[mjohnson]

Raised on instant coffee (10yo) with cream and sugar around my grandparents' worn-out checkerboard picnic tablecloth covered kitchen table. Maybe some soggy stale 'nilla wafers...

I carried that through HS and into college, graduating into actual good beans. Still filter coffee though and delicately seasoned as to pretty much be melted coffee ice cream.

Enter grad school and the eventual Mrs mjohnson appears. Northern CO farm girl, as unsubtle as you might imagine, pointed out that she'd had her coffee black since she was 7yo. And it was from that perc on the stove that's been at great auntie's house forever. I was advised that if there wasn't cream or sugar that the stain on my skirt wouldn't be so bad in the wash...

Now, with age, an aging GI system and more, we're down to two shots of espresso every morning. Black. "Ice cream coffee" only happens on road trips when we get to the cool 7-11 coffee station.

For post-0900 day drinking, tea. Upton imports has a great "Baker Blend" that is assam with just a pinch of lapsouchong(??) for only a little hint of smoke.