Yeah, I’m gonna write about coffee again. What? Did you think that I titled my blog “Coffee and Theology” for nothing? I’ve spent some time writing posts about my background and my theological misgivings. But I don’t want to lose focus of the second great love of my life after Jesus (third, if you count my wife. Sorry, Rachel): coffee.
My first job was at Caribou Coffee at the Rosedale Center in Roseville, Minnesota. It was a kiosk in the middle of the shopping mall, and it was perhaps not run as well as some other stores. However, it was here that I first learned about the differences between dark and light roast coffees, what French roast means, and how to make espresso beverages.
For those of you that don’t know, Starbucks rules the world in terms of chain coffee shops.
Except in Minnesota.
Along with the many oddities of my home state, such as calling a casserole a hot dish, playing duck, duck, gray duck instead of duck, duck, goose, and often exclaiming “uffdah!” when we run into someone at the store, we have a uniquely Minnesotan coffee chain.
Caribou rules Minnesota. Starbucks exists, but Caribou is usually preferred by the locals.
And so, as I worked at a chain coffee shop, where the lines could sometimes be 10-15 minutes long, the coffee we made didn’t exactly live up to the small batch roasted, artisanal coffee that I have come to be snobbish about in my adult years. But I enjoyed the job and learning about coffee.
I learned very quickly that I preferred light roast coffee. Though I would pretend that I loved the deep dark, oily roasts, such as French roast, in order to impress the girls. At first I also loved the sugary, whip-cream topped “lattes” that we sold. When many people say they love coffee, these are the types of drinks they’re talking about. But after a time, I couldn’t handle the overly sweet drinks anymore, and I learned to love plain, black coffee.
I came to love the nutty, often fruity flavors of a good quality light roast, freshly brewed from the pot. I came to despise adding anything to my coffee that took away from its unique flavor profile and made it less than what it was.
Lord, I sounded pretentious just there.
I fell into the trap of looking down on anyone who would dare to order anything that wasn’t plain, black coffee, looking upon them with an air of indignation that would make even the most pretentious movie critics seem humble by comparison.
In fact, I complained so much about it to my girlfriend in college (my wife now) that she would order plain black coffee when we went to a cafe to study. She obviously hated it, but she would try to drink it to impress me. Then she wouldn’t finish it and throw away the remainder. That would annoy me even more.
I’m sorry, Rachel. I don’t care if you put milk in your coffee anymore.
Anyway, back to my coffee journey.
In a way my journey from not caring in the least about the quality of my coffee to the caring overly much to the point of becoming pretentious to only caring about making good coffee for myself and giving others the freedom to love coffee the way that they like closely mirrors my faith journey. In fact, it took kind of a similar path at around the same time.
As I mentioned in my other blog series, I grew up in an incredibly legalistic, overly judgmental faith tradition. At first, it scared me. But later, in adolescence, I wanted to please those around me, so I adopted this set of beliefs and wanted to force others around me into this same tradition.
It was unhealthy, both to me and to those around me.
But later, as my mind opened, and I learned to hold onto the things that are most important in my faith and let everything else go, I began to appreciate other expressions of Christianity, and to acknowledge them as equally valid ways to love God. I began to want to talk with people about their differing beliefs, rather than judging them for those beliefs.
And with my love of coffee, I feel the same. Enjoy your coffee however you want. If you aren’t harming anyone, you can enjoy your caffeine fix in whatever way is most palatable to you. You have my permission.
I know, you really hoped I would give you my permission.
As we experience this journey together, it’s important to remember that there isn’t only one way to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. These are the greatest commandments handed down to us by Jesus.
As long as your goal is to love God and love your neighbor, then you can count on my support, even if we disagree on other issues of theology.
Just know: I will continue taking my coffee black.
What about you? How do you prefer your coffee? Have your tastes changed over the years? More importantly, how do you interact with people who have different perspectives from yours? Let me know in the comments. Follow my journey into the worlds of theology and coffee. Let’s get caffeinated together!
Coffee & Theology 