Liquified Love
IV Drips & Late Night Sips
Liquified Love
It was 8:08 AM on a random day in 2022 when I received the following text from my mom:
“I’m a little disappointed. I thought I would turn on Instagram and see you advertising National Coffee Day, boo-hoo. Better get with it! Get your favorite coffee cup and show us!”
No doubt she was already on her second cup and she wasn’t joking.
Turns out, it wasn’t just a random day, it was National Coffee Day. Back in the early 2000s, the creators of the “National fill-in-the-blank Day” decided to recognize the nectar of the gods by establishing September 29th as the official National Coffee Day. And yes, I should have known that.
In my family, we take our coffee consumption seriously. We also take it boiling, black, and straight from the burner. Cream, who needs cream. Sugar, that’s for dessert. Need a commercial size coffee urn that holds a minimum of 30 cups of coffee? We probably have five lying around.
Over the years, I’ve grown my own collection of coffee makers. I have a percolator, French Press, Mr. Coffee drip pot, and this years’ Christmas gift: a Ninja Luxe Café Pro Espresso Machine. The Ninja has a built-in coffee bean grinder, but nothing beats the one I got from my kids on Mother’s Day several years ago. Best. Gift. Ever.
I told you, I like my coffee.
Baby Bottles and Coffee Cups
You see, to us, coffee isn’t just a drink; it’s a passage into adulthood. To be clear, the ladies in my family didn’t give babies coffee, but as toddlers, we did make our switch from baby bottles straight to a coffee cup. No sippy cups needed. And we used the rim’s of those cups as a teething rings too.
Once you were tall enough to ride a roller-coaster you were tall enough to make a pot of coffee. And you better know who was going to be sitting around the table when you put the coffee on. If it was for my mom, grandma, and the aunts, they preferred “regular” strength coffee. If it’s for my dad, he likes his more on the tea side: dark enough to call it coffee, but light enough so that it doesn’t hit his stomach “like molten lava.” He’s not a fan of Starbucks.
I can still remember waking up early on the weekends when I was about 10 years old to watch Saturday morning cartoons, and to make my dad his coffee before he left for work at the local grocery store. He was, and still is, a butcher by trade. He and my mom started our family business 50 years ago this year: Doug Peffer’s Deer Cutting and Smokehouse. Me, my siblings, and my children have all spent many of hours working in the shop. And thanks to coffee, we were able to survive, I mean work, many long hours.
This is a clipping from the newspaper ad in the early 1980’s when my dad was the meat cutter at Mario’s Valu King. Look closely at that ad: With the coupon and $10 order (excluding milk & cigarettes), you could get a 3lb can of coffee for just $5.69.
Grab a Seat
When we were all together, there would be over thirty of us, so my grandparents had three full size kitchen tables. There was the “upper kitchen,” the “main kitchen,” and the “dining room.” Each table would be packed end to end. We consumed loads of carbs, bushels of hot peppers, pot after pot of percolated coffee, and liters of Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi.
When my mom would call me and say, “Polly put the kettle on,” I knew exactly what she meant, I just never knew how many people were going to show up.
Those were the days.
A Special Nod to the Table…
Ceremonious
For many coffee drinkers, it’s all about the morning jolt, a seasonal trend on social media, or an after-dinner drink alongside dessert. But in my family, coffee is ceremonious.
We consume every part of the coffee making experience. From the way the aroma sits heavy in the air as the hum of the grinder pulsates through the beans, to the sound of the twelve cups of water baptizing the grounds as it percolates through the glass top teasing you with a glimpse of glory, each phase is sacred.
Anticipation builds as you slide your cup close to the edge of the table. From the first splash of your initial cup to your very last top-off, there is a swirl of excitement; a release of love. It’s a guarantee of a night of laughter, cards, and Lay’s potato chips. Coffee is the drink that wakes you up in the morning and helps put you to bed at night. Coffee is liquified love.
Out Of Season
As for drinking coffee, there are multiple factors that go into selecting the perfect mug, but there is only one you must know or nothing else matters: know your season.
Never, and I mean never, drink coffee from a mug that is “out of season.”
The coffee will never taste right.
Let me explain…
Growing up in Western Pennsylvania, I’ve been schooled in the understanding that as the seasons change, so too should your coffee mug. If you are caught drinking out of a pumpkin mug in June, you should be ashamed of yourself. If you are drinking from a pink heart-covered mug on St. Patrick’s Day, don’t talk to me. And the biggest change-out is at Christmas.
I believe there is an 11th Commandment:
You shall drink from no other mug than a Christmas themed mug as of the day after Thanksgiving.
Ok, I made that up, but if I could add it, I would.
As November comes to a close, and everyone rushes out for Black Friday shopping, you can find me performing my annual Changing of the Guards. The everyday mugs are removed from the main shelf and placed in a separate cupboard, safe and sound until spring. The Christmas season can now officially begin.
Exception to the Seasonal Rule
As in all matters of life, there will always be an exception to the rule, and that exception is at the farm. At the farm, there are FARM MUGS. When you arrive, you pick your mug and you use that mug your entire stay. You don’t wash it; you rinse it out and put it on the counter for tomorrow. Turns out, even the exception has rules.
By the time you are ready to leave, the mug has a layer or two of tinted coffee stain, and the darker the tint, the better the visit. It doesn’t just indicate the length of your stay, but the number of campfire-filled nights under the stars, intense hands of gin rummy because each of us plays to win, farm fresh breakfasts, and fishing breaks at the pond. It’s the baked-in memories.
Cup Composition
The next time you go to grab a mug from the cupboard, take notice of your thoughts when making your selection. Have you ever thought about what makes your hand stop on one mug, then abruptly move to the one directly next to it? I have, and here are a few of the thoughts I take into consideration when choosing my mug for the day:
What color mug do I want to drink from today? How much coffee do I want to pour right now? Am I going to be sitting at my desk for a long call, or maybe settling in for the night and watch a movie, or, do I just need a quick swig before jumping on the road? What is the weight of the cup, and what type of grasp will it require? Does it have a thick or thin rim? Is it a right-or-left handed mug? Yes, there is such a thing as a left-handed mug. It’s all about the placement of the designs.
These are real factors that play into picking that perfect mug of the day, and we all do it. You probably just never realized your thought process while in the moment.
My mom loved big decorative mugs, and she had an obscene number of them. But she never used travel mugs. When she brought her coffee in the car with her she drank out of an opened container. Travel mugs were for amateurs.
IV Drips
I used to joke and say if my family could, we would hook coffee IVs directly into our bloodstream. I thought we were all just addicted to caffeine, but now I realize it wasn’t about the caffeine at all, but an excuse to get together. The “top-off” let you stay just a little longer, the “one-more-cup” allowed us to finish ten more stories, and “I just put on another pot” permitted us to play another game of gin and laugh into the wee hours of the morning.
So, when lockdown occurred, we didn’t let that stop us as a family from getting together, even if that meant virtually. My mom had me and my sister start a family group chat that sadly capped out at 20 people. There would have been more, but Apple has its limits. In this chat, there was only one rule – no politics. We shared prayer requests, funny homemade videos, and our coffee mug of the day. Here are just a couple of pictures from the hundreds of texts that have been sent. We still have this text thread and it is still going strong six years later.
Let’s Talk Shop
Now that I’m older, and my tastebuds have become a bit wiser, I am picky about my brew. It must be the right roast, the perfect temperature, and of course, served in the appropriate mug. If I’m at a coffee shop, it’s no longer just about the beans. One must now factor in the seating, the music, and overall atmosphere. I’m not trying to be a jackass, but there is a coffee shop here in Texas with bright turquoise walls. I’m not a customer of said shop. Wall color matters.
National Grind
Regardless of the number of coffee shops I’ve patronized over the years, I will always hold a special place in my heart for the National Grind Coffee & Tea Shop located in my hometown of Ellwood City, PA. From the warm hug of a hot Americano to the refreshing burst of love and connection carried through the straw of an iced salted caramel Ellwoodian, there is a familiarity of family that comes with every smile and transferred through every sip. Bob and Jackie didn’t just open a coffee shop 13 years ago this June, they created a home away from home for all of us who have moved out of the area. At National Grind, I am guaranteed to run into an old friend, a familiar face, or even a family member or two.
Whether I was back home helping to take care of my dad during his cancer treatments (which he is fully healed), or the final days of my mom’s battle with sarcoidosis, National Grind became a sanctuary for me, and I know I’m not the only one who has found National Grind to be a place of healing. When I needed to take care of myself while being a caretaker for others, I would run to National Grind. When I needed to work remotely, Bob was generous to offer up a table and say stay as long as you need to get your work done. Thank you, Jackie and Bob, for always having an open seat for me. National Grind has been a life saver, a respite for this weary heart, not to mention, you serve amazing coffee! And we can’t forget the food; it’s delicious.
If you are in the Ellwood City, PA area, you need to try out their new location on Lawrence Avenue. I cannot wait to see it!
Coffee Forward
My mom passed away in November of 2022, just two months after the text she sent me on National Coffee Day. Prior to that text, she would say, “Autumn, for as much coffee as you drink and how much you travel, I’m surprised you haven’t started writing about coffee shops yet.” So here we are in 2026, and I’m sitting in a coffee shop finally writing about coffee.
With every keystroke, I picture my mom, my grandmother, great aunts, and all those friends and family
who have passed away, seated around a table together laughing with their hot pepper sandwiches and the perfect cup of liquid love in hand.
Those days and nights spent around various tables drinking coffee with my family have carried me through my young adult life, and I will carry them forward with every sip along the way.
Family
In Honor of Family
How come I waited so long to install Substack? I’ve been missing out on your beautiful writing all this time❤️
I love the story and the photos! I Especially like the ones of your mom!