HOW-TO
Spruce Up Your Office Coffee
By Phillip Barnhard
It’s just another manic Monday … back at the office. While Sunday was your fun day – your “I-don’t-have-to-run” day – you’re now forced to muster enough energy to make it through the week. Percolating in the office break room is a fuel that can help you make it to Saturday in the park … with so many people dancing and laughing, you’d think it was the Fourth of July. Yes, a hot cup of coffee can take you there.
Unfortunately, it’s the same brew you swallow every week – a medium-to-bold roast that brings a single tear to Juan Valdez’s burro. With a sprinkle of non-dairy creamer and a sugar substitute, you attempt to bring life to your taste buds, but they know better. They know of the sweet sensations created at local coffeehouses and loathe each day you treat them to an uncreative blend. A sad coffee can forecast a miserable work week, but just the right blend can get your mojo flowing and subconsciously increase productivity. So this month, let’s spruce up your morning coffee without hitting up a coffee shop on your way to work.
First, you need a proper cup. A mug or tall tumbler harvests your identity and acts as a personal billboard for events you’ve attended, preferred style of humor or sports teams you support. While Styrofoam cups might be available, you don’t want to risk incurring the wrath of your office’s token environmentalist. Like Indiana Jones, you must wisely choose the grail that will lead your crusade of making it to the end of the week. The default white mug just won’t cut it.
Once a chalice has been deemed worthy, pour your coffee preference into the cup. Caffeine addicts can steer clear from the decaf and lean toward a bolder flavor. If you’re searching for light and flavorful, try a nice morning blend. Either way, you remain at the mercy of whatever your work provides.
Next, find yourself some flavor. Prime flavor hotspots include the office candy bowls and break-room refrigerator. There you will find a smorgasbord of flavor waiting to be unleashed. From the candy bowl, a few Hershey Kisses morph your average coffee into a mocha drink. Add a peppermint or candy cane, and you’ve got yourself a holiday peppermint mocha. If cinnamon is what you crave and there aren’t any grounds to be found, the red-wrapped candies at the bottom of the bowl no one ever touches contain cinnamon-y goodness.
The refrigerator has the power to raise mediocre coffee to the upper echelon with one of its contents – a 7-ounce can of whipped cream. The magic of most coffeehouses lies in the first wave of whipped cream and coffee that tingles your taste buds and tickles your toes from first taste. Recreate the sensation by using the can left over from the monthly celebration of office birthdays. A squirt of whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup – also from the office parties – brings you the coffeehouse additions that make ordinary orders into legendary ones.
Once you have the coffee just right – you’ve added the sugars and extras you need – indulge in the scintillating goodness of your concoction. Set your expectations to low, so when you taste it and it turns out to be not half-bad, your mind will say, “wow, it’s better than I anticipated.” And if it’s horrible – like you added bubble gum and mayonnaise – just pour out the coffee and start again. The world’s greatest inventers never get it right on the first try.
For a few dollars, you also can import your favorite flavors via creamer. Coffee-mate and International Delight offer numerous variations of cream to add to your favorite coffee. Turn your morning drink into an egg nog latte, a French vanilla swirl or an Irish blend with just one pour. Some office workers go a step further to purchase their own personal brewery. A desktop cappuccino maker can liven up your coffee as you’re the barista in the coffeehouse-esque atmosphere you’ve created.
While purchasing a creamer seems like the more sensible thing to do, don’t be afraid to get creative and add a dollop of whipped cream. Use your imagination and experiment with the wonderfully bold flavors hiding around the office. At M/C/C, we’re living the unexpected, and with our coffee, it seems as though we’re drinking it, too.
E-mail the author: Philip Barnhard
