In the beginning, in a Boulder far, far away…

There was an outdoor apparel shop on Pearl St. Mall. Every day I would require two coffees to get me through the shift. Some days easy, some days rough.

But there were always two coffees.

I would walk across the bricks to the Boulder Bookstore and get my beverage of choice. Something with steamed half & half, and at least two shots.

Latte, mocha, something with caramel, perhaps even just the righteous quadruple Americano. This went on for some time. Years.

One day I realized I have this espresso machine sitting on my kitchen counter and I never get the opportunity to use it because I’m spending all of my hard-earned dosh on coffees made for me by someone else. It was an epiphany.

I never went there again. I embraced the machine that was on my counter and used it every morning. And afternoon. Or to make a “fancy” coffee to go. It was revolutionary. This marvel of a caffeine delivery system was within my household all the years I went across the bricks to have a coffee made for me. Just plain silly.

There was a dramatic increase in my bank account, and I started to explore different coffee combos.

I felt like the Magellan of coffee.

I got a bunch of Ball jars and began concocting all these “goops” of varying complexities to have on hand in the refrigerator. A couple of tablespoonfuls of one of these into a steamer cup, add some half & half and poof! instant amazing coffee drink. Without spending $6 AND without leaving the house. Nice.

“Tell us more of these goops!” well, alrighty then.

Mexican Mocha goop, two kinds of chocolate, one being Mexican, some chili powder, dash of cinnamon. Delicious. Bit of a kick thanks to the chili.

Caramel! Homemade caramel made lovingly cauldron-style on the stovetop. Caramel Lattes are next level luscious when not using syrup (Read: coffee shop protocol).

Dark Chocolate Mocha goop, using only the finest dark chocolate (70% and up cocoa), and some sugar to cut it a bit.

My winter-time favorite: Tasty Maple. Butterscotch chips, maple sugar and brown sugar. Sweet sugar-bomb! Awesomely warming and best when consumed in a wintery environment.

Malted Vanilla latte. Not a goop per se, but an interesting combo. Malt powder, no, not Ovaltine, but old school malt powder, vanilla, and some sugar.

One of the hardest decisions in the morning is which one to choose from.

There is so much to the World of Coffee. These are only a few examples. What do you imagine?