Copy Desk Cookoff: A Quality Cup of Coffee

Yesterday, one of our neighbors asked another what to take to stay up all night without getting tired. She did so loudly just as I happened to be walking down the hall. I promptly passed by their door a moment later and answered, “espresso.”

Now we as college students can easily dig through our rapidly expanding brains and pull up plenty of excuses to stay up all night without getting tired and unless you drink it all day every day, I guarantee you coffee, especially espresso, will do the trick. The best coffee is sold in a shop called Peet’s. So you should probably whip out to California and pick up some of that when you get the chance, or you could score some at the Peet’s that will be in the Sojourner Truth Library, if it ever opens.

But some people don’t like espresso or don’t know good ways to prepare and enjoy it. If you don’t like coffee, black tea works better anyway so you can swap that in, just don’t brew it in a coffee pot or it’s gonna taste pretty weird. If you don’t know a good way to produce a delicious and potent cup o’ joe, read on.

First, simple espresso. Espresso is coffee that is ground very fine and then tightly compressed in an espresso machine. Either in an electric or traditional stove-top, boiling water is pushed through the soft brown hockey puck and smooth caffeine filled goodness drips out. Best to start out with one shot, I recommend drinking it black with one sugar and a lemon peel that you rub along the edge of the cup. It’s classy and tastes damn good.

Regular coffee will aid in your all-nighter efforts as well and you don’t have to go spend $5 on one cup at Starbucks, you can make it fine on your own. A drip coffee machine is simple enough to use, and of course Keurig cups exist, so there’s that.

If the beans are of high quality then however you take it, be it black, or with cream, sugar or whiskey is good enough. If you want something a little sweeter, a mocha can be made by mixing sugar, cream and cocoa powder or Nesquik at the bottom of the mug before adding your coffee and then stirring thoroughly afterward.

Always remember that however you drink it, coffee is always a better tool for staying up than crystal meth.