Believe it or not, I didn’t have my first cup of coffee until I was in my mid-40’s. 

Both my parents were coffee drinkers; Dad took cream and Mom liked it black.  So, I was raised with it in the house.  Still, I never drank it.  It always tasted bitter. 

Mother always bought Maxwell House coffee in the big 5 pound tins; already ground.  I always looked forward to a freshly opened can.  I’d rush over and ask to take a sniff.  It was always best on the first sniff.  I’d inhale it very slowly and savor the smell of what I later learned to be the effects of roasting the beans.  Still, I never drank it.

Years later, Starbucks or no Starbucks, I credit my husband for turning me on to coffee.  You see, he would put sugar in his.  I had no idea what a difference sugar could make.  He doctored my first cup of coffee with cream and sugar (which I quickly converted to Splenda to save calories as my consumption increased) to create his own version of a latte.   Let me tell you non-coffee drinking virgins out there in on a little secret — when coffee is properly doctored up, it tastes like hot cocoa; and that is a very good thing.