Coffee and our stories around it – a tribute to coffee. Every single human who lives on the mother earth has a relationship with coffee. I am sure we all have tasted coffee in some point of our life (whether we liked or not).

[clickToTweet tweet=”#stories around #coffee #PHOTOS #coffeelovers #caffeine #FoodPhotography ” quote=”‘But first, Coffee'” theme=”style5″]

We also know that coffee comes from coffee beans. No matter how much I don’t like coffee I can’t stop shooting gorgeous coffee beans. Their texture, shape and aroma allure me.

When my mom in law gifted us a gift card for Boston General Store, I could not stop myself from picking a Chemex Coffee Maker and Wooden Coffee Grinder. They are not only photogenic but also a nice present for a coffee lover. So if you’re still thinking what to gift consider this.

This is a purely PHOTOGRAPHICAL post but I asked my friends and family – what’s their relationship with coffee and this is what they responded.

Coffee Stories

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1. Me (Dolphia): I am NOT a coffee person and it upsets my stomach.

2. My husband (Matthew): He is an ardent coffee lover and he can sleep peacefully at night after having 4-5 cups of coffee. He loves his coffee with cream/milk and sugar and also espresso very much.

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3. My parents (Ajoy and Pratima Nandi): They only drink coffee during winter months. They mix instant coffee powder (Nescafe) with pure milk and sugar, boil, sip and enjoy.

4.  My in-laws (Don and Janice Arnstein): Mom uses artificial sweetener and 1% milk. She loves coffee and usually have 2 mugs in the morning. Sometimes when she goes to a nice restaurant, she orders a cappuccino instead of a dessert. She feels it’s a treat without a tons of calories. Dad only drinks coffee occasionally. Oh yes and they use fresh beans.

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5. My colleague at Boston Globe, Mark Franchitto (ardent coffee lover): It is a great taste and a handy stimulant. It is also a crafted consumable…the more care that goes into each part of the process, the better the flavor. It is a digestive…. and a stimulant plus I really love the smell of freshly roasted, freshly ground beans. I drink…right before I make the coffee. I enjoy straight up black coffee…nothing added, nothing to alter the taste, or interrupt the absorption of caffeine into the system. Because of this my tastes go to the freshest and darkest beans otherwise it tastes ‘stale’ or bitterer to me my favorite this year is:  Whole Foods extra dark French roast. it is roasted every few days.

6. My colleague at Boston Globe, Maureen Champagne: For me, I simply enjoy the taste. I drink decaf so I can enjoy more than one cup a day. And, the bonus is that it fills me up so I am less hungry during the day.

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7. Simi Jois: The smell of freshly brewed coffee as probably the first aroma I recognized. Born to South Indian parents – coffee is serious business. Every other week my mother would brew peaberry and plantation coffee – then grind them. She used the traditional filter coffee. To me coffee is magical – something I love. I still wake up to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee not from the filter but Keurig. Always enjoy a good cup of arabica.

8. Ramya Menon: I cannot function without it. It may be psychlogical, but before I get that first cup of coffee I cannot do anything. I could give up anything from my diet, except coffee. Sigh, it’s a pretty solid relationship.

9.Deborah Bernstein: can’t drink it at all. don’t understand how anyone can. it kills my stomach. even the smell makes me queasy

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10. Charul Ajmera: I totally love the aroma especially the sweet ones but not much of a drinker, maybe once in six months or so.

11. Amrita Iyer: For South Indians it’s a must have in the morning! For some it’s a recharge for the day whereas for some select members of my family it’s a “kick” for the morning ablutions!
If I have crossed the threshold I apologise but truth always bites!For me it’s a mood refresher.Whenever I am angry or upset I reach out for that cup. Amrita’s Filter Coffe Recipe.

12. Nithya Cocina: It is the very nectar of the morning that jumpstarts my day. I indulge in that one cup with my breakfast. I have gone through various brands of ground coffee in drip coffee machines, a Brazilian press, a stovetop espresso maker and a filter coffee press…I sampled Keurig and hated it. Finally three years back plunged into the world of Nespresso and got hooked… Now my mornings are sunny again with a good cup of espresso au lait . I get to sample roasts from around the world.

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13. Timsi Malhotra: It’s my daily fix! Two cups a day is a must and I won’t trade it for anything in the world. Like Ramyasaid, you could take anything away from my diet except coffee – I couldn’t agree more! Besides, I work, work really hard to earn myself a good cup of coffee – that’s it!!!

Favorite thing to do – outing with family to a nice cafe with pristine views and a coffee cup in my hand – that’s what life is to me

14. Naina Puthran: What I love most about coffee is the aroma! When I was a kid and obviously not allowed to drink it yet, I loved smelling it! Tried tasting a bit of it once and was shocked at the bitterness  more of a tea drinker, but love a double shot latte or cappuccino any time  we have a really fancy coffee machine in he office which doles out everything from simple black coffee to iced lattes  try to stay away from it except once a day!

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[clickToTweet tweet=”#stories around #coffee #PHOTOS #coffeelovers #caffeine #FoodPhotography #Photogrpahy ” quote=”I am tall, dark and fantastic in the morning” theme=”style4″]
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15. Paroma Chakravarty: I don’t drink it at all. It is a neurostimulant drug but it does not work for me. Plus, most American coffees are too acidic for my taste. But for all your coffee loving friends, who may visit SF, I can tell them the best places. After all, SF runs on coffee!

16. Anshie Dhar:It means a conversation with a friend, a time to reflect, a moment that’s just mine. I have an on and off with it. I am snobbish about it though. It has to be that perfect roast that perfect grind, that perfect cup.

17. Linsy Patel: I can not stand American coffee, love only my nescafe but tea is always prefer . Not tea then hot chocolate but no American coffee.

18. Bijal Parikh: I am tea lover but when I drink coffee I drink it cold.

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19. Rhea Mitra-Dalal: I love my coffee just so. My brand of instant with Coffeemate and Splenda, best put together by the hubby. Must have at the start of the day, rest of the day is optionalsmile emoticonI love it for the taste, not for anything else. Though many people laugh at my devotion to instant coffee it doesn’t make much of a difference to me. I have what I like and don’t really give a shit. Rhea’s take on coffee (MUST READ) .

20. Sujatha Arun: You know my story darling. Every one except me in my family enjoy a strong degree coffee. On weekends they all love to have a second dose after a comforting brekkie. My dad is particular about the fresh decoction and the degree of heat, so he makes it every morning. Here my hubby loves hot ones as well as fancy cold ones.

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21. Mala Ray Chatterjee:Never thought anybody would ever ask this. I need 2 mugs of coffee first thing in the morning with lots of milk n sugar. No tea for me.

22. Trupti Kharche: For me, being a coorgi – I have been brought up with coffee! Coorg being the only place in India where coffee is grown! Nothing beats a fresh cuppa filter coffee. And having moved to Denmark – you can imagine people glug down pots full of coffee each day. Well, I try to stick to 2 per day! Trupti’s Tiramisu recipe.

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23. Mariam Fatima: It drives me forward. It’s the first thing my sleep addled brain calls for on waking up.

24. Monisha Devaiah: I can’t get through the day without my morning cuppa. Just one cup of coffee makes me alive

25. Tanima Roy Ghoshal: Without coffee breaks there will be no accomplishment!

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26. Samarpita Deb-Bialek: I have a strange coffee ritual. We have a nespresso machine so no fancy brewing technique. I am not a breakfast person, even thinking of eating a bowl of cereal makes me grumpy in the morning. But to keep myself going till lunch, I keep a bottle of pulverized rolled oats next to our coffee machine. Husband makes coffee every morning -2 tablespoons of the oats powder topped with a regular coffee with foamed milk and sugar. I have my coffee with a big spoon. That’s my only cup of coffee in a day.

27. Rupali Kadam:Its kick for me…

28. Aish Das Padihari: Long back I was browsing these quint shops in Paris and I saw this mug with a writing on it – “given enough coffee, I’ll rule the world”. Coffee means that much to me. Love good coffee.., not the Starbucks acidic coffee.

29. Nupur Mehra: I usually have a cuppa when I study, it helps me to be focused somehow.

30. Deeba Rajpal: Coffee is my most fave flavour, the only way I might enjoy dessert. Not addicted to it though, I barely have a mug a day. It’s just the aroma that keeps me happy!

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31. Hani Gupta: Sends me to never ending trips to the restroom, esp in winters. Though I love the taste of gourmet coffee, I can’t stand the aftertaste, and coffee breath realky puts me off. Sorry, not a coffee lover here.

32. Ambica Selvam: I love coffee. My coffee and I are in a very secured , committed relationship. We may not see each other everyday but I know my coffee is there for me whenever I need it. We pick to from where we leave… The same love… The same passion… The same energy…. The same happiness. Nothing changes. I love my coffee – dark, strong, and bitter…without sugar. I admit, I get drawn to some other variants…yes, sometimes I stray. But I know at the end of day, the one I love understands me and will always be there for me. My dark cuppaMy coffee & I go way back. Loved it since I first laid my eyes on it, as a kid. But wasn’t allowed to have, because I was a kid. ( my ma used to tell me that I would always ask for it, whenevwr I’d watch her have it) I honestly don’t remember when i first had it, but the smell of coffee takes me back to my childhood. Having grown up in a tamilian houselhold, the significance of coffee is beyond words. Having one ( the way i like ) always feels like home, no matter what. Ever so comforting and refreshing.On another note – also love the fact that it is so versatile. Blends with many interesting flavour and can be used in & turned into diff forms.

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[ezcol_1half] 33. Jayasri Ravi: I am a tea fan, but hubby and daughter love coffee, my H at least 4 cups of coffee he drinks it when he is happy, upset, head ache and sometimes just before sleeping!! well, doesn’t exactly need a chance to say no at all. He is always on a look out for new coffee to try. His favourite was Douwe Egberts for a long time so now all my ingredients have a air tight bottlessmile emoticon, then he changed a few now he is using carte Noire, he says it’s very delicious. To me I love the smell of coffee but doesn’t like to drink it. Sometimes I drink 1/4 cup of freshly filtered coffee without sugar very rarely.

34. Sandipa Roy BarmanI know one thing since childhood when Nescafe came to India, to stay awake we used to drown mugs and study at night. Today I avoid it in the evening as it keeps me awake at night. I love the South Indian filter coffee too as that was the 1st kind we used to have till Instant Nescafe came in. But I am basically a “Snobish Tea drinker” can’t do without my 2 cups of Darjeeling tea everyday. Coffee is made for friends, the ones who don’t like the light tea I have. [/ezcol_1half]

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35. Sowmya Sundararajan: I always wake up to a cup of hot filter coffee with less sugar. I love and live coffee. My elixir .

36. Rinku Bhattacharya: I am a tea drinker and and extremely fastidious about my tea. I drink coffee on the run because it is easier to find good coffee rather than tea.

37. Richa Gupta: I’m neither a hardcore coffee drinker nor a tea drinker. I like both, at different times. It has to be coffee in the morning to wake me up, and a cup of hot green tea or black tea in the evening when I’m enjoying a snack. I guess that’s not very helpful, but I love coffee flavored desserts. I think it has such an earthy, smokey flavor that it takes desserts up a notch or two.

38. Manash Nandi: I need a big mug while working late at night.. Could not think without it. The most important meal of the day. Coffee..

39. Gloria Baker: I love coffe, I love how smell.Is wonderful.
In the morning I drink tea but coffee is amazing.

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[ezcol_1half] 40. Sindhu Sriram: I drink coffee when every other person in my family is sleeping. A fetish I’ve, because I don’t like any one disturbing me when I’m enjoying my cup. I sit in a corner of my sofa and its just silence plus bliss!! Another fetish is I always have to read something when I’m drinking coffee, a habit my father also has. It’s either news paper or any story book.
If someone disturbs they’ll see the bad ass side of mine
I enjoy filter kaapi southie style with no sugar or very less sugar. Sindhu’s Filter Kapi recipe.

41. Chandrima Sarkar: For me Coffee is a good flavour for cakes, cookies and deserts…I like coffee mostly in winters…just a cup in a day is enough for me…Chandrima’s Coffee Cherry Panna Cota. 

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42. Aniko Szabo: I drink 4 or 5 cups by day.. I love coffee … usually drink it without sugar. I love to drink coffee when I am setting the props for the shooting.

43. Annice MacLeod: I sell it. It means people are relaxing or connecting. I love the smell of roasted coffee beans, it livens my senses. It keeps me awake. I like it smooth, not bitter with milk and if I am really decadent with a sprinkling of chocolate too. I seem to need Espresso coffee at the moment to keep me going…

44. Ushnish Ghosh: I rarely drink coffee, so no idea . but it is always espresso.. When I drink.

45. Kasturi Chatterjee RoyChoudhury: Migraine attack!! 

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