Today, I have been given permission from an antipodean friend to discuss a topic that I bloody love!
Let me quickly give you some context to back up that needlessly cryptic headline and then I can run free with the joy I derive from the topic at hand.
This weeks #weekend-engagement topics set by the Aussie master of ceremonies himself, Mr 
The blog prompt from the handful that are available to write to that grabbed me was:
The changed product
Tell us about a product, food, item or service you really used to love but has now changed so much that you don't like it as much or at all. Explain why and what you replaced it with.
Now as you probably/maybe/do not know (delete where applicable), that I usually go off script, twist rules or go in to full-out open rebellion and do my own thing when faced with any constraint that makes my typing fingers apprehensive, restricted or claustrophobic, today will be no exception.
I will be responding to the prompt but also talking to the life-enhancing miracle product that is the focus of my confusing missive, if you don't know me at all, it will be confusing by the end and will probably raise more questions than it answers, I've had one of those lives!!!
So when I thought about life changing products, my mind, perhaps like a lot of people's instantly gravitated towards gadgets, machines or even utensils, tools and those kinds of things. I will be completely honest that wasn't prompting any major epiphanies in me whatsoever, maybe because I am a technological luddite, I would probably be happier with a pestle and mortar or a milk churn than with a blender or food processor.
When I am stumped for what to write on a given topic, when I am utterly bereft of ideas or an angle to write from, I ask myself some basic internal questions. Today's question prompt was simple:
What could I not live without on a daily basis?
The answers reminded me that products is a very broad category and my perception was too narrow and hit me like a bolt outta the blue.
OMGOMGOMGOMG COFFEE!!!
Coffee is a product, right? Isn't it just? That dark nectar is responsible for some of the most productive spells of my life. It is very often the catalyst for my entire day, it soothes me, it warms me and it hits some of those spots in my mind, body, soul and psyche that nothing else has the ability to.
At work my coffee consumption is a source of much conversation. At home it is mentioned daily, when I visit the home's of friends my overwhelming capacity for caffeine is discussed ad infinitum.
When I travel in the car, my lady is the chauffeur driver, I carry a giant coffee, before I start work coffee is my final part of the readiness rituals, even though I will have just finished one. When I go for break, I grab a coffee before I head out to the smoke shelter (yup I am viced up to the max) even though it means walking twice as far in comparison to completing those activities in reverse order.
I am constantly told I drink far, far too much coffee. I have read a boatload of research in to the effects of caffeine on the body and believe that one day soon, conventional wisdom and advice will catch up in it's view of coffee and the vast array of benefits it has to bestow upon us.
Protection from some of the most serious neurological conditions, a protective shield from much of the effects of Alzheimer's and the ever increasing range of dementias that are becoming commonplace in the modern world are among my favourites.
Many medical doctors and speakers at some of the most prestigious scientific institutes and universities around the world have spoken on this very topic and provided masses of data and research suggesting that coffee is not nearly as bad for us as conventional, accepted knowledge would have us believe. In the book "The plant paradox" which has hugely divided opinion among it's critics, Dr Stephen Gundry talks about the very same thing, I watched a podcast of his where the very same topic was broached and he gave a lot of evidence suggesting the voluminous benefits of coffee.
Whatever you believe, coffee plays a doubtless part in innovation, industry and creative endeavours for several billion people around the globe. Some of those engaged in these herculean efforts would barely be able to focus very far beyond breakfast without this miracle elixir, that makes us sharper, more focussed and creative when it is imbibed by the human animal.
I for one hail this mighty beverage and stand testament before you as a man who would struggle to get outta bed in the morning without it.
I enjoy good quality coffee as often as I am able. Coffee granules of the kind I used to drink often are utterly unpalatable to me nowadays. I occasionally buy a jar with the intention of saving money, believing I may pepper it in amongst the cups of coffee but alas my palate is so over that stuff.
Hold on a second Steven, the prompt you said you were going to write to was the "changed product"... Yes, yes I did Dear Reader, you really are observant, it must be the coffee!
This is where I have cheated a little in my application, as it is not exactly the product that has changed but the way I react to it... I guess you could actually say, it is I who has changed and not the product.
Like many people I grew up drinking cheap, mainstream granulated coffee which back then did the job, provided the caffeine hit and was satisfying but as I grew, left home went out in to the world, I discovered filter coffee, I was hooked! Actually I was quite literally hooked!
Then coffee shops began to spring up around my home town which is an uninventive, uninspiring/uninspired little town, hardly a bustling metropolis of new ideas. I discovered that certain Ethiopian blends had the most amazing taste and my coffee love hit bold flavourful, new heights.
I started to sample blends from other areas of the coffee making world and discovered that I could detect different notes in each and that I definitely had a nose and palate for my coffee. It was quite an exciting journey for young Steven if I am being honest. It was something I had a genuine passion for.
As the years past, I gave up sugar and realised the coffee tasted so fine, I couldn't believe this heightened the experience even more for me. Later still milk went and I had truly discovered the very best way to enjoy coffee, black with nothing to detract rom the amazing taste.
This meant one thing and one thing only though, I couldn't tolerate the cheap brands that are on offer everywhere I go...
I bought these (below), at different times to try and stretch out my good coffee a little more but NOPE! No deal! They have sat at the back of my cupboard, unused. The best (occasional) use for them is to pour on a saucer when someone burns food or paints and it takes in the odour.
I didn't have a whole lot of money for most of my life so had to manage on some fairly simple filter coffee brands and sample the really good stuff as often as I could.
There is one mainstream, cheap coffee product that I can get away with, it comes in a tin that only lasts me a few days but I manage to enjoy this relatively inexpensive option because I drink so many cups per day, I simply cannot afford to only drink filter coffee or pods for my various coffee making contraptions.
For every four tins of americano, espresso or intenso i buy, I buy 1 decaf (the blue one) as occasionally, even I know my limits.
I have one indispensable device that I was actually given by a truly amazing Hive witness for my birthday a couple of years ago. How cool is that? This witness and his relevant place to be mentioned in this post will become instantly apparent when I tell you his name,
In this image that you may have noticed in a recent post of mine. You will notice not only me being meme'd to within an inch of my life (apparently, I also have an extremely bizarre pair of legs!!!), you will also notice behind the gun wielding 
Behind the rest of us in the meme you will notice a huge pallet of sacks of coffee beans, one of many. His factory which he affectionately refers to as the shed is a coffee aficionados paradise. I was lucky enough to visit and have a fabulous tour and roasting demonstration at the last UK Hive meetup.
The smells and tastes in that place are a-ma-zing!
I loved every second of it. I am happy to say there will be another UK Hive meetup this year too, June 19th to be precise, anybody who is able to make that, let me know and I will give you instructions on exactly what you need to do. I will be writing a post about that in the coming days anyway so that will contain more details.
Yup, it all comes out of that 1 handy, compact, travel cup.
I am fairly certain that I made the case for coffee being a product that would be extremely difficult to live without. On this topic I am sure there a huge number of you who would wholeheartedly agree!
Thank YOU for taking the time to read my post and if you're one of those amazing people who like to hit the comments section... Then I doubly thank YOU!
Either way I want you to know that you are appreciated!
