Sunday, January 23, 2005

Cup 40: Store Brand

1saturday
Originally uploaded by matt_leclair.
Location: Kittery, Maine
When: January 22, 2005, 7:30 am
Present: Caritha, Sofia and Matthew Curti
Coffee: Market Basket Special Blend
Mood: glad

It used to be I could count on my sister for a good cup of coffee. One day she decided she really couldn't tell the difference and just started buying any old crap. Today it was Market Basket Special Blend, the local supermarket's store brand. The packaging has that unique quality that only store brands have of being designed by someone who has no idea about design. Big bright road hazard red and yellow with the words MARKET BASKET on it as large as it possibly can be without falling off the bag, and nothing on it to indicate whether it is arabica, robusta... Fortunately Caritha knew we were coming and got real half and half. Usually she just uses this dreadful hazelnut flavored nondairy "creamer" stuff that comes in a box shaped like half-and-half, but is really just an abomination.

Caritha can't quite understand why I'm taking pictures of my coffee, and asks Sofia if she thinks I have to much time on my hands. Sofia gives a "why do adults do anything they do?" shrug from behind her newspaper and keeps reading. Little Matt is a trooper though. He's up early, coughing his lungs out, insisting that he feels better than he sounds. I can tell he feels sick, though. He wants to visit with his Uncle and with Jessie for the short time we're there. He was asleep when we got there the night before (10 pm... I'd spent almost 9 hours in the car on Friday) and he'd been sick all week. Poor guy! Jessie stumbled out of bed a bit later and he cornered her for Mario 64 DS before she'd even had breakfast.

So hard to leave... Middlebury VT was another 3 hours away and we had to be there by lunchtime.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Let me say that that was the first and only time I ever bought Market Basket coffee. I am not so much of a coffee snob as to feel it below me to sample different brands,and as anyone who knows anything knows that the store brand is not actually produced by the store. You never know where you'll find good coffee. Furthermore, if you are going to put a picture of your sister out there for the world to see (when she has just dragged herself out of bed to make coffee for you), without even asking if it's OK, you could at least have the decency to not insult her coffee.
Sisterly yours,
Caritha

Matt LeClair said...

Oh, Sis, I never insulted your coffee. It was the creamer I insulted! And the picture is fine. The rest of the world should look so good first thing in the morning!