Coffee

My wife loves it; my kids hate it, and I learned something important from coffee.

I learned that your tastes are trainable.

I was not a coffee drinker when I got married. Didn't crave the stuff, didn't care for it. But Edda grew up drinking two cups in the morning, a cup in the afternoon and one at night. And she continued her custom into our marriage, and after a while, looking for things to do and have in common with her, I started drinking coffee with her.

At first it doesn't taste great, but sugar makes anything easy to get used to. But then she started using sweetener so I had to sugar up my own coffee. And I was horrified... I couldn't believe how many spoons of sugar went into my own cup to get it to the sweetness I was used to.

Sugar is bad for my health, so I decided to eliminate it from my coffee. For one week I used two spoons instead of three. Second week, I cut it down to one spoon. Third week, half a spoon, then down to zero sugar. After a few days I started liking it.

Coffee is bitter, especially the strong type we drink in Brazil, but today sugary coffee tastes awful to me. I like it black.

If something is good for me, I decide to consume it even if I don't like it. After a few days eating it everyday - viola, I start to like it. Radishes, olives, the awful, smell-like-something-died fruit, noni,

My taste buds don't rule me! I rule them, bending their fickleness to good nutrition and health.