Thank you for your kind words, my friends. And gender identification errors are always forgiven……...
There are several different ways in which one can enjoy a cup of coffee, or espresso.
First of all, there is the "Coffee of Utter Urgency", that driving desire to somehow ensure that the first espresso of the day is imbibed, ingested, consumed, as rapidly as possible. The circumstances dictate the company, and very often, (although not always), my first espresso of the day is consumed in complete silence. Either by myself, or in company, a bubble of solitude is a necessary prerequisite for enjoyable drinking.
Then, there are the solitary espressos consumed during the course of the working day, or, at week-ends. These can be while reading a newspaper, a book, one's computer, simply watching life stroll (or rush) by around you; if someone seeks to join you, you will, of course, welcome them, unless solitude trumps company. This is the daily "Coffee of Easy Contemplation".
And then there are coffees made, (or bought), which which are planned to be consumed in company; these are different from the start. Proper cups and coasters are laid out, as well as sugar for those who want it. Teaspoons, and elegant biscuits. Some drinking water for everyone.
Coffee drinking at the collective level, can take many forms, from utter shared pleasure, to creating a more pleasant atmosphere in a professional environment.
So, this is a vast category, sometimes difficult to accurately determine on first glance, as, inevitably with such an activity, there is considerable seepage and overlap between specific categories…….
And so, it is here that you will find variants such as "Relaxed Coffee In Good Companye". However, there are also the the sub-varieties called "Coffee in Office Company", along with the very specific and precise sub-section known as "Espresso With The Boss".
Other versions which are known to occur in a professional environment are "Coffee as Lubrication to Necessary Conversations" which include the sub-sections of "Coffee As Aid To Information Gathering", "Coffee As Network-Builder", "Coffee As Social Lubrication", as well as the inevitable cross-over variant "Coffee As Offering A Context To Pouring Your Heart Out On Someone Else's Sympathetic Shoulder Or Into Someone Else's Sympathetic Ear."
Whoever said that this was simply about consuming a cup of coffee somehow overlooked the complexity at the core of the coffee-drinking universe…...
