$1 Coffee in a Jar

Remember my article “Cravings of the Junk Food Kind” that I posted on December 10, 2015, when I talked about how sexy coffee tastes and smells? 

Well, I was very disappointed with 2 small jars of $1 coffee that I bought from a Dollar Store a few months ago.  I knew I would soon be running out of Folger’s instant decaf coffee and bought those just in case I didn’t find a brand name decaf like Folger’s, Maxwell House, Nescafe, or Sanka on sale.

I’d had some very good Beaumont decaf instant coffee for a little more than $1 from Aldi’s in the past which was delicious.    If I’m on the run, I like McDonald’s decaf McCafé, Dunkin’ Donuts, Wawa or Burger King coffee. 

So, I thought I was safe, but I didn’t realize that you need to read the whole label when buying coffee.   First, the two small jars had no brand name at all.   They were just labeled Decaf Instant Coffee.  Secondly, my first cup of it had no taste at all, and I had the nerve to add milk which made it taste like weak tea with milk.  

After I couldn’t get past the first couple of sips, I read the label.  There was a warning posted. 

“Warning.  Consuming this product can expose you to chemicals including lead and acrylamide which are known to the state of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.  For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/food.”  It was made in Mexico.  Distributed by Transnational Foods, Inc., Miami, FL 33131 USA, Info@TFINC.com.

The jars also have an encircled U which means:

“the product is certified as Kosher by an organization called the Orthodox Union.  It is actually an O with the U inside and it’s the initials of the certifying agency.  This is one of dozens of kosher symbols that can be found on products across the US and indeed the whole world.  Kosher is a Hebrew word which means ‘fit for consumption’ by traditional Jewish people because their dietary laws have been followed.”   David Bratspis, Israel Tour Guide answered this question 5/13/18 on Quora.com

Unfortunately, this “coffee” was not fit for consumption to me.

If you are really particular about your coffee, see the following resources:

“8 Coffee Brands to Avoid”, Caffeineinformer.com

“We Tested 13 Grocery Store Coffees and Here’s the Best One”, Extra Crispy, S://amp.myrecipes.com, John Sherman, February 8, 2019.

Written by Rosa L. Griffin

Eating

People who love to eat are always the best people.

Julia Child

Laughter is brightest in the place where the food is.

Irish Proverb

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.

Luciano Pavarotti

Submitted by Rosa L. Griffin

Cravings of the Junk Food Kind

Milk, chocolate cake, potato chips, coffee, and Coca-Cola are my cravings. What do these five items have in common?   They are the things that I can’t live without.

When I was pregnant, I couldn’t get enough milk. I drank white milk before work, during work (several small cartons) and after work. My baby came out covered in white film. My son and I use two gallons or more a week to this day. Then, my milk monkey led to harder stuff like yogurt (the pure stuff, not that frozen kind), sour cream, butter milk, cottage cheese, etc.

For the most part, my cravings are empty calories of fat, caffeine, and sugar. In high school, I used my parents’ hard-earned money to buy chocolate cake, potato chips, and cola for lunch daily. No wonder I was constipated so often.

When I find Berman’s chocolate cake, the dark chocolate icing and the yellow cake taunt me to the point of lust. But, when I get it home, sanity returns, and I eat a tiny slice per day until it is gone!

When I was young, Mrs. Ihrie’s was the queen of potato chips, but now, I have to have Utz potato chips every time I am near Lexington Market in downtown Baltimore or other places. The sharp shards of micro-thin hard-fried potato slivers pass dangerously among tongue, gums, and inside walls of my mouth avoiding injury unless I laugh at an inopportune time at “Big Bang Theory”, “Meet the Browns” or “My Name is Earl”.

A good chip is nothing without its complementary beverage, Coca-cola. After all, if the “real thing” can dissolve the acid from my car battery, what more proof do I need?

Now, coffee is a sin all by itself. It has to be a sin to smell so sexual everywhere I go that I have to have it whether at McDonald’s or Dunkin Donuts. I blame my father for introducing me to coffee that was literally whitened by milk!

Every time a certain body part develops a discomfort, I put that craving aside for another day. I get my cranberry juice, antacid, and/or water regimen on until I feel my kidneys, bladder, esophagus, and/or intestines have been revived. Then, I can let in a little more sin.

Written by Rosa L. Griffin