Eager drinker frothing at the mouth

So we were talking about coffee …

Well, yes, the discussion was two days ago, but this is the Inland Northwest.

Coffee is always a hot topic.

And it’s especially tops on my list of cool things today because I just bought a Secura Automatic Electric Milk Frother and Warmer.

For the low, low price of just $36.98, Amazon will be delivering this amazing device to me in just a couple of days.

I’m so excited, I might be sitting outside — bundled up like an Eskimo — just to wait on my fantastic frother.

What’s really startling about all this is that 48 hours ago, I had no idea such an item existed.

Now I’m counting the minutes until I’ll be enjoying coffee so delightful that I might want to share it with passing strangers.

I get it, OK, that your obvious question might be something like this …

“If this clown didn’t know what a ‘frother’ even was just a couple of days ago, why is he so certain that some gadget costing almost 40 bucks will change his coffee-swilling life?”

THAT’S FAIR enough, I suppose.

Like a lot of things in our day-to-day rushing around, this terrific breakthrough occurred totally by accident.

And sometimes when fate hands you great coffee, you simply have to drink it.

Fate, in this case, was a very nice lady named Georgia Mooring.

Georgia happened to be standing behind me at Super 1 as I was chucking some giant coffee jugs into my shopping cart.

I’ve mentioned in the past that I can’t seem to create really great coffee at home, so I pick it up at the nearest drive-thru hut — or buy it ready-made at the store.

“That’s good stuff,” Georgia said, as I was lifting one 48-ounce Califia Almond Milk mocha carafe after another into my cart. “Really excellent ingredients.”

Say what?

Ingredients had never crossed my mind.

I just wanted a few big tankards of café mocha.

But hey, I’m not rude and this lady seemed to know her java.

IN FACT, Georgia is a manager at Jitterz, and she’s been with the company long enough to watch the original three stores double to six.

And sure enough, she knows everything that goes into your coffee, and what would make it better.

“How do you heat the almond milk mocha?” she asked.

Ummm …

“I just fill a mug and heat it in the microwave,” I said, a little embarrassed that I wasn’t somehow doing more to make my coffee kind of special.

“That’s fine,” Georgia said. “That’s good, creamy mocha. I’m sure it works great the way you’re doing it.”

It was obvious, though, that her reply might have contained the word “but” if she weren’t being so polite.

“Can I make it better?” I said, finally.

“Well, when you get it at Jitterz,” she said, “we’ve used frothed milk to give it that consistency you want in a latte or mocha.”

OH.

“Now that they’re selling really good coffee like this, ready to drink,” she said, “you can actually make it like a professional if you just froth it.”

Oh.

“We use a frother with our milk,” she said, “but you could just put your mocha directly into a large frother, and I think it would taste great.”

Talk about an easy sale.

So now I’m waiting for my frother to be delivered, and I’m ready to rock and roll with some big-league mocha.

Let’s all give Ms. Mooring a warm thank you.

And remember her with every sumptuous sip.

•••

Steve Cameron is a columnist for The Press.

A Brand New Day appears from Wednesday through Saturday each week.

Steve’s “Zags Tracker” column on Gonzaga basketball runs on Tuesday.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

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