Coffee?

[Jaco]

SOUL PROVIDER

A group of senior executives, well established in their careers, got together to bid farewell to their retiring CEO. The conversation soon turned to company strategy (his favourite subject) and his legacy to business and life in general. As usual, there was some grumbling about problems and stress that they were experiencing in the handover process to his successor.
Offering his guests coffee, the CEO sent his secretary to the office kitchen and she returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups -- porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive, some chipped and some exquisite -- telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
After all the surprised executives had a cup of coffee in hand, the CEO said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, THAT is the source of your problems and stress."
"Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it's just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups and then began eyeing each other's cups."
"Now consider this: Life is the coffee . . . and the jobs, houses, cars, things, money and position in society are only the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee we have been provided with. “
So enjoy your coffee!

 

[WellsWood]

What a very profound and welcome thought to begin a weekend with.

Thank you Jaco

 

[Slim]

Sniff, sniff... I'm going to phone my mum and tell her I love her. :wink:

 

[ike]

If I picked a tatty, chipped old mug and the handle falls off and I lose my coffee, what does that mean?

Ike

 

[Paul Chapman]

I used to work with a rather mean Scotsman who, at home, would serve wine in jam jars - he thought decent wine glasses were a waste of money. He also refused to have lamp shades because he could then get away with using lower powered bulbs.

He was a miserable sod as well :lol:

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[DomValente]

If I picked a tatty, chipped old mug and the handle falls off and I lose my coffee, what does that mean?

Ike

It means you're always late for appointments................................................................................
If you'd got there on time you would have got a good cup

Dom

 

[woodbloke]

Jaco wrote:

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it's just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups and then began eyeing each other's cups

Something in this I'm sure but more than meets the eye. I dislike drinking from a thick, chunky mug and will always go for a bone china mug if I can tho' I don't have many at home. It doesn't make any difference to the coffee but it's much more pleasant drinking experience.
Similarly, Paul, myself and Newt were talking about planes earlier in the week. A tatty No4 suitably sharpened will produce shavings (as in taking off the bottom of a door) but 'cos it's tatty I suspect that less than good work might be the result. However the same plane with a bit of TLC (as in my avatar) will still plane timber but it might be used with a lot more care and sensitiveness and produce better quality work in the long run. Good tools help to ensure good work......and a nice bone china mug would certainly make the coffee appear to taste better for me at least - Rob

 

[Steve Maskery]

Rob, I'm with you here. What you drink out of makes the world of difference.

I have a wine glass that will, if you fill it to the brim, hold an entire bottle of wine. Of course, it's not intended to be used that way! But the large enclosed volume of air above the wine itself allows the nose of the wine to be contained in a more concentrated manner and it really does make a difference to what the wine actually tastes like.

Similarly I'd rather drink Bell's out of Edinburgh Crystal than Glenmorangie (my normal tipple of choice) out of a supermarket value-pack tumbler.

Hmm, got me going now. Still, it's a bit early, even for me.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Woody Alan]

Similarly I'd rather drink Bell's out of Edinburgh Crystal than Glenmorangie (my normal tipple of choice) out of a supermarket value-pack tumbler.

Arghhh Steve you had me up to that point you cannot be serious, yes the vessel is important to the taste experience but ...not that much After all there is always the option to drink straight from the bottle isn't there? thus avoiding the Bells.
Buying decent coffee in those cardboard pots, I can smell the cardboard, or is that just me.

Alan

 

[Paul Chapman]

I agree - the right vessel does make a difference. There is a reason why different glasses are shaped the way they are. As for coffee, I always drink it at home from a cup, never a mug. And I really can't stand the modern trend of drinking from bottles or ring-pull cans - think I'd rather go without. You are right, Alan, those cardboard and polystyrene containers do have a taste.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[woodbloke]

Paul Chapman wrote:

drink it at home from a cup

.....have to get you a posh cup and saucer then for next time you're in Salisbury :lol: - Rob

 

[Paul Chapman]

Paul Chapman wrote:

drink it at home from a cup

.....have to get you a posh cup and saucer then for next time you're in Salisbury :lol:

Oops That's OK Rob, your mugs are very nice I have the outlaws trained, though - they now always serve me coffee in a cup and saucer 8) 8) Mind you, they think I'm odd anyway so are probably just trying to humour me :lol:

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Bodrighy]

Thata's what makes the world a better place, all being different. I won't drink coffee from a polystyrene cup, prefer a mug to a cup (preferably a black one) and always sip coffee first to check the taste as I loathe bitter coffee, never, ever go to Starbucks!!!!

I must confess, being a coffeeholic the taste comes first but given a choice give me a mug every time.

Pete

 

[Good Surname or what ?]

Hmmm! I feel marketing slogan coming on...

Wake up and smell the cardboard!

 

[egtmcsq]

hmmmmm my cup overfloweth

 

[Smudger]

It's easy to take the p but Jaco was, I think, making a genuine point (albeit in a bit of a schmaltzy way, as is usually the case with these internet 'spirituality' messages).

Mind you, I'm pretty fussy what I drink my coffee (real, not instant) out of, too.

 

[Jaco]

Card board is NO!!!!!!!

Plastic is NO!!!!!!!!!

Polystyrene is NO!!!!!!!!!

Must be ceramic, and a mug, large size.



Then there is the sugar ........

With coffee it can only be brown, seems to enhance the taste.

8) 8) 8)