[THREE CENTS] The Coffee Conundrum and How to Fix it

Keep it coming.  For now.

I enjoy coffee.  Like a lot of people (the ones I can relate to, anyway), I need coffee to remain upright, or a reasonable facsimile thereof.

I also enjoy breakfast.  Probably too much.  Highlights of my weekend are Saturday and Sunday morning meals out.  And some form of waffle is frequently at the top of my order.

But it’s not always smooth sailing.  When you find yourself with a partially empty coffee cup, do you want a new pour?  Or do you want to wait until it hits bottom?  Maybe a partial pour is required because your cup’s gone cold.  Maybe you’re gonna want some more later, but not until you get through another third of your hash browns.

How does one navigate this minefield?  Up until now, we’ve tiptoed, stumbled around, and occasionally exploded.

So, what to do?

The solution is meat.  Well, meat-related.  More specifically, Churrascaria-related.

Photo courtesy of someone named Jesse D. on Yelp

If you’ve never been to one, a Churrascaria is a Brazilian steakhouse where servers constantly do rounds to the various tables with giant skewers of assorted meat.

As part of this procedure, the restaurants provide each party with a card or little wooden doodad (“Meat Stick Indicator,” according to my friend, Josh).  You use this to turn on and off the “meat spigot.”

Flip it green side up and the loaded skewers keep coming.  Flip it red side up and they skip by while your arteries catch their breath.

I think you can see where I’m going with this.

What all breakfast and brunch restaurants need is a set of their own Meat Stick Indicators.  Or rather, a Coffee Stick Indicator™.

This way, you only get coffee when you’re ready.  And it’s never just moments after you’ve concocted the perfect blend of creamer and caffeine (and possibly sweetener, if that’s your thing).

It’s small change, sure, but an important one.  Progress isn’t always easy, but it helps when it comes with a steaming cup of joe.

I think I’m about ready for a refill.