I don't know exactly how long this has been going on but I would guess 15-20 years.
My whole family are coffee junkies, my mom, my dad, even my gran. The first thing we do when we get up in the morning is to go to the kitchen and switch on the coffee machine. You know the one where you put the paper filter in the top and then the coffee grounds and the water goes in the back.
It doesn't matter who gets up first, he or she just makes enough coffee for everyone, takes a cup and fills the rest into a flask so there is enough at least until breakfast. And trust me that won't be the last time the coffee machine is running in one day. We drink coffee no matter what time of the day. I don't think any of us have problems sleeping after a cup of coffee.
Coffee has just always been part of my family, there is no time in my memory when there was no coffee. When I was little my mom would work night shifts so she would get up in the afternoon just after I got home from school and I would already have the coffee running. At that age, I didn't even drink any yet, but I already knew how the coffee machine worked. In fact I was too small to reach everything I needed, so I had to get a stool and climb onto the kitchen counter. I think I was about 8 or 10 at that point.
I can't remember when I first started drinking coffee. I know that when I moved out and into my first flat share at the age of 17 I already had a coffee maker. Or at least a filter you could put your grounds in, then you pour water and let it drip into your cup or flask. At a friends house a couple of years later I first tried coffee out of an espresso maker you know the ones you put on a stove. I learned to like that stuff, too and even bought one for my travels, because I can't stand instant coffee. I only drink that stuff when there is nothing else. It's for baking or lazy kids who just moved out from mom's, but eventually they will find their way back to the good stuff.
But that's the problem here in the UK, there is (almost) nothing else. I have worked in nurseries and babysat in families and only one family had a proper coffee machine. ONE in maybe 20 or more places I have been. Hostels are the same unless you have longterm guests who love their coffee as much as I do. Unfortunately I lost my wee espresso maker while traveling, so I bought a french press. It has been replaced a few times, since those things are mainly made of glass they break easily, but I couldn't live without it. And my friends and colleges here at the hostel know it. My boss knows not to talk to me, until I had a cup of coffee. When people don't get an answer when they say hello, they know that I didn't have any coffee yet. Sometimes someone starts talking to me and chewing my ear off and I just tell to fuck off and that I didn't have coffee yet, and they apologies, even though I was the bitch. They even post funny pictures of how I am without and with coffee on my facebook wall like this one here. I even had a cup that said "wake up and smell the coffee", it broke my heart when it broke the other day. Such a great cup!And cake and coffee just go together so well, it's actually a thing in Germany. If you invite someone over for coffee, it is usually at three in the afternoon and there will be some sort of cake of biscuit involved. That is just a fact. And never ever will you get instant coffee anywhere.
But it's more than just a drink or a way to wake up. I am not even sure, if coffee helps me with that, I think it has more to do with comfort. There is nothing better than during or after a night shift or a night out than sitting on the front steps of the hostel with a cup of coffee and a cigarette and enjoy the peace and quiet before the city wakes up and watch the sun rising. Coffee is warm and delicious and somehow soothing even though it increases your heart rate. I think it reminds me of good times with my family or friends....
