Everyone loves a cup of coffee... except me

I've just had a hot cup of coffee. I know, it's not something you'd think was worth a mention really. Except, I hate coffee. I'm a tea drinker, have been for years. Coffee is horrible.

So, why am I even drinking a cup of coffee you ask?

Look at that cup of coffee - pretending to taste nice just to tempt you in...

Well, I'm just getting over the flu and my taste buds are shot to hell - I can taste barely anything (we had an exciting chilli the other night - my family sat there with steam coming out of their ears, while I was complaining that it was too mild). I didn't make the coffee by mistake though - since having the flu I've pretty much gone off tea for some weird reason and I don't know what else to drink during the day! I'm lost!! Water, lemonade, blah blah - rosehip/herbal tea, yeah, I can take it for a couple of days but no more - hot chocolate, too sweet and claggy. So I figured if there's ever a time to try a cup of coffee it was now...

The only time I've ever drunk coffee by choice was during my time working in the publishing section at HMSO years ago - the tea trolley lady was replaced by a horrible vending machine (no more yells of "Caaaake!!" from the corridor as she trundled towards the office... it was a sad, sad day). All hot drinks came out of the same nozzle in this horrible new machine - tea became a foul and awful mockery of itself. So that pretty much left me with a choice of coffee or nothing. Coffee it was then. And the 'coffee' that came out of the machine actually tasted more like tea - so I just used to drink it because it tasted absolutely nothing like hideous coffee.

It was almost a newly invented drink of it's very own rarity...

I have to say I only ever started being a tea drinker when I was in my teens/20's. It seems when you get to that age people don't offer you milk or squash or pop anymore - you're expected to want a hot drink. A hot drink that is either tea or coffee (hot chocolate doesn't get a look in). Why is that? This happens more especially in a professional/work environment. Go to a meeting: can I get you a tea or coffee? Go for an interview: would you like tea or coffee? Head to the tea lady/vending machine/staff kitchen: you can have tea or coffee, that's your lot. So I started drinking tea purely because it was the lesser of the two evils. And now, actually, I don't mind it - in fact, quite often I enjoy a good cuppa. It hits the spot in a way that nothing else does sometimes!

So, what did I think of my recent cup of coffee? Put it this way, I won't be rushing back for a second. Guess I'll just have to wait a few more days until my wretched taste buds get back to normal and I can enjoy my tea again. Still, it's always worth trying things more than once I guess - otherwise I wouldn't be here in front of you able to declare my love of sprouts and olives, and I'd still be telling you my favourite food is Frosties and chicken nuggets!

Sarah :)