Lobster Butter Love!

I just spent a week in Northern Michigan with my sister and her family. We vacationed near Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park, which is, by far, one of the more beautiful places in Michigan. Crystal clear Lake Michigan and stunning sunsets were our treats for the week. Well, so was sleeping in since this was my week away from my family!

One of the biggest treats for me that week was to actually finish a hot cup of coffee. This is a rarity in my life! My sister and I sat on the back deck of our vacation home in the full sunshine and watched the steam roll out of our coffee cups. The sweet life for sure! Usually at home, I can tell what kind of morning I have had by how much coffee has disappeared from my cup. Typically, I come home from dropping the kids off at school and there sits my coffee, still full, but cold.

Having the time to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee gave me time to think about how coffee has become essential to my day. In the beginning, I did not like the taste of coffee but enjoyed the smell of coffee. Maybe it was the comfort smell of mornings at my house growing up but I definitely was not ready for the taste. Then, I found the beauty of coffee and dessert after a dinner out at a restaurant. I was on to something! Hot coffee and a warm dessert…heaven!

A few years ago, I began drinking decaffeinated coffee in the mornings (what was wrong with me???) and then; of course, I broke into the caffeinated coffee. So good! My body was hooked and so was my mind. A hot cup of coffee brewing in the morning became music to my ears.

Now, I have begun a quest to find delicious, tempting coffee to brew from places other than the big store, Starbucks. While on vacation, my sister and I relished in a coffee from an Ann Arbor store called RoosRoast Free Speech Coffee. The name of our coffee was Lobster Butter Love (hence the name of this post) and it was silky and rich. The best part of this coffee was where it had come from, a store that promoted the small businessman and focused on delivering delicious coffee. True to its word, it was worth getting up in the morning to.

One of my favorite places locally to get a cup of coffee, besides my house, is Di Prima Dolci Italian Bakery on Killingsworth Street in Portland. So worth the drive! That is where I truly fell hard for a cup of coffee. Maybe it was the fact that it was paired with a bag of hot zeppoles (Italian donuts) but their coffee was really a treat, and, honestly, I think of it often!

I do not have any plans in the future for giving up coffee. I have fallen in love with the warmth, the smell, and the feel of the coffee cup in my hands too much to say good-bye to it. For now I will just continue my search for where I can find the perfect cup of coffee, and, maybe some sweets to go with it!