For most of my life I avoided coffee. Like any good college student I binged on it during  finals weeks to push me through, but as soon as the semester ended I left the caffeine behind. Coffee was a means to an end, nothing more.

Enter Yooper Stewart.

When you find the perfect travel mug, stock up.

I met my hubs at a coffee shop. We both stopped by to visit a mutual friend who worked there. He arrived with a cup of coffee already in hand. I ordered a frozen blended peanut butter chocolate concoction with as little coffee as possible. Eight months later we were married and coffee entered my life for ever.

Yooper Stewart drank decaf because he liked the taste but not the jitters. My family also drank decaf for the same reason. I didn’t realize, however, that the execution could be so completely different. My parents bought quality coffee, brewed it strong, then added a dollop of cream or dash of sugar and enjoyed it. YS drank gas station coffee laced with 4-6 flavored cream cups until it was tolerable.

Why is it perfect? The non-slip ring keeps the mug in place.

When we got married I decided to try enjoying the coffee with the hubs. That meant I had to decide what kind to buy. As poor newly weds we went for cheap with creamer.

Bleh!

It didn’t matter how much of the toxic, chemical laden creamer I added – the “coffee” soiled my mouth. When Yooper wasn’t looking, I grabbed some of the good stuff – dark roasts, exotic blends, even some flavored stuff. He didn’t realize the switch until he went shopping, and bought himself a $3.99 can of grounds. Once you go organic french roast decaf, there’s no going back.

Now Yooper Stewart also looks for the good stuff (and sometimes the clearance stuff too). With the world of coffee opened up to him, however, he sometimes has impulse control issues. This isn’t the coffee we’re drinking – it’s our back-up. We have even more in the cupboard above the coffee maker.