When Coffee is more than Coffee

The new Starbucks in Mamaroneck is closing. It just opened, but I guess there are too many coffee shops, bakeries and delis on the avenue that have people’s loyalty.

Nevertheless, designer coffee is popular today. My daughter Erin does not drink Folgers and we grind our coffee at home. You can get coffee from Seattle (it seems to be the center for brewing good designer coffee), Kona Coffee from Hawaii and Fair Trade coffee that we import through the ELCA / LWR fair trade recommendations (http://www.lwrcoffee.com). Of course, there is Starbucks, and if you are Kathy you go to Trader Joe’s for Ethiopian coffee. Many of us still like Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and it appears still to be popular. In addition to closing in Mamaroneck Starbucks has recently closed hundreds of locations. Maybe Americans are feeling the effects of a stalled economy and have less expendable cash to buy $4 lattes.

When I am in Sacramento I visit a donut shop with my father located in a small tired shopping area. It is run by a Korean family and is called MASTER DONUTS. I have my favorite donut that I have been buying for years. It is made there and is made of butter milk and tastes great. This little place is popular with locals, mostly an older crowd coming in for donuts and coffee and even for something more important—fellowship. The Korean woman and her husband are on a first name basis with almost everyone. They welcome me like an old friend and they are always smiling. I just enjoy sitting out on the sidewalk on some old plastic chair and a rusty table where I set my coffee and enjoy the morning. It is almost always sunny in Sacramento and the weather has a Mediterranean feel to it.  I am happy to be in a T shirt and sandals with my dad and looking forward to a refill that is free. A big cup of Joe couldn’t taste better.

This place sells more than coffee and you will always hear a friendly hello.

Sometimes I read the Sacramento Bee and sometimes I talk and sometimes I listen to what people are saying. You can overhear conversations on every subject from politics to religion. You get a different take on the world. Points of view are freely shared, there is always some laughter and people look forward to seeing each other on a daily basis. I guess you could call it just plain fellowship with a sense of community to those who attend regularly. It is a haven for retired people who have the time to slowly go through the morning in conversation. Others just stop in for a quick cup off coffee to go. We move fast these days and many don’t find time to convers.  We are on our way like the bunny in Alice in Wonderland—“I am late… I am late for a very important date”, he says as he looks at his watch and runs off.  Fellowship and community around a donut, it happens.  It also happens at another table around bread and wine.  Sometimes coffee is more than coffee, and bread and wine is more than bread and wine.