Gourmet coffee, anyone?

After going through the coffee lovers' thread at pagalguy.com, I realized how far the coffee industry had come. With retailing coming into the forefront in India and with the setting up of international coffee chains, people now sip coffee named 'The Devil's own', 'Almond Frappe','Kaapi Nirvana' etc. And to think that I'm still stuck at the small Bru/Nescafe pouch. Just add water and sugar, it says, and you'll have your own espresso ready. Sip... Lick... Ummmm... it says. Well, never mind the fact that its more of sip... blechh... spit... @#$!%&*

I have never been attracted to coffee. For me it never did its job. In fact, coffee has a calming effect on me, quite the opposite to what it is supposed to do. I remember the countless number of times during my CAT preparation that I have felt asleep just after having a cup of coffee. For me the good old chai is a major addiction - especially in the morning. Don't try to talk with me before I have had my morning tea or I'll make you squirm in pain.

Whenever I have had coffee, it was due to circumstances. Coffee helped a lot in my college days. It was mainly because I hadn't come across any instant tea mix. During the submissions and the exams, the all-nighters had to be survived through. The 3Rs. Nescafe pouch helped me through those long nights. But I'm sure I was only one of some ten people in Ahmedabad who actually drank that instant coffee. I remember my roomie looking at me strangely many a times whenever I drank this concoction. Another time when it helped was at my previous company. Gathering with fellow internet surfers software developers and spending time near the vending machine was always a good excuse to get away from the boss. Eventually we had worked out a strategy which involved visiting the vending machines on all the floors once in a day. Ultimately we calculated that a mixture of 3/4ths coffee and 1/4th tomato soup will do wonders to your concentration and help you through the siesta sessions meetings. But there was a side effect on some which involved an extra visit or two to the loo (which again was a welcome break).

To me, coffee has been useful in many ways. It may have its lovers, but for me, Wagh Bakri scores over The Devil's Own.