Drinking Coffee All the Time

  In the high heat of August, I spent a weekend with friends and family at the Jersey shore. On Saturday, after a day of sand and sea, we went to dinner at Lezama’s in Long Branch. The menu is varied, with a solid offering of trattoria cuisine, as well as a kids’ menu. The food was fresh and well-prepared.  When we ordered, several people at our table asked for coffee. We were told that not only were we getting coffee, but we were getting SPECIAL coffee, specifically Café de Olla Real de Oaxaca, a full-bodied, medium roast, Arabica coffee from the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. The coffee lived up to its reputation. Café de Olla Real de Oaxaca is dark, hot, subtle, slightly caffeinated, and very delicious. But why wouldn’t coffee from Oaxaca, known as the gastronomic capital of Mexico, be magical? With its Pacific coastline and rugged terrain, Oaxaca in the south of Mexico is also one of the top coffee-producing states in Mexico. Its ancient history and Indigenous cultures heavily influe