God in His great love for us, gave us the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, beautiful rain forests, desert sunsets, and starry nights that take our breath away. Most importantly, however, God has given us coffee. Whether you are starting off your morning or enjoying a dessert after an amazing dinner, things are not quite complete without really good coffee. Please notice that I said goodcoffee, that’s because there is bad coffee out there. I’ve had it, and I try to avoid it whenever possible. The seven people on the planet who don’t like coffee have probably only had bad coffee, and if that’s the case, I understand their pain.

Coffee can appear complicated at first glance.  Tanzania Peaberry, Jamaican Blue Mountain, Kona, and Sumatra are just a few of the endless options available to you, but don’t get swept away with all of the choices. Also ignore all flavored beans. The guy who thought of flavoring coffee beans to taste like German Chocolate Cake is probably in a lab somewhere trying to create a Kangaturtle (a Kangaroo with the head of a turtle and a large shell. It would be able to jump really well, but would not see the point, and most often would just sit there. This sort of tampering is unholy and frightening.)  Great coffee begins with one simple rule: fresh coffee is good coffee. Buy your beans (or have them ground for you) at a place that roasts their beans in house if at all possible. Fresh coffee is like freshly baked bread. In the same way that a warm loaf of bread fresh from the oven at your local bakery makes a loaf of Wonder Bread seem like sliced styrofoam, a cup of coffee made from freshly roasted and ground beans blows a cup of Folgers out of the water (no offense Folgers).  There are a lot of wonderful coffee shops out there. Land of a Thousand Hills in Georgia and Krankies in Winston Salem do a wonderful job. Joe Van Gogh and Larry’s Beans also provide excellent beans. If I had to pick a current favorite though, it would be Kenya AA beans from Cup a Joe in Raleigh. They are constantly roasting beans at Cup a Joe, so you know you’ll always get a great cup of coffee and a fresh bag of beans to take home if you so desire.   Once you’ve found a bean roaster that you like, feel free to sample the different varieties. There are lots of great options, and you can begin to find your favorite at that point.

So, what’s your Best Ever Coffee?????