Finding My way

I’ve had a moment of pure inspiration–inspiration so strong I’m using the remainder of my lunch period to blog about it. The world must know about this feeling I have… and it all started with an iced mocha. Who knew coffee (with chocolate of course) could be this powerful?

As I make my morning commute into downtown Cleveland each day for my internship, I like to take in all my surroundings unless, heaven forbid, I’m running late and using my rearview mirror to apply lipgloss. Day after day, one spectacle unceasingly grasps my attention: a raging red and mellow yellow sign emblazoned with “Phoenix Coffee,” and day after day I’ve said to myself, “Huh, wonder if that’s any good. I should check it out.” To my own disappointment, day after day I find myself making excuses as to why I “can’t” try it. I came up with everything from break is only ten minutes; I’ll never make it back to work in time to I’d love to go, but aw man that crosswalk signal takes forever at E. 9th and Superior. Today, I stopped the excuses.

I found myself with thirty minutes to spare on my hour long lunch break. I had already taken one lap around the block (right past Phoenix Coffee) and I began to wonder how many times around the block I would make it before passing out from boredom, and perhaps even heat. As I rounded the corner of E. 12th Street and Superior Avenue, I could hear cool mocha calling my name. Curiosity got the best of me, and I made a wager with myself. If the clock on the sign attached to Key Bank read any time under 1:40, I would go. If it was later than 1:40, I would continue the walk of monotony. Sure enough, the digital, er, digits showed 1:39. Just in time. I made a bee line across the street and ventured into the store that I thought was out of reach.

I made my way to the counter, a little hesitant, and asked the barista for an iced mocha lite. With speedy and friendly service, my java creation graced my eager hands. I thanked the gentlman and began my venture out to work. I usually have a hard time drinking something and walking (clumsy describes me fairly accurately), but I couldn’t resist taking that first sip the second my feet hit the concrete pavement. My instant, involuntary respnse was, “Oh my God.” I had discovered heaven in a cup.

Believe it or not, that mocha changed the pace of my entire day. Lately those who know me best have noticed a dull haze around me at all times. Irritable and melcancholy do not begin to describe my mood as of late. But after a few sips of my drink, I returned to work nothing short of chipper. I finished my refreshing caffeinated beverage at my desk, taking note of the quirky message on the bottom of my cup. Where a warning to take caution of the blazing hot coffee the cup may hold would normally appear, this message read, “WARNING: You may encounter unadulterated strong coffee, spontaneous enlightenment, and/or unfettered optimism while drinking this beverage.” They weren’t kidding.

As if unadulterated coffee awesomeness wasn’t enough to make Phoenix Coffee my new favorite break spot, the franchise has made movements toward sustainability. Their cups are made of foam, which takes less energy to produce than paper cups. What’s more, I saved at least forty cents over the oh-so-heralded Starbucks mocha. Over time, that forty cents will save me a significant amount of money.

Yes, I just wrote an entire blog about a single cup of coffee. Think I’m crazy? Try it yourself. You’ll be just as blissful as I am.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 at 6:17 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.
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