Today is National Coffee Day and for me that means another cup of Café du Monde, coffee blended with ground chicory from New Orleans.  Chicory is the root of the endive plant which is roasted and ground up and blended with ground coffee.  For me it provides a perfect blend of a black cup of coffee that is strong but not bitter.  The coffee stand in Jackson Square near the Mississippi River in New Orleans is famous for their café au lait (half coffee, half scalded milk) and their delicious beignets (French donuts, fresh fried in oil and dusted with powdered sugar).

While the smell of the beignets drew me close, the taste of their coffee stayed with me forever.  I prefer my coffee with nothing added but often found brewed coffee either too bland or too bitter.  Once I discovered Café du Monde coffee with chicory I never went back and coffee is very important to me.*  I order it by the case now to be certain I never run out (and, of course, keep Pamela supplied with iced coffee).  One of my kitchen cabinets is stacked with nothing but cans of Café du Monde coffee.  I think I’ll have another cup now…

As always you can find more on http://www.walterthinnes.com and on Twitter @walterthinnes

NEXT WEEK: Tacos, Cincinnati Reds, and more…

*For those faithful readers who know that I write plays and are willing to read to the end of the post, good news.  I have completed a draft of the third version of my play Terminal Coffee.  Very soon I will complete readings of the version in various reading groups.  I hope someday that some researcher will find this post and say “oh, look where it all began.”  Regardless I am thrilled to have what I think is  workable version of this script regarding a coffee shop on National Coffee Day.  And now you are part of it.  And I am glad it happened on National Coffee Day.  Thank you.