I’m a coffee drinker. I have been since I was a child. Don’t judge; different cultures, different times. I remember without a cloud in my mind, when my Grandmother would make Félix and me café con leche in the morning (and at night), and serve it to us with Galletitas María. We would sit at our long dining room table in the middle of my mother’s childhood home in Ponce, Puerto Rico, sometimes in silence, just drinking coffee, or talking about playing outside, and if she would “buy us pizza, but not tell Mom.” My Grandmother, forever smiling. Those moments were so calming.

In the photo above, I was enjoying an early morning cup with The Viking. It’s always been very easy for me to describe how coffee makes me feel and I think that this photo shows it. How the aroma, the temperature, the taste, the effect, makes me feel calm and happy. And an interesting thing about coffee is that depending on what mood I’m in, I’ll select a certain type to drink, a certain blend, and with doing that, all of those things change.  Sometimes the bitter and acidic coffee that I brought back from Costa Rica is just what I need. At other times the smooth and wonderfully smelling Guatemalan coffee does the trick. And when I’m feeling a little needy, and want that extra bit of comfort, (and a swift kick in the ass), there’s nothing like un buen café de mi isla Puerto Rico.

How do I take my coffee? Unless I’m craving a café con leche, usually black. And never with sugar. I always tell people the same thing when they ask me if I want sugar for my coffee – “El buen café no necesita azúcar y el malo, no se lo merece.” 

Why am I writing about coffee? Over the weekend, while I was relaxing on a hammock, breathing in the salty air, drinking a cup, I was thinking about all the people in my life right now. The friends that make me laugh until I cry, the ones that bring me immediate peace, the ones that I haven’t seen in a while and really miss having around. It was while I was sipping a delicious Guatemalan blend, that I realized what my Grandmother had taught me years ago. There are some people that give you a feeling, a sensation that is so familiar, that the only way to describe them is as tasting like coffee.

People who smell and taste like coffee are my favorite. To all of you, I love your aroma. I love your taste. I love how you invite me to sit down and enjoy a great conversation. I appreciate how you help to quiet my loud. And how from the moment I see you, I feel calm and as I take you in, you make my heart accelerate and I become more alive. The music I hear when I smell you and the colors I see when I taste you are pure art. You intoxicate me with the most beautiful energy and bring the biggest smile to my face.

I hope that everyone is lucky enough to have enjoyed a good cup of coffee in human form at least once in their life. If you haven’t, go out and find your coffee. Not one cup is the same, but they are all so perfect. All the different types that are out there, find them and enjoy.

Love,

mangó