C for coffee

Coffee is my elixir, there I said it. It is not like I'm addicted to this heavenly beverage, just that the aroma of coffee lifts up spirits and adds a spring to my step. Mere aroma of coffee works its magic on me, though I do sip on it every once in a while, certainly not multiple times a day. But when it rains, I crave for a cup of coffee almost subconsciously.

Back in Bangalore, one comes across 'coffee works' shops that roast the coffee beans of your choice and blend it with a proportion of chicory to suit your taste before selling it to their customers, most of whom are regular customers for tens of years. It is favored over tea in most parts of South India. In fact, aroma of fresh filter coffee wafts through most kitchens first thing every morning. Today, there are hundreds of CCDs or cafe coffee day outlets and Baristas that have mushroomed in most Indian cities  offering a variety of interesting variants of the brew, namely cappuccino, expresso, cold coffees in various flavors. They serve as hang outs for the youth and even act as venues for informal business meetings.

Portland, Oregon is home to impressive number of local coffee houses and coffee bars that cater to the coffee-loving crowd. I feel the rains that are typical of Pacific Northwest are partly responsible for popularity of the brew that comes from bitter brown beans. Starbucks, world's largest coffeehouse company began its humble journey in the early 1970's in Seattle, Washington. Today, it boasts of outlets on all inhabited continents of the world.

Sipping on coffee and sinking into a comfy chair by the window with a book in hand when it is raining is certainly my idea of pampering.

This post is shared with April A-Z blogging challenge and today's alphabet is C.

Picture is  from Wikipedia