National Coffee Day…Who Remembers Coca-Cola Blak and Who Drinks (Gulp) Sanka?

When asked the question, "What's your favorite beverage?", if I have ever said anything besides coffee, I have been dead wrong.

I love iced tea. I love flavored seltzer water. I love those Bai drinks. Or just plain old water. But it's coffee that gets me through the day.

I'm the guy who will go into our break room at 4:30 in the afternoon and fire up the coffee pot. And I'll make it strong. I have several of those measurement scoops you get when you buy coffee at the Fresh Market over in Evansville. I do two and half scoops. Strong.

When I was a kid, my mom's friend Wanda would sit for us and make us her own brand of lightweight coffee. We called it "Wanda coffee." In one cup, there would be, maybe, two tablespoons of coffee. Then she'd fill it the rest of the way with milk and sugar. What a treat.

When I started drinking coffee for real, I started out drinking it black. And I get that from my mother. My sister's the same way. Everyone on that side of the family who drinks coffee puts nothing in it.

So, here it is National Coffee Day and I have just made a fresh pot and now I'm ready to lay in to what I consider "coffee errors."

Here's one:

Coca Cola Blak. It was introduced in 2006 as a coffee-flavored soft drink. I was anxious to try it, but I had a hard time finding it because--and I guess this makes sense--it was in the coffee aisle and not with the sodas.

It should have made its way straight to the dumpster.

For one thing, it was kind of pricey. For another, it was kind of disgusting. It made its first appearance in France and then eastern Europe. And I guess they loved the stuff since it made its way here. But carbonating coffee is just a bad idea. Carbonation is NOT a component I want in coffee. Goodness. It lasted two years, by the way. Case closed.

Here's the other one:

Oh Lord, did my grandmother love her some Sanka. It's the only coffee she EVER had in her house. Since she passed away when I was 14, I never drank coffee at her place. And I never would have. When I did start drinking it, I tried Sanka. Horrible. I mean, it's instant coffee. (And they still make it.) And I know it's convenient--I guess that's its BEST quality--but the flavor is awful and there is absolutely no richness. No, coffee must be brewed. And black.

Not Blak.

Happy National Coffee Day.