Morning Coffee

I don't sleep in that much on the weekends. I'm usually up by 8:00 or 8:30 at the latest. But during the week I tend to wait until the last possible moment to get up and get ready for work. I'm not one of those people who gives themselves lots of extra time to watch the news, read the paper, or leisurely eat my breakfast. No, I much prefer the extra sleep. My usual routine looks something like this:

6:27am alarm goes off. I immediately get up, take a shower, do my hair, and get dressed (I usually decide what I'm going to wear the night before or while I'm in the shower which also helps me save time). I make my lunch (which is the same every day) and then eat a bowl of cereal while checking my email/google reader. I brush my teeth, pack up my bag, and am on my way to the metro by 7:15ish. This allows me to be at my desk at work a few minutes before 8am.

This routine does not, however, leave time for coffee. I like coffee. I like the way it tastes and I need that extra energy boost in the morning. But I do not like gulping it down as I'm running out the door. If I'm going to drink it, I want to take my time drinking it and actually enjoy it. For the first 4-5 months of my new job I would buy a cup of coffee from the cafeteria when I got to work and drink it while I checked my email and got settled in. This worked out pretty well-- the coffee was ok and it was only $1.09 (with tax). I felt like I could justify the $5.45 a week I spent getting my coffee fix (especially since I bring my lunch almost every day).

But then it all changed.

Our cafeteria switched management over the holidays and suddenly my morning coffee was no longer $1.09...it was a $1.69 BEFORE TAX. For the same size! The rationale was because they'd switched to a different, fair trade brand. I'm all about fair trade, but I no longer felt I could justify spending almost $2 a day on cafeteria coffee...especially when a small drip coffee at Starbucks was pretty much the exact same price.

But I didn't want to alter my routine too much. So I decided I'd start making my own coffee at home and bringing it to work. Which meant that I'd need a new travel mug-- one that was insulated and completely, 100% spill proof so that I could throw it in my bag in the morning and not have to carry it in my hands on the metro. I did some research and found what appeared to be the perfect solution:

The REI flip-top vacuum tumbler. It has a vaccum seal which means it won't spill and it keeps coffee hot for hours. Seriously. I've gotten side tracked a few times in the morning and come back and my coffee has still been practically burn your mouth hot (which is how I like it) 2 hours later. In short, it's awesome.

So now I get the coffee pot ready to go the night before and then flip the switch while I'm making my lunch. It's been the perfect (and more cost effective way) to enjoy my morning coffee.