San Jose, a Place of My First Coffee Experience

By Cal Orey, The Writing Gourmet

Release date July 31

Coming Home...

In the real world as a little girl (with a big imagination) I didn't live in Brazil, nor was I raised surrounded by coffee trees. Back in the fifties, I was born in a suburban neighborhood in San Jose, California--a place where coffee was bought in a can at the store and percolated in an electric coffeepot. 
My life as I knew it was simple amid houses with white picket fences, sidewalks, and planted shrubs and flowers. It came with two parents--my father was Scottish, my mother Irish Catholic--two siblings, a dog and cat, and the music of the ice-cream man and milk bottles delivered on our doorstep. In our house there was a European-style round table, wall oven, dishwasher, and salmon-colored countertops. I was familiar with the aluminum coffeepot--a constant in may parents' world. It created a strong, familiar coffee aroma wafting into my bedroom seven days a week, including Sundays, the day I went to church.
One fall day, during the priest's sermon, I, a seven-year-old kid, was desperately trying to stay awake. My mother whispered, "Sit up," and nudged my arm. The words "ice cream" were my mantra to help pass the grueling prayers in Latin. After Holy Communion we were released and my mom treated me and my siblings to a local ice-cream parlor. 
She ordered a large cup of hot, black coffee (not the kind served to our priest when he came to dinner). My first coffee experience was in the form of ice cream. Since it was a flavor for grown-ups, I felt like I was entering the land of forbidden fruit. The cold, creamy coffee ice cream was bittersweet. The flavor intrigued me. My taste buds didn't love it; in my mind I liked it. This event began a Sunday ritual. I was hooked on coffee ice cream (maybe it was the caffeine), which ignited me journey into Coffee World...

08/11 Saturday

3pm

The Healing Powers of Coffee - Cal Orey, Author

Meet Cal Orey, author of the new book The Healing Powers of Coffee, the latest in her series on the healing powers of foods. Cal will greet customers and sign copies of her books.

Organization: Barnes & Noble

Location:

Barnes & Noble Booksellers - Stevens Creek

3600 Stevens Creek Boulevard

San Jose 95117

See map: Google Maps

408-984-3495

Website:

Event Website