CAFFEINE

Caffeine: It’s the drug that fueled the modern and industrialized world. 

As I would wait in line at the coffee shop on my way to work, I would think about this. A surprising feat, I’d say, since I’m standing in line with the other overworked zombies waiting for the barista to bless me with my morning espresso fix. It’s surprising that I’m capable of walking without that psychoactive drug lubricating my joints let alone able to contemplate world history and how coffee and tea revolutionized the world. 

Those people in 18^th and 19^th centuries? They ground their own beans and boiled water on wood stoves (when they had wood to burn) to get their coffee so they could stay awake to operate the machines of the Industrial Revolution (oh, how much has changed). And thanks to them, well, modern innovation and convenience allows a morning coffee craver like me to go through a lot less hassle. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t take advantage of my home espresso machine, I thought.

So, I decided to invest in a Delonghi espresso machine. It seemed better than sloshing through the morning crowds just to pay six dollars or more for a cup of java. With what I spend on coffee each day for a month, I could easily afford a sleek, crafty machine that would provide me with my creamy cup every morning. And I’m not a ‘coffee nerd’ by any means—I’m happy knowing very little about it. The thought of making my own espresso was a little intimidating at first. I certainly didn’t want to blow my precious coffee money on a fancy machine that would suffer due to the operator. Surprisingly, using an espresso machine is not that difficult. As a matter of fact, after a few practice runs, I was making espresso that tasted a lot better than what I was buying at the shop. 

To top it all, now that I’m my own barista, I can leave the house a little later. I always wanted a little more time to savor my espresso each morning, perhaps read the paper. Thanks to my espresso machine, not only do I have time to acclimate to the early hours of my day, but I’m briskly walking passed the place I used to score and the poor