Gertrude Stein - Coffee is a lot more than just a drink; it's something happening

Welcome to the Daily Quote – a podcast designed to kickstart your day in a positive way. I'm Andrew McGivern for November 8th.
Today is National Cappuccino Day – celebrating that perfect marriage of espresso, steamed milk, and foam.
The cappuccino gets its name from the Capuchin monks, whose brown robes resembled the drink's color. It became popular in Italy in the early 1900s when espresso machines could finally create the right texture of foamed milk. That velvety microfoam on top? That's what makes a cappuccino a cappuccino.
The traditional ratio is one-third espresso, one-third steamed milk, one-third foam. It's about balance – strong but not overwhelming, creamy but not heavy, complex yet comforting.
Writer Gertrude Stein captured coffee's deeper meaning when she said:
"Coffee is a lot more than just a drink; it's something happening."
Stein understood that coffee, especially a well-crafted cappuccino, creates moments.
Think about it. When you order a cappuccino, you don't gulp it down. You sit. You pause. You watch the barista craft it. You admire the latte art. You feel the warmth of the cup in your hands. You take that first sip and actually taste it.
A cappuccino demands presence. It's too hot to rush, too beautiful to ignore, too carefully made to take for granted.
That's what Stein means by "something happening." It's a ritual, a conversation starter, a reason to slow down. It transforms a coffee break from a caffeine delivery system into an experience.
I've had a love / hate relationship with coffee over the years. Back in the day coffee was villainized in a lot of ways. People said it was bad for you. That it caused cancer. It was essentially like drinking a cigarette.
And I was a coffee drinker back then but I decided to quite so I did for two years. Then I started drinking it again and a few years later I quite again for a long time.
Now, I've been drinking coffee every morning for years again but this time the vast majority of the scientific evidence suggests that when you drink coffee - something really is happening inside you and it is good.
Coffee consumption reduces all cause mortality, reduces the risk of several cancers, improves cardio vascular health, reduces dementia and Alzheimer's risk and much, much more.
Today, don't just drink coffee. Let coffee be "something happening."
Order that cappuccino. Sit down while you drink it. Put your phone in your pocket. Watch the foam slowly blend with the espresso. Feel the warmth. Taste each sip.
Give yourself five minutes where the only thing happening is coffee. That's not wasted time – that's sanity maintenance.
Because Gertrude Stein was right: coffee is something happening. Let it happen. Coffee, for health!
That's going to do it for today. I'm Andrew McGivern signing off for now but I'll be back tomorrow. Same Pod time, same Pod Station - with another Daily Quote.