So, why would I write about coffee since this blog is about photography?

Simple,  at 0400 hours, when all others in the world are asleep, or should be, I am awake, sorta, and all I can think about is going to the john and then finding my coffee.

Starbucks is my standard.  It is the best coffee in the world, despite the recent test that showed some coffee drinkers prefer MacDonald’s offerings.  Rubbish.

I am up at 0400 hours because the light will touch the land within two hours, maybe sooner.  And most likely I have a drive and hike to do before I find the right spot for setting up my tripod and camera and praying the light will touch my subject gently.

So, coffee is a must, because it awakens my soul.  Breakfast at 1000 hours, coffee at 0400 hours. An old Army habit.  Course the US Army never found coffee good, just cheap, but I still remember the days in a jungle in Panama when that cheap coffee was a god-send of delight. Amazing how the plain stuff tastes great when it is all you have available.

I digress.

Starbucks.  Yep.  The best of the best.

I grind it course and use my French brewer to make it right, I use bottled water, and stir it after boiling it well with my water heater.  Yep, it is a ritual.

And, I must tell you, that after a cup or two and a long hike, the light is better.  Absolutely better.

Excellent coffee is essential to great photography.

It’s a fact.