need a little excitement.