Much Ado about NOTHING

Sorry, Coop. I always prefer a black coffee mug. I drink my joe black, no sugar, and a dark mug makes it look richer, darker. (Sorry to sound like a commercial.) When I drink coffee from a light-colored mug, it looks weak to me - not like coffee...more like tea.

I spent last Christmas with a group of Brazilians -- long story -- and they do know coffee. (They may even know Juan Valdez, but I forgot to ask.) According to them, American coffee is "brown water." When I drink coffee from a pastel mug, and can actually see the bottom of the cup, I always think of that description. And my good-morning-America brew just doesn't taste right.

Worst of all is drinking coffee from a paper cup. (They are usually white, at least on the inside.) If the coffee is hot -- and I do like it either very hot or, in the summer, ice cold -- the cup is usually too toasty for my fingers. I have to set it down for a while. And then, if I'm at all absent minded, it gets "cold," meaning room temperature. And drinking room-temperature coffee is like drinking swill.

No, it must be a black, or at least dark, ceramic mug or cup. I have several.