Winter Wonderland Coffee Swap - Topic #1

When did you first start drinking coffee? What age were you? Was it about the caffeine, or do you love the taste and smell? Tell us how your passion began!

I've always liked coffee. The attraction probably started with the smell, but as a child, I used to love it if I could sneak a sip of my Mom's coffee if "the ladies" were having a coffee morning. My parents didn't often have coffee at home because my Mom had ulcers and it made her sick for a number of years. Before my love of coffee came my love of coffee shops and lunch counters... I grew up in Oakville, Ontario and I don't remember a time before Tim Horton's. In those days it was stools (that swivelled!) at a counter and counter service while you were seated, as well as the take out service. And then there was the fun of going to the lunch counter at Kresge's (pre K-Mart) in downtown Hamilton with my Grandmother...
I was probably about 14 when I started to drink coffee on a regular basis. It was partly the caffiene, but the taste and the smell have always sucked me in... However, even more important than any of those aspects of "going for a cup of coffee" was the social aspect. Even teenagers who relied solely upon babysitting money for their income could afford to go for a cup of coffee and sit and chat with their friends. I loved it! In those days, you could smoke in coffee shops. While I've never smoked (directly that it), I'm sure that I might just as well have for a few years in highschool!
When I started drinking coffee, I drank it "regular". In Canada that means one cream, one sugar. Now I drink it with milk - not cream, and definitely no sugar. And I have to be pretty darned desperate to drink decaf - what is the point?!