Good to the last drop...

Having been a past part of the food service industry in two different capacities (host and server), there is one thing I'm very well versed in and I'd like to share that with you this morning.

Decanter_black_2 At right is a black-rimmed coffee decanter. The black is indicative of the contents being fully caffeinated or "regular."

Caffeinated = what coffee was meant to be

Caffeinated = wakey wakey

Caffeinated = God's nectar

Caffeinated = important on a daily basis especially in an office environment

Decanter_orange At left is an orange-rimmed coffee decanter. In this case, the orange helps servers and patrons, alike, know that the contents are decidedly decaffeinated or, if it's not regular, it must be "irregular."

Decaffeinated = no energy

Decaffeinated = sleep inducing

Decaffeinated = stripping coffee of centuries of hard-earned dignity

Decaffeinated = BLECH!

And this viewpoint is reflected daily in my office by the fact that the one black-rimmed decanter is almost always nearly empty while the two orange-rimmed decanters sit nearly full all day long.

Did you catch the irony in that statement? One caffeinated pot that is always low on contents while two decaf pots sit untouched. WHY? DEAR GOD WHY ARE THERE TWO POTS OF DECAF AND ONLY ONE REGULAR??? Is nobody paying attention to what the masses are clearly demanding? Are they intentionally attempting to create a non-productive work environment?

Yes, I know it's easy enough for me to brew a new pot of regular coffee. But, any of you coffee lovers out there know that when you want coffee, you want it that second. Not 10 or 15 minutes later when the pot finally stops brewing. The wait is hell.

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA):
Have any of you listened to Kanye West's new album Graduation? Any good? It's funny because all the hype seemed to be about the head-to-head sales competition between West and 50 Cent who both released new albums on the same day. However, I've heard jack about it since and never really heard much in the way of album reviews of either. All writing was focused on the competition.

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Comments

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Lisa

I'm just jealous that you've got FREE coffee. We either have to pay $1.50 for a 12oz. regular coffee, or get a nasty latte made by a barista who really isn't a barista and shouldn't be making coffee anyway.

Hilly

For me, there is no reason to drink decaf coffee....it's like browning out the insides for no good reason ;).

diane

What makes me crazier is when some ignoramous puts the decaf in the caf pot or vice versa. Luckily I brew all my own here at home, so there's no confusion. ;)

kilax

You're really cracking me up today. I don't drink coffee, but since I work with a bunch of architects, everyone else does, and I hear all their coffee woes. TOO CUTE!

No me gusta Kanye West's attitude. Let's see if we can write enough crap about him to get some more of those fun and extremely intelligent comments for you!

metalmom

Ah coffee.....mother's milk....What? DECAF? OH HELL NO!!!!

I don't mind waiting for a pot to brew. I'm guaranteed a cup of the 'freshly brewed'.THE BEST! I just hate when someone puts a dribble back on the burner to burn away and fill the room with with that nasty acidic smell.

Dagny

That is just all wrong. The whole purpose of coffee consumption is the caffeine. If anything, there should be twice as much regular as decaf.

sizzle

oh how i love coffee. oh how it makes me feel like shit. i can't drink it and it saddens me! decaf never tastes very good. i'm a weird kind of freak - coffee makes me tired. i used to be a 3 cup a day and once i quit it, it rebelled against me.

it's so sad.

tori

Because of my impatience and also because I only drink one cup of coffee in the morning, my husband's parents bought me a flavia machine (www.myflavia.com) for Christmas. It is cool, but now I worry about all the waste it creates by using individual packets that then go in the garbage. Waiting for brewing coffe stinks though, and so does wasting an entire pot when I am going to only drink one cup.

I don't even really understand the idea of decaf coffee. What would be the point????

kapgar

Lisa, ouch! That hurts. Why don't you bring in a French press and make your own?

Hilly, decaf is blasphemy.

diane, I don't think I've ever had that happen and I count my lucky stars. Now where's some wood to knock on?

kilax, for the record, people, the Kanye hater is kilax, not me! Her Web site, should you want to leave her hate-laced messages, is ilaxstudio.com. Sorry, the last thing I need is more music-related hatemail.

metalmom, I hate the burning remnants of coffee as well. Blech!

Dagny, AMEN!

sizzle, most caffeinated things don't affect me. Coffee does but not to the degree that it does for most people. Add a shot of espresso, though...

tori, I've tried the stuff from those Flavias before and it was pretty decent. Almost justified it because you can also use it for tea and hot chocolate which would make Katie happy. Never thought about the trash aspect, though. Not recyclable?

kilax

KEVIN!!! Ha ha ha.

kapgar

Hey! You know you want the stats! And everyone knows that hatemail is a sign that you've "made it" in the blogging world!

sue

I am a freak. I love love love the smell of coffee, but hate the taste. I've tried "doctoring" it and all the different flavored ones, and it is still yucky to me. Hubs*, however, drinks it so I get to smell it daily. Having said that, de-caf smells the same as caf. ;)

*He won't drink de-caf either - sees no point.

Nat

I am with the caffeinated masses, here.
AND am totally with the jealousy over free coffee. Of course, I'd probably never sleep.

Dustin

So if a container was going to be filled with Mocha Frappuccino...what color would its lib be?

Elaine

I have never understood the purpose of decaf coffee. Sure, I like the taste of it but the real reason to drink it as you said is for me to "wakey wakey."

bogup

decaf coffee = hot brown water.
Who in the hell needs to drink hot brown water anyways? Even where free office coffee existed in previous jobs I was always a coffee snob and had my own little two cup maker and brought my own ground beans. Rich, dark, tasty french roast mmmmmmmmmmm.
Can you tell I'm from Seattle?

suze

mmmmm...coffee....

The naturopath wants me to switch to decaf (that is if I must drink coffee at all.) Ha! Ha! I say...

kapgar

sue, you're not a freak, Katie is the same way. She loves the smell of coffee and loves the taste of it in coffee-flavored ice cream and tiramisu and whatnot, but she cannot stand the taste of coffee.

Nat, it's weird to think about spending money on coffee. Sure, if I want good stuff, I'd have to pay for it. But the quick fixes have always been free for me at work since we've always had coffeemakers.

Dustin, it would be fluffy and white!

Elaine, and without wakey wakey, you're just a zombie. Now who wants to be a zombie?

bogup, I would make my own using my French press, but then I'd have to take it from home and buy my own crap. It could be done, I'm just too lazy. And I'm right there with you on the hot brown water.

suze, to quote Nancy Reagan, "Just Say NO!!"

g-man

Be a man Kev, take a sharpie to one of those useless orange bastards and reclaim it in the name of common sense. (and common need). At one place I worked I used to make regular in the decaf pot so I always knew there was some when I went for coffee.

Coffee=good

kapgar

I was thinking electrical tape for the lack of toxic chemicals.

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