Memory and taste
I’m a coffee geek. Back in college, if I was in a library (which was most of the time), I had some sort of espresso beverage nearby. I don’t drink nearly as much as I used to, but it’s a daily ritual, at the least. I spent many hours in Clemson’s Cooper Library writing lit crit papers with a tall mocha from Java City sitting beside my laptop. In 2003, during a summer at the College of Charleston for a couple of Latin classes (Clemson didn’t offer them at the time), I spent much of my time in the old library.
Fast-forward to today. My wife & I stopped by the local Starbucks. We prefer independent joints, but the spring semester is finished at Clemson and the hours of other (independent) coffee shops are spotty. I ordered an iced mocha. I haven’t had one of those in quite some time, having developed a taste for the simpler iced latte. As I sat and enjoyed the drink, I started thinking about the summer of 2003.
Why? There’s a Starbucks across the street from the old college library in Charleston, and I would often walk across Calhoun to get an iced mocha. The taste became forever associated with that summer, those hours in the cool library studying Latin and listening to classic Chicago, then walking out into the sun and muggy air of Charleston. Iced espresso beverages vary in taste, and I know I’ve had an iced mocha between now and 2003, but not one from Starbucks. Taking that first sip from the straw really brought me back to a great summer.
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