I do not remember my first cup of instant coffee- I guess it would have been when I was a young adult, but it was about as memorable as listening to a 5 hour speech from a politician, while being chained to a chair (the listener- not the politician!). However I do clearly remember my first cup of specialty coffee and how much a/- I liked it and b/- how obviously it shaped the rest of my life so much that I am now living 9000km from home and working in the coffee industry. Maybe as biscotto says, I am not the norm! Anyway, the first specialty coffee I tried was in a plunger on a very wet, cold and miserable day inWellington, NZ. Me and a friend had finished Uni for the day and took the cable car down from University to Lambton Quay. Walking down Cable Car lane there was a blackboard outside of a boutique cafe advertising "French Press" coffee- "Freshly Ground and brewed". Those of you who know NZ and the coffee scene there today will know that Wellingtonians are one of the highest per capita consumers of quality coffee. Back 20 odd years ago there was NOTHING in Wellington that even came close to resembling quality...or indeed coffee as we know it today!! Anyway, I digress. My friend and I seeing how terrible the weather was outside (-10 with wind chill, 70km/h southerly wind) climbed the stairs to the cafe, called "The Marble Bar" an ordered 2 plungers/French Press/Caffitere of coffee. We sat out on the sheltered balcony waiting for the coffee, watching the people below walk by dripping wet. The coffee came, we waited a couple of minutes and "pressed" the coffee. I still remember how good the coffee was. It was a Central American of some sort- we drank it black. We ended up having a couple of French Presses each- the caffeine lubed our brains I guess and we found ourselves talking about what we wanted to do after we had completed uni. My friend said he wanted to get into Fashion design (for the girls I suspect)- today he is an accountant in Holland- working with figures of a different kind :wink: . I said I wanted to get into the coffee business.... It was a spur of the moment thing, kind of tied in with what I was studying at university as well I guess. Anyway.... yes I DID enjoy the first cup of specialty coffee, and yes I remember it as clearly as what I was doing when 9/11 happened (which would be one of the most defining events of this century).
Not good news about the Celiac problem. I never knew about this type of allergy until I read a posting elsewhere on this forum. I am not sure if this allergy might also have a problem if you drink coffee, but for sure you should check it out I think before drinking too much- especially as you have not drunk coffee before just the other day!
Regarding the "flavors" of coffee- every different origin has a specifc different cupping character to it. That means great coffee (of the arabica variety) should actually not taste like coffee! Hmmm...I know this is hard to believe, but arabica coffees pick up flavors naturally fom the micro environments they grow in, from soil types, from sunshine hours, rainfall, the sugar content of the cherry when picked...etc. You should try and find a cafe or a roaster that will offer cupping courses- you can learn a lot about the coffee and the natural flavors this way. For instance- Java Arabica has nice bitter chocolate flavors, while a Toraja will have ripe, rich port wine qualities, with tones of citrus fruit. Give it a go- not though for the caffeine alone...but see if you enjoy it as it is.
