Espresso With John

Ok, so I know I said that I would blog about the products in my store and I know I promised way back to post about food I made with the organic blueberries that I picked. Well, I have decided not to post about either of those things right now. I will get around to both of those topics sooner or later. Right now I would rather blog about something else. John and I celebrated our four year anniversary on June 25th and I wanted to blog about something important to us.

Last summer, John and I took a trip to Aruba because we both needed a vacation. We had not taken a real vacation together, alone since our honeymoon in 2005. We felt it was time to get far away from North Carolina and enjoy a different way of life. John had never been to a place where the water is clear (or least blueish green). It had been since the 90's since I had been able to the Caribbean. So, we decided to take a trip to the Island of Aruba.

During our vacation, we went out to eat every night (we had no problem finding vegan/vegetarian fare). Afterward, we would get espresso and chat about the vacation and life in general. This was one of our favorite things during the trip. Before we were married, we used to spend time going out for coffee or sitting and chatting. We recognized that we do not do this anymore. I guess life just got in the way.

During one of our last nights in Aruba, we decided that we wanted to bring something back with us. We did not need souvenirs or local Aruban art, we decided that we would bring back the gift of having espresso together. To some, this may seem silly. To us, this was a rekindling of the beginning of our relationship.


We started off as friends and progressed to best friends. It was not until two (more like 2.5 years) later that we actually began dating. At the inception of our relationship/friendship, we spent many hours at the local hangout called Jackson's Java. It was close enough to campus that we could walk, if we needed too, but far enough that it felt like we getting away. We would study, play board games, meet friends, have debates, conversations, etc. We did this on a weekly basis, sometimes on a daily basis. When we could not make it to Jackson's Java, we would meet on campus at the Prospector or RDH (affectionately called "Rats Die Here" and "Rancid Dinning Hell").

You see, having coffee/espresso together was the basis of our relationship. We got to know each other over coffee and we maintained our relationship over coffee. It is a shame that we let it slip away over the years.

Since our return from Aruba, we have attempted to have espresso with some regularity. Sometimes we are successful and sometimes we fail. We often have very different schedules and it is not always easy to find time and energy to pull out the espresso machine. In at attempt to succeed, we always keep soy creamer and Whole Foods organic fair trade espresso beans on hand for an impromptu espresso session. We sometimes even add in an extra special treat by making or buying vegan cookies from Whole Foods. (When we make espresso at home, we steam soy creamer. I know, it is not traditional espresso. We like it though :)

It has been one year since we went to Aruba and I would like to make a mid-year resolution to do this more often. We are, after all, best friends and best friends should have espresso together.