Around noon today I was on my lunch break at work. Considering how cold it's been I have avoided stepping foot outside even if it means to the grocery store, which means I had a creative lunch. Pop something in the microwave, grab something out of your bag, and voila! Frozen steamed broccoli and bell pepper with a side of chocolate peanut butter protein bar. While I was savoring my delectably "healthy" lunch, a coworker began preparing hers. Pop something in the microwave and a science experiment of a drink, volcanic coffee.
I sat there innocently enough eating my veggies while I casually notice her put a piece of paper towel on the table and a mug of hot water on top. She pulls out a plastic beaker or I mean a plastic pouch of "coffee," tears it open, and with a quick move almost as if she was a seasoned wizard over a cauldron, dumps the powder into the hot water. All of a sudden I hear it. Hear what? The coffee. Are you supposed to hear coffee? Well this coffee you hear a fizz, and then see the bubbles, and then faint at the site of the overflowing beverage. It reminded me of my 8th grade baking powder and vinegar volcano, or when diet coke meets mentos, or an exploding volcano. Considering there was already a paper towel under the mug I assume this wasn't her first time at the rodeo. That she had indeed experienced this coffee phenomenon. Might I mention there was also a rancid smell coming from the cauldron ahem sorry I mean the mug.
I sat there shocked at what I had just witnessed while another coworker rushed to the scene with more paper towel. Instead of contacting FEMA about this disastrous coffee episode, she apologized for disturbing our lunches, sits down peacefully with a book and her coffee and sips it as if nothing strange had happened.
Still shocked, I sat there looking at the dried streaks of coffee on the side of the mug (from the fizzing overflow of course), and wondered: Why do people put this in their body? Have we forgotten the art of drinking, the art of eating? I think more and more people lose touch with the romance of food. They have gotten too busy to take the time to sit with food, talk to food, shower the food with flowers. Eating is about replenishing the body, replenishing the soul. It is a way that we show care, consideration, and love for ourself and others. Romance your food and drink as if you were a Parisian couple at a cafe enjoying your artistic treat as you're watching life float by. I promise you that if you are at peace and in love with your meal, you will see the joy in the world, because you tasted the joy that mother earth gave you through nourishment. Say no to frankenfood, say yes to romance.
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| The Romance of Coffee |
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