Friday, December 2, 2011

Queen City Joe




Stephanie Here...I’m a newbie to the Queen City, but I already love it here. The food, culture, warmer weather, and most importantly, warm people. I’ve made a ton of new friends and never am short on things to do.

However, I can’t say I didn’t have chilly feet when I moved here in August. Although I grew up in Delaware, went to school in Virginia and Maryland, and worked in New York, I’ve been an east coast girl all my life. Cincinnati was a big, scary, but exciting new adventure for me, and I only hoped that it would love me back.

After I accepted my job at FOX19, I spent the next few weeks in a giddy state of disbelief. Then the panic settled in. The morning I was supposed to make the 10-hour drive to Ohio, Hurricane Irene was making her merry way up the coast. My mood matched the storm: moody and uncertain.

I was drinking our favorite coffee (Birthday Cake flavor) with my Mom in the kitchen during a break from packing. As all moms do (and mine is the best) she was calming my nerves and telling me everything was going to be okay. I felt like I was back in 1st grade on the 1st day of school: “You’ll do fine…we’ll only be a short ride away…and everyone will want to sit next to you at lunch.” Thanks Mom.

That’s when I looked down at the coffee package. Queen City Coffee. Wait a minute, I was moving to the Queen City! Sure enough, I checked the label, and it’s made in West Chester, Ohio. Around here they call it La Crema, and it’s the best coffee I’ve ever tasted.

My mom and I laughed at the irony of it, and she said, “Well, now we might be far away from another, but we can talk on the phone and drink the same coffee.”

So we do, and it’s usually the highlight of my day. We’ll gossip on the phone and sip our coffee (Mom’s drinking Cupcake now, I’m on Blackberry Cobbler) and it’s almost like we’re sitting at my parents’ kitchen table on a sunny Saturday morning.

I know it may seem silly, but a simple thing like a cup of coffee can tie your new life to your old, and put an extra spring in your step.

Do you drink La Crema? What’s your favorite flavor?

- Stephanie

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