The ultimate espresso dream
Datu loves coffee. It is one of the things he can’t live without (next to that would be toilet paper). Well, he did try living without coffee when he went on a detox diet but that only lasted for a week. I don’t think he’d be doing that ever again.
Unfortunately, I don’t share the same love for coffee. I gave up coffee drinking eight years ago when I entered law school. To me, it was a bad combination.
I did rely on coffee at first. It was the only way I knew to keep myself awake through photocopies of 10 Supreme Court decided cases on political law that rose at least 2-inches high when stacked altogether. It was the first assignment and we were told to study those for the next class which came two days after. As soon as class was over, I ran to Select to get the largest serving of Iced Coffee. I gulped it on the way home and sure enough, I was awake for 2 full days. It always had the same effect. No fail.
But the reason why I gave up coffee drinking happened during the final exam for political law. Hours before the test, my classmates and I huddled for a round of Q&As and coffee. When I took the exam, I noticed that my hand was shaking and I could hear my heart beating like a bass drum of a marching band. I couldn’t write straight, worse I couldn’t think straight. I’ve never had that problem before so I re-traced my steps and realized I had a different brew that day. It was kapeng barako from Figaro. So, I quit. I couldn’t afford to shake every time I took a test and I no longer wanted to be caffeine dependent just to make myself stay up until the wee hours of the morning.
Something happened after 8 years, though. A handsome machine landed on our kitchen counter and convinced me to drink my first cup after the long abstain.
Here it is, a Delonghi Icona. It’s a manual machine, which Datu liked giving him more control on what the coffee would taste like. Datu lost sleep over this thing. He was itching to get one as soon as he came home from Sydney- thanks to our dear friend Paschal, who also owned an espesso machine (sunbeam) and served home-made cafe latte with love.
Since we got the machine, my husband spends a lot of time making the perfect brew. He also has an array of milk varieties in the ref to find the perfect froth for the brew. He is serious about his coffee.
On the day we got the machine, Datu shared with me his dream of opening a coffee shop someday. I like it. The whole idea sounded like a good way to refresh and recharge when we get bored to our wits with work - Datu makes coffee while I wait tables. I am going to be a waitress. I like that. We already got some details straight and if finances permit, we open in 5 years time.
Our own coffee shop in 5 years. Not a franchise, but our own. We like to dream. We may not share the same love for it, but we do weave dreams together, each with a cup of home-brewed coffee in hand.
