Java Jive

It would be a bit of a stretch to say that I don't like coffee. I have never had a cup. Not Short, Tall, Grande or Venti. I made the mistake once upon a million years ago of eating a piece of coffee flavored hard candy. That was enough. Want a cup of coffee? No thanks.
This doesn't mean that I don't have appreciation for some things coffee. I like the smell of a freshly brewed pot. For a while in my youth it was my job to start up the Mr. Coffee for my dad's caffeine needs each morning. It's the scent of the sun coming up, which is nice. And it's always fascinating to watch people perform their coffee ablutions.
A little cream. A whole lot of sugar. Black as midnight on a moonless night. Watching others dab and stir and sip and stir yet again is fascinating to me. And it seems to be fascinating to a whole world of coffee lovers.
There I was, not for the first time, standing in line with my wife while she ordered her macchio latte slow drip iced frappucino something or other. I don't know. It's a language I to which I have no real connection. It's a bit that comedians have been dancing around for years now. What if you wanted just a cup of coffee made from ground beans with hot water poured through them? What if you didn't want something fancy? I looked up at the menu board and tried to take in all the permutations of coffee. So much of what seems to happen across the counter is taking that black liquid and finding ways to lighten it up. Decorations and ice and lots of fancy machines that spray milk or cream or foam of some sort into the cup. It's quite a production.
Which is why it's such an industry. And people wait in line to be served those chemistry experiments that now provide that morning jolt that Mr. Coffee used to do for dad. And while we're in the midst of reminiscing, what happened to coffee cups? A cup of coffee used to be a pretty standard serving size. Not so much anymore. And they're not made of china. Maybe in China, but they're paper. In three sizes. Would  you like that fifty percent recycled or plain white bond? Hemp maybe?
The whole thing makes me tired.
Which is a problem, because I've got a big day in front of me. How am I going to stay awake and alert?