The Blend

A quiet reading

My wife and I are travelling next week to visit my sister and her family. I thought it would be nice to bring her some freshly roasted coffee beans.

Having the luxury of time to roast coffee beans is quite something. It naturally complements the enjoyment of trying new coffee varieties, so there is always some thought given to which green beans I want next.

I don’t know my sister’s roasting preferences. I do, however, know she enjoys her coffee. So it made sense to choose one bean that roasts darker and another that roasts lighter.

The only problem was that I’m not especially fond of light-roasted coffee. Still, to simplify things, I chose one of each and got to work, roasting half for my sister and half for my wife and me.

Funny that the very next day my spiritual director read a poem by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer titled “No Detail Too Small.” The title already had my attention because I have come to believe that small things matter.

Then, early in the poem, came this line:

“I sip the coffee she’s made me,
a blend she and her partner created
from five different beans that they roast themselves.”

I couldn’t get past the word “blend.”

Of course.

Why not blend the two beans together?

Wouldn’t that allow me to enjoy what otherwise might not be enjoyable to me? The small and somewhat silly anxiety simply disappeared.

Blending coffee is a trivial thing. But in doing so, I may have found a way to enjoy a part of life I had already given up on.

I’m looking forward to my next cup of coffee.

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