Sipping Coffee from her Saucer
May 31, 2005
permalinkI am a coffee addict. I'm sitting in the local coffee shop hijacking a ride on their free Wi Fi and it just occurred to me that I had my first taste of coffee when I was about 11 or 12 years old.
My grandmother drank coffee every morning. She used a tiny perculator that sat directly on the burner. When the perculator whistled, she would pour the water into her cup, then add two spoonfuls of instant coffee. She always spilled coffee, but it landed in the saucer that held her tiny coffee cup.
One morning before school, I asked, "grandma, can I have sum?"
"Chil', you don't need no coffee."
"Why?" I asked.
"Cus it's fo' grown folks."
"Why?" I asked.
"Ya wouldn't like it anyway," she said.
"Yes I would."
She removed her coffee cup and slid the saucer over to me.
"Here, drink that," she said.
I sipped coffee from her saucer. She was right. I remember it tasting very bitter, like something that had sat on the stove too long and burned.
She sent me off to school. The odd thing: every chance I got, I sipped her saucer.
