This story originally appeared on the Gents Cafe Newsletter. You can subscribe here.
Now, my friends, as I sit here in front of a coffee, the scent of warm sunshine mixed with jasmine on the breeze, admiring the beautifully crafted espresso cup and saucer before me, I’m not suggesting that you search out the finest coffee-serving establishment in every town and city you visit… but you should: the coffee will be better, the atmosphere calmer, and if you’re lucky the company will be charming.
If you’ll take some advice from an old friend, eschew the chains, the mass brewed, overly-milked and syruped concoctions, served in cups so large they have their own postcode. They can make you a kid’s coffee, that’s for sure. (A cheap shot, I know, but then again so is theirs!)
If it’s the proper black gold that you desire, then give your business to an independent—a place that uses beans from a decent roastery, where the baristas actually know their stuff. A place like the wonderful Grouch Coffee in Moreton in Marsh, in the heart of the Cotswolds, where owner and barista Kelly will happily chat with you about life, the universe and everything else instead of rushing you on so the next in line can get their third Grande Caramel Latte of the day. Plus Kelly is a baker’s daughter, so not only is the coffee good, the sweet treats are the best. The raspberry brownies are
to die for.
Next, and I really can’t emphasize this enough, SIT THE F DOWN! For too long now, especially in the UK, people have taken to wandering around with a cup glued to their hand as they aimlessly wander up and down high streets, in and out of stores across the land. They will tell you it’s what they enjoy and how they like to relax, so let them. But they’re deluded. They might not care that most stores frown on customers bringing in hot drinks, some even actively restrict it—and in my humble opinion rightly so.
Sure, if the coffee shop they went to had no spare seating, I get it. But what it’s really all about is that they want it now, without delay, and in their way. So please tell me, are they really that rushed? Is there really so little time in their day that they can’t take time out for the simple pleasure of a relaxing coffee? The whole enterprise feels incredibly childish. Pass them a sippy cup and let them get on with it!
But when it comes to your own coffee, my dear friends, savour it. Enjoy the smell, the taste, and admire how it has been presented to you. Take a breath, look over at your companion and smile. If you are alone, take in your surroundings once more, and breathe again.
It’s as good a meditation as any, and as you set down your cup and feel the waves of gratitude envelope you, you’ll be set for the day ahead. And buona giornata one and all.
