Savoring my Grandmother's Coffee

I have never drank coffee for the caffeine (okay maybe some days, but not most) but rather for the taste; and to be honest, I really like a little coffee with my cream and sugar.

Oh, and don’t even get me started on a fresh brewed pot of coffee on Sunday mornings! From brew to first sip, it is a total experience. My husband typically programs the coffee maker the night before and upon rising the aroma of freshly brewed coffee dances through the whole house. Sometimes, I awake before the brew and when that happens I’ll start the pot and listen for the liquid heaven to drop.

I’m a coffee mug lover too. I have all types of mugs of all different colors, shapes, sizes and themes. I choose my coffee mug based on how I am feeling or if the mug has a dope quote or affirmation on it, I choose based on how I want to feel.

Pouring the coffee into the mug is like music to my ears, ensuring to leave just enough room to add the cream and sugar. I have a favorite spoon too and the repetition of stirring and combining the heavenly trio is an intimate act. There’s also something about grabbing my mug by the handle with my right hand, and placing my left hand on the opposite side to feel and receive the warmth. Then the moment I’ve been waiting for: lips to mug, coffee to lips - a savor like no other! Off I go cozying up in my favorite spot on the couch or in my favorite seat at the table to commune with myself, spirit and my delicious cup of coffee.

Where did my love for coffee come from?

During a beautiful past reflection, I was taken back to my maternal grandmother’s home. A small bungalow, where her personal oasis was the lower level. I'd enter the home and head straight down the stairs which led me right to my grandmother sitting at her kitchen table sipping a cup of coffee. My grandmother always had a hot pot of coffee brewed and she sipped coffee throughout the whole day. She had an old school Bunn coffee maker and small white teacups. She loved her coffee with cream and sometimes nibbled on a fig-newton as she sipped. My grandmother was also a smoker, a red pack of Pall-Mall, and at times that was the dynamic duo - cigarette in one hand, coffee in the other.

As I reflect on all my grandmother’s children now, they all enjoy at least one cup of coffee a day. Recently, my uncle experienced some serious health issues that landed him in ICU. He specifically asked for my aunt to bring him a thermos of hot brewed coffee to the hospital.

My grandmother’s coffee brings a sense of remembrance, comfort, tradition and love. It is the connectivity to my grandmother's lineage. For me and my family, coffee goes beyond a daily habit, it IS ritual. A sunrise practice. It is honor and reverence to her as my ancestor who continues to provide love and protection in the spiritual realm.

What is a practice you have being disguised as mundane or just a habit, but is truly rooted in tradition or ancestral ritual?

Take some time to explore these practices at a deeper and expansive level of meaning and connectivity. It may be the simplest thing. Don't discount it.

Make the conscious decision to honor whatever that thing is in higher reverence, opposed to just something you do. Consider how far and deep that thing resonates with you, your family, your ancestors and beyond.

Give yourself permission to allow that thing to become meaningful and sacred to you.

Oh, and feel free to share what that thing is for you!