Coffee buzz and Internet biz

Like many people making money online, the Ninja runs on espresso. He likes it “black as midnight on a moonless night,” just like Agent Cooper.

He can’t work without it, he tells me. I believe him.

In the recent past, the Ninja’s habit was to leave the house for his morning cup. By the time he came back the buzz was waning, and regular java just couldn’t cut it.

That changed when he bought an espresso machine. Now he sips at home and is as wired as an aerobics instructor. He gets a lot more work done.

He’s over at the kitchen counter right now, measuring rich dark beans with a chemist’s precision. The faint coffee aroma is enticing. In a minute, we’ll hear the gurgling crescendo and hiss, the gasp of steam from the machine.

America was built on coffee power. Coffee may be associated with Italy and grown in South American plantations, but here it is an American icon.

It’s the brew of choice of my all-time favorite fictional character, Agent Dale Cooper of Twin Peaks. TP fans, do you remember when he gave the following piece of advice to his partner?

Harry, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don’t plan it. Don’t wait for it. Just let it happen. It could be a new shirt at the men’s store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot black coffee.

-Agent Cooper, Twin Peaks

Picture your friendly neighborhood breakfast joint, and what pops into mind is the coffee-pot-slinging waitress pouring hot black brew into a ceramic cup.

As far as legalized substances go, coffee’s place in history is secure. The coffee break is the only drug written into the US Labor regulations. Laborers are not only entitled to break for coffee — they’re required to.

I drink green tea, Mountain Rose Herbs jasmine. However, I know the action of steeping will simply never compare with the noise or drama of the espresso machine. It’s the sound of industry. Sometimes I envy the theatrics factor. There’s such a sense of anticipation and busy-ness in that cranky hiss and alluring smell.

After all, proficiency + speed often = successful results.