I remember the first time I tasted coffee. My first reaction was “eeewww, gross”. How can anyone drink this?” I soon realized that coffee has an acquired taste. After trying to enjoy it in social settings and giving it a chance, I discovered that I did enjoy it and my taste for it was acquired. That was when I was 16 years old. Ten years later, my morning coffee is something I look forward to every night when I hit my pillow. I also look forward to my break-time coffee, my after supper coffee, and every coffee in between. There is nothing like a cup of hot java in the rocking chair with a good book. Nothing like it, except drinking coffee while driving. I know that to most people, drinking coffee in the warmth of your own living room seems like the most practical place to enjoy a coffee break. But, for me, going for a long drive in the country and parking somewhere with a nice view over the ocean is the ultimate way to enjoy a coffee.
That’s why I get along so well with my best friend, Billy, who, coincidentally, I met through mutual friends over coffee nine years ago. He is a coffee lover too. He also loves drinking it on the road.

Anytime we got together, you can bet that the price of the coffee we drank was nothing compared to the amount of money we spent on the gasoline it took to get that coffee! Rarely did we get coffee in a hurry unless it was during a break at work or the roads were so snow covered, we couldn’t go past the city limits. We made a big event out of our coffee outings, but often when we tried to get a group of people together, it would end up being just me and Billy. I guess quality time with friends over a hot cup of coffee wasn’t as important to them as it was for us. And in a lot of ways, it was better that way because I was able to spend some quality time with someone I had so much in common with.

Twice a week, we would pull out a map of Cape Breton Island, and where ever the dice landed on that map, that’s where we went for coffee that day. It didn’t matter if it was three minutes away or three hours away. It was always an adventure. We’ve had coffee in every town, village and city on the island from Sydney to St. Peter’s and Howie Center to Canso and everywhere in between. No two places were the same. Sometimes we drank coffee in elaborate sitting rooms at resorts. Sometimes it was a roadside country café or restaurant. Sometimes we drank coffee at Starbucks, and sometimes we just hit the drive-thru and brought our coffees to a beach or picnic park surrounded by nature. Not once did we come across a place that did not have coffee. Gas stations and convenience stores always had coffee if there was no where else to go and there were times when kind-hearted strangers invited us into their sitting rooms and patio decks for a cup of home made coffee. We got to learn a lot about the different communities and people on the island through our coffee adventures.

Not one cup of coffee was the same as any other either. Every cup was different in it’s own unique way. Some were loaded with sugar. Some were black and some only had cream or milk. Some were from a fresh pot, while, with others, it was questionable as to how long the pot had been brewing. Some were steaming hot and some were cold or warm. Sometimes it wasn’t even coffee we drank, although, the drinks were caffeinated. We drank cappuccino in numerous flavors, Mocha, and Espresso. Some were uncommon specialties with fancy names we had never heard of and some of these drinks even whipped cream and sprinkles on them! We always took the opportunity to try new things.