There are not too many decisions that I have to make each morning. Everything I do from the time my alarm goes off to the second I walk into the office is done by rote with very little thought process. The evening before is when I decide what type of clothing I will wear for the next day. One of the last things I do before I retire for the night is to systematically take out underpants, an undershirt and a pair of socks and neatly place them by my hanging pants and chosen shirt. The next morning,the alarm sounds and I then get up. I thank the Lord for having allowed me yet another day to cause havoc, I check the financial markets, I run a bath and slosh around for a while, shower, shave , brush twice and get dressed. I am out of the apartment in thirty minutes. I have efficiently devised a fool proof system of gathering my wallet, keys, shoes, and coat by placing them by the door so that no stone is unturned in my quest not to have to think about anything until I arrive at work. Well almost!
The only decision I have to make is what type of coffee I want to drink and where to purchase it. And don't for one second think that this is an easy decision. I have about thirty different choices . The decision affects which bus stop I disembark at. Within a three block radius of 50th and Park Avenue there are five Starbucks, four Dunken Donuts, fifteen coffee carts and a host of other coffee shops and delis. Coffee is literally everywhere. It is virtually impossible to avoid coffee. Many get their daily morning coffee at the same place every day. Not me. I like to mix it up . I have my favorite spots like the cart on the South East side of the street on 51st and Park and the Starbucks on 51st street on the North side of the street next to the Blackrock building. The difference in cost is quite dramatic too. The street coffee price is pretty much standardized at a dollar for a small and a buck fifty for a large. It is served out of a huge vat with a generous filter crammed with a full flavor coffee. It is very drinkable but doesn't knock your socks off. The caffeine content is lower than any espresso type coffee.
On the flip side a triple, grande, dry, skim, vanilla latte costs about five dollars. Yes five dollars. I have nothing against Starbucks and I am always happy to see one when I travel around the world but their fancy names are just an excuse to charge extra. Their coffee here in the city varies from store to store. Just because they use the same coffee beans; it is all roasted the same way and then put through the same type of coffee machine with the same milk and water doesn't mean that it comes out tasting the same. Don't ask me why but every cup of coffee at Starbucks tastes different . I think it depends on who is making the coffee at each store.
New York coffee in general is not as good as European Capitals. Their coffee is much stronger and has a much higher caffeine content. When I visit Europe and then come back home it is very difficult to find coffee that tastes as good. However, after a few days I get used to the milder more insipid taste of New York coffee. Sometimes I find the process of choosing which coffee I want in the morning so overwhelming that I skip the whole thing and head straight for the office. Sometimes I stand outside the building here and look left and right and start walking in one direction and then turn around and head in the other, unable to make any kind of decision. I have walked into Starbucks and because of the long line, walked out empty handed. I regularly stand in front of a coffee cart on the street and after a lengthy pause just shake my head muttering the words " Not today thank you." The choices in New York City are so overwhelming that it causes irrational and self destructive behavior for residents such as myself. Faced with such diversity it is difficult to make a selection. Sometimes I wish that New York wasn't so consumer friendly as it would make my mornings so much easier.
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