People who really know me know that I consider myself an "everyday" coffee connoisseur. I just really love coffee. Drinking coffee takes me back to when I was a little girl. Drinking coffee reminds me of my "bonding time" with my dad. You see, I come from a very large (5 girls and 5 boys); I was the youngest amongst the brood. Being the youngest, I was the last to go to school so I was home with my dad for coffee time. My dad worked the afternoon/evening shift (3pm to 11pm). When he woke in the morning everyone would be gone to school except me. When he got up, he always drank coffee, and so did I. He had a little cream and sugar with his coffee, and I had a little coffee with my cream and sugar. My dad had a little tin coffee pot and it stayed on the stove most of the day. Over the years, whenever I'd come home, the first thing that I would do was to ask, "Where’s the coffee"? I would come in and pour me, or us, a cup of coffee and then we'd sit and enjoy. I guess you could say that I have been a coffee drinker most of my life, and I guess that makes me somewhat of a connoisseur.

My father passed away July 4, 2016 so I must carry on the legacy. Going to coffee shops and tea rooms is one of my favorite pastimes. Some people go to bars; some go to malls; I go to coffee shops. Over the past three years I have visited numerous coffee shops. If they are not too busy, I always ask the managers, baristas and servers for coffee shop etiquette tips. Some of my frequent questions are "what is something that you wished people knew about the coffee shop experience? What's your coffee shop customer pet peeve? What did you wish people would do or not do to have an enjoyable coffee shop experience. Here are some of their stories along with some “coffee shop/tea room etiquette” tips.