The Coffee Culture
Tagged with coffee, philippines, splenda, united states on January 11, 2024
The coffee culture is something that is shared by many ethnic cultures around the world. According to history, coffee has been consumed since at least the 1400s, in one form or another. Today, it’s the most popular hot drink in the world. There are entire cottage industries built around the consumption of it.
We have coffee shops and donut shops, both of which sell more than their main attraction. Some of them attract more social activity than others. I don’t know what it’s like in countries other than the United States and the Philippines, other than what I’ve been told.
Creating the Drink
I’m not going into too much detail about it. All you need to know is that you can buy it ground or in instant form in most grocery stores.
If you have the necessary equipment, you can get the raw beans in specialty shops, roast them and grind them yourself. Most of the beans you find in grocery stores are already roasted. Some grocery stores have in-house coffee bean grinders, but electric coffee bean grinders for the home are relatively inexpensive.
You have a choice in the appliance you want to use for the creation of the drink itself. You can use an automatic drip coffee maker, a percolator, a French press or even your own espresso machine. It all depends on how much you want to invest. I prefer instant coffee these days, and only because I won’t have to make more than I’ll end up drinking.
I don’t own a coffee maker in the Philippines. That’s because instant coffee is king in the Philippines. Josie (my wife) and I don’t drink enough coffee in any given day to justify making more than a cup at a time. I used to drink way more before I hit my sixties.
Coffee Creamers
When I was young, the only coffee creamers we (I mean the older folks, not me) used were evaporated milk, condensed milk, or just plain milk. Today, we can buy flavored nondairy creamers as well as flavored coffee. We can use something called “oat milk” or milk from animals other than cattle.
Unless I’m going to make an instant coffee latte, I prefer using no creamer at all. I like the taste of coffee, lightly sweetened. Too much sweetener ruins the taste for me as well. Speaking of the latte, I start with boiled milk and add two teaspoons of instant coffee and two packets of Splenda. If I had an espresso machine, I would use one shot of espresso instead of instant coffee.
Mugs and Tumblers
I’ve collected mugs over the year, but not intentionally. None of the mugs in my house came directly from a store. They all have phrases, designs, or family pictures on them. I may have bought one or two when I was much younger, but most of what I have in my kitchen are gifts from one occasion or another.
My younger daughter-in-law collects Starbucks tumblers. They’re expensive, but so are the drinks. I think she has every style in existence already. Unlike her, I won’t collect things I will never use.
Coffee Candy
I love it when it’s made from real coffee, without artificial flavors. I won’t consume it unless I can find it without any sugar added. I’m almost the same way with cough drops, which I’ll only consume with sugar in them if there’s nothing else available and my throat really hurts.
Other coffee confections don’t really interest me.
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