Amidst all the other reasons to divide us in the world we live in, who would have thought something as benign as one’s hot beverage preference would become a lightning rod for discord? At a recent get-together, I ventured into, all that the host did was to cordially ask the guests whether they opted to have coffee or tea. This set off an immediate coffee versus tea debate. While there was no indication that the argument would degenerate into fisticuffs, I am sure it led to some residual friction among the ‘warring’ parties.
Whether coffee or tea is the better drink is a never-ending dispute and I would be hallucinating if I thought, me or anyone else could put it to bed. According to me, mornings are made for coffee. Drinking my morning joe is as natural as witnessing the sunrise. Morning coffee is the elixir of life that saves me from eternal grumpiness as if to remind my grey cells to light up after deep slumber. It is my only companion while I slug it out during long nights trying to finish up my writing.
You don’t need to be in a supine position to doze off on a warm afternoon, especially after curd rice fuelled lunch. Indulge in a fresh cup of filter coffee, lest you end up being ‘caught napping’ by your colleagues! It is hard to imagine the scale to which coffee has unwittingly lodged itself in the fabric of our society. Job interviews, tete-a-tetes between long lost friends, dates - all happen “over a cup of coffee”.
I have been witness to some of the knottiest problems getting resolved amicably over coffee. Coffee even comes to the aid of truant public workers. ‘Coffee ge hogidaare’ (‘He has gone for coffee’) is a convenient alibi heard often on the precincts of government offices when the person you are seeking to meet might have very well packed his bags for the day! Coffee is a barometer of courtesy, for it is impolite to let go of visitors without offering them “at least a cup of coffee”.
I have a theory that only a few make it to that rarefied list of things in life that never go out of fashion and I daresay that coffee is one of them. I cannot imagine anything else replacing it (although its cousin, tea, has tried hard and continues to be a worthy adversary). I have not and never will come to terms with the notion that some people (which includes my better half) can stay away from coffee altogether. As for me, coffee is pure ambrosia.