EclectEcon

I am not much of a coffee connoisseur. I cannot tell the difference between Dunkin' Donuts, Tim Horton's, or any other run-of-the-mill cafe's coffee. I can tell the difference between those standard coffees and the coffee from Starbucks, but I don't much care which I drink. I expect this lack of concern about coffee differences affects my attitude toward coffee drinking. And just so you know this is a true lack of concern, I tend to drink my coffee black, not double-double, which seems to be the favourite of most Canadians.

I drink coffee with a straw. I realize that most take-out coffee comes with a lid that has a tear-up section or pre-punched hole to drink through, and that these lids help prevent spills. But I'm still perfectly capable of spilling coffee when I drink it from the cup. So I stick a straw through the hole.

Some years ago, Ms. Eclectic and I realized that if we drink coffee through a straw, it is much less likely to spill, especially when we are in the car, driving down the road.

And a real bonus of drinking anything through a straw while driving is that your vision of the road is never obstructed. You don't tip the cup or can or bottle up in front of your face when you drink through a straw — you can always keep your eyes on the road and the traffic when you drink coffee (or anything else, for that matter) through a straw in the car (and to head off the likely questions, no I do not and I do not advocate drinking beer while driving, nor have I tried drinking beer through a straw).

Drinking coffee through a straw has become such a habit for me now that I usually drink it that way, even if I'm sitting down at Tim Horton's. Using a straw also avoids the ugly dribbles and stains that run down the side of a porcelain cup.

It has a lot to recommend it, but I still haven't screwed up the courage to ask for a straw at higher end restaurants.