Coffee Kvetch

When I moved to the United States from Costa Rica in 2002, I packed a suitcase full of coffee and shipped it to Rhode Island along with the rest of our stuff. At $3 for a 12 oz. bag, Cafe Britt was the most expensive coffee you could buy in Costa Rica, and it was so good. As the movers were schlepping in our furniture and household goods, all I could think about was that coffee. I'd tried a couple of "gourmet" brands while waiting for the shipment and been disappointed by their flavor. Beginning each day in a state of disappointment is not a good thing.

I savored every cup of Cafe Britt I brewed. I tried to make it last as long as possible, grinding it finer and finer, stretching the silky brown dust as far as I could. As my stock ran low, I desperately considered ways to get my hands on more of this essential elixir.

Eureka! Cafe Britt had launched a website and was selling the coffee out of their Miami warehouse. I ordered a box of 20 bags. When that ran out, I doubled my order to 40 and got an even better deal. What I didn't use myself, I gave away as gifts or sold at cost to the curious. The FedEx guy commented that he loved the smell of his truck when he was delivering my coffee. My habit apparently raised suspicions with Homeland Security because in its zeal to protect America, it seized one of my shipments.

A $700 oil delivery in September got me thinking about how I might reduce household spending in order to stay warm during the heating season. Oil has quadrupled in price since we'd moved to the Northeast, and the way things looked we'd be forking over $4500 or so in the next 6 months. Maybe my coffee habit was getting too expensive? A bag of Cafe Britt now costs $8.95, cheaper if you order in bulk.

I tried the Costa Rican coffee at the local warehouse store. It was less expensive than Cafe Britt but missing a crucial spark. I tried the Ugandan coffee next, which was even more disappointing. It became harder to get out of bed in the morning. Was I being penny wise but pound foolish? After much soul-searching, and after reviewing my IRA statements, I've decided life is too uncertain to spend it drinking mediocre coffee.

I'm placing an order with Cafe Britt as soon as I finish this post.