An Acquired Taste
How I taught myself to like coffee when we found out son #2 was on the way
We found out during the pandemic that we would be having our second child in 2021. We were ecstatic. We had been trying to have another kid for a few years after our first son, Isaac, was born.
But I was also, like, really tired.
The oldest boy was 4 at that point. We were finally out of diapers and just leaving that phase where kids are completely obsessed with things that can cause them mortal danger. All the high spots, sharp edges, pools of water, rusty pieces of metal, crazy looking bugs…you know the deal.
I was 30 when we had Isaac.
I would be 35 when we had Ian.
One of the first thoughts I had after the initial excitement died down?
“I’m going to have to learn how to drink coffee.”
I always hated coffee. I hated the smell, the taste, everything.
I even remember trying a White Chocolate Mocha on a field trip senior year because my friend Patrick wanted to try one. As peer pressure goes, I must admit that’s pretty mild. That drink was the second grossest thing I’d ever tasted…right behind a raw tomato.
I hated that I hated coffee. I thought coffee drinkers were so cool! I’m pretty basic at heart, so the idea of going to a coffee shop, grabbing some java, and hanging out with a book or doing work on my laptop seemed like the pinnacle of existence to my millennial soul.
Ordering a hot chocolate from Starbucks just isn’t the same!
But I knew I had 9 months or so to train myself to like coffee if I wanted to take advantage of the caffeine boost when the little one arrived. And that’s exactly what I did.
I started by ordering the sweetest drink I could find on the Starbucks app. And then I went to Old Village Roaster and got an iced coffee that was more like a milkshake. I continued just like that until I eventually made it to a blonde vanilla latte. Just like that, something shifted. I liked it!
Today my go-to drink is a Vanilla Cold Brew with no cream. But I’m not terribly picky. I’m far from a true javaphile, but I do love treating myself to a good coffee in the morning. Now and then I’ll even bring a book.
This makes my millennial soul happy… and keeps it well caffeinated.