Things I Love: Coffee and Mugs

I am starting a new series on this blog: Things I Love.  It will cover just about anything, but the point is to highlight things I love and cannot live without.  I don’t know how often this series will be posted, but the posts will be tagged as “Things I Love.”  The series does not include the topics that already have their own tag on the blog, such as planners, bags, yoga, knitting, etc.  The posts will be more random.

So, without further ado, here is the first post in the series.

One of the things I truly cannot live without is coffee.  YUM!  First, let me say that I love hot drinks in general, whether it is coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or apple cider.  I just find hot drinks so soothing and comforting.  There really is something to putting on a pot of coffee or tea to drink your blues away, nothing like holding that warm mug in your cold hands, and definitely nothing like breathing in the hot vapors of whatever is your drink of choice.  It is so relaxing to me.

I started drinking coffee during my second year at college.  I was so homesick for my then-boyfriend, someone I knew from home.  He was away at college too, though far away from me.  I started drinking coffee as a way to find comfort.  I have used it in this way every since and made a daily habit out of it.

Obviously coffee is always a great pick-me-up because of the caffeine.  Sadly, I have come off the caffeine—my choice—but I am so glad I did.  I feel so much better—less jittery, I am able to wake up in the morning without dragging myself to the coffee pot (though it is the first place you will find me after waking up), and I don’t have sleeping issues.  It has also helped lessen the effects of myanxiety, though it will never cure it.  However, even with the lack of caffeine, I still could not part with my morning and lunch time coffee.  So I have switched to decaf.  Usually, when I have tea, it is in the evening, at which time it must also be decaf so as not to keep me awake all night.  Despite the fact that I’m no longer partaking in “real” coffee, I still love it and couldn’t live without it.

My coffee of choice for home is Green Mountain Coffee, made in Vermont (thisis why I love it, though it’s also good coffee, in my opinion).  There are many flavors and varieties to choose from, though there is only a select few options at my local grocery store.  Just recently they stopped carrying the GMC decaf, so I’ve had to switch to Starbucks, which is not a problem for me as I love their coffee too (I stop at one store or another several times a week for my latte of choice which is currently the Pumpkin Spice).

My ultimate, all-time favorite brew-at-home coffee is GMC’s Wild Mountain Blueberry.

It doesn’t really taste like blueberries, but while brewing it smells heavenly, like (obviously) wild blueberries.  It reminds me of summer in Vermont, so what’s not to love?  Unfortunately, I cannot get it where I live, and it is not available in decaf.  But I can order it from the company, and I will drink it once in a while (I can have caffeine without getting re-addicted so long as I don’t have it more than two days in a row).

Not only do I drink a lot of coffee, but I also have many mugs to put my java in.

These are just my “specialty” mugs—it does not include the mugs that match my dishes.

Every year when we go to Vermont, I always buy a mug.  I now have quite a collection.

This year, I bought the last mug they had that I liked and didn’t already own (how sad).  But maybe next year they will have a new selection to choose from (my husband is hoping that they don’t).  My absolute favorite Vermont mug is the cream-colored one with the moose.

There are two reasons for this: one, because it was the first one I bought, and two, because it has a moose on it.  Moose are my favorite animals.  I have yet to see one when in Vermont, but I always keep my eyes peeled, searching the woods as we drive.

I also have a couple of mugs I bought just because I liked them.

The red flowered one is actually from Starbucks.  I bought it mainly because I didn’t have any red mugs (this was prior to buying the red Vermont mug).  My husband thinks it’s girly, doesn’t know why Starbucks would ever sell something like it, and refuses to use it.  I have to say that it is not my favorite mug, but I still like it okay, so it stays for now.

The yellow mug I got for my birthday one year, after seeing it in a local kitchen supply store.  There’s nothing special about this mug except that it’s yellow.  Yellow is my favorite color—it is so sunny and cheery!  I had to have a yellow mug just because.

The final mug I own is my most recent acquisition and my favorite thus far. 

A friend gave me this mug for my birthday, along with the package of Wild Mountain Blueberry coffee.  The mug is hand-crafted (in the USA—something you don’t find often anymore) and each one is different from the rest.  

I love the cream and brown tones, swirled together, like coffee and cream (though I use milk because I can’t stand the filmy feeling cream leaves in my mouth and on my teeth).  The texture of the mug is so smooth.  I often run my hands and fingers over the mug itself while enjoying my coffee (much like most of us do with Filofaxes).

If you are a coffee-lover and drinker, I urge you to check out Emilia Lives Life, as she often talks about coffee as well.  In addition, Sandra, SNARLing, and Rori are fellow coffee lovers.

I raise a steaming mug to you, my friends—cheers!