One for Two

My later grandpa had this bizarre way of making coffee.

One teaspoon of instant coffee for two of sugar.

However big the cup is, however much hot water he had, whatever type of coffee he used, he always made his coffee this way. One teaspoon for two of sugar.

Of course I was only a child then and it was only when I reached my teen years when I realized the strangeness of this "mantra".

I vaguely remember asking him, "Wouldn't it taste bad likes this?", especially when he used a bigger cup, and he will always say, "It's always been best this way."

I always wondered why.

Just lately I talked to my mom about the coffee method and she told me about my grandma, who left us a good 20 years earlier than old pops.

While she was still living, she would make coffee for my pops every morning, 7 am sharp. Every time she got too sick to do this, my grandpa would have to do it on his own, but he will always forget the recipe, so he would ask and always get the same response,

"One teaspoon of coffee for two of sugar."