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Home / Cafe Culture / Candy, Flowers... and Coffee?Page 1 | Page 2 A Relationship’s Growth, Unstunted by Coffee Cecilia and Alan did not meet at a coffeehouse, but the subject was bound to come up eventually. Alan had a longstanding taste for fine coffee, whereas Cecilia, though fond of coffee in her own right, was more of a tea drinker. As their relationship has developed, Cecilia and Alan have each enhanced the other’s appreciation for their favorite beverages. "As a part of the initial interview process for the position of girlfriend, Alan asked me what type of coffee I liked," says Cecilia. "I explained that I liked tea better than coffee, and that I was a tea snob. Intrigued, he wanted to know more." They have met each other more or less halfway, with Alan becoming increasingly fond of tea as Cecilia elevated her coffee tastes and grew ever more dependent on coffee. "I have grown to need coffee," says Cecilia. "It was easy for me to move from an appreciation of fine tea to high-quality coffee." There is plenty of truth to the cliché that a relationship is an investment, and it did not take Cecilia and Alan long to realize that theirs was a romance worth investing in. Worth noting is the coffeehouse atmosphere and multiple espressos that brought their relationship to the next level. As Cecilia tells the story: "Over the course of two espresso-based drinks at a coffee house, Alan began relaying his goals and dreams to me. He had such enthusiasm that it was exhilarating and endearing. I pulled out a dollar bill and wrote on it "Investing in You" in purple marker. I handed the bill to him and said "I don't have any money to put in the stock market, but I'll invest in you today. When your ideas make you rich, it will pay off." He took the bill and said "Marry me and you can have all of my money." Flabbergasted, I took another sip of latte and smiled inside. To this day, that dollar bill is in his wallet." The investment that Alan and Cecilia made in their relationship has had high returns, and they can both feel thankful for the role that coffee has played in its steady growth. Bridging the Great Coffee Divide Unlike the couples profiled above, David and Maria do not drink coffee together. Indeed, their situation is just the opposite: David is a coffee junkie and aficionado, while Maria drinks no coffee at all. With coffee such a cherished and necessary part of David’s life, and such a non-factor in Maria’s, does this dissimilarity pose an obstacle to their relationship? "If coffee is what keeps him happy, I think we can manage," says Maria with a laugh. "I have faith we can overcome it." It’s not as though they haven’t tried to reconcile the gap. But despite an open mind, Maria simply can’t will herself into liking coffee, and it has been a long time since she had a fondness for anything coffee-based. "I used to love coffee ice cream when I was a kid," says Maria. "I loved the smell of coffee ice cream, but I don’t recall having it since I was about five years old or so. I just don’t like the taste or the smell of coffee now." David, who drinks four or five large cups of coffee a day, is unlikely to give up coffee anytime soon. Maria takes these habits in stride, and makes the occasional concession such as a Dunkin’ Donuts pit stop on a road trip where David can get the requisite large coffee to go. When the two recently traveled to Boston’s heavily Italian North End, Maria found that an after-dinner trip to a café could be enjoyable for both coffee-drinker and non-coffee-drinker alike. "I think a café can be fun," Maria says. "I can always get a hot chocolate beverage; I don’t think I’d feel obligated to get coffee." Candy, Flowers… and Coffee? Coffee and Valentine’s Day may make a much better fit than it would first seem. In all sorts of romantic relationships, coffee seems to have either a central or peripheral role to play. Your valentine may not be willing to forsake more traditional Valentine’s Day customs for a cup of coffee, but if the above scenarios are any indication, the coffee probably won’t hurt your cause on V-Day. Page 1 | Page 2 Tags: love valentines |
