From the (Home) Business Desk: Brewing up a few coffee facts

I don't think of myself as a coffee connoisseur by any means.

For most of my adult life, I just didn't get it. Coffee, to me, was simply a bitter breakfast beverage (try saying that three times real fast) that tasted awful hot and even worse at room temperature.

I probably went years at a time without brewing or ordering a cup (sorry Starbucks). It was just too much trouble to scoop coffee grounds into a coffee maker and, frankly, I found the menu at most coffee shops confusing.

Then, a few years ago, someone gave me a Keurig coffee maker that fit perfectly on my office credenza. Suddenly my office became a "destination" for staff meetings, conference calls and strategy sessions because I could offer colleagues and guests a cup o' Joe.

And, so as not to appear anti-social, I "forced" myself to partake as well.

Although I never really liked coffee, I grew to accept it as a "social" beverage.

These days, even though I typically work alone in my home office due to the coronavirus pandemic, I often make a cup just before our morning Zoom staff meetings. Why? Maybe because I think my KRCU "Public Radio Nerd" mug makes me look thoughtful and because sipping from it gives me a reason to pause while I'm thinking of something to say.

Why all this coffee talk? Because I just heard Tuesday is National Coffee Day in the United States, Canada, Mexico and about 20 other nations around the world.

As you sip your morning coffee, here are a few coffee facts to ponder:

• National Coffee Day appears to be an offshoot of International Coffee Day.
• The first International Coffee Day reportedly dates back to 1983 when it was promoted by The All Japan Coffee Association, but it wasn't officially sanctioned until 2014 at a meeting of the International Coffee Organization (yes, there is such a thing).
• Coffee became popular in North America about 250 years ago following the Boston Tea Party in 1773. Drinking it then was considered "patriotic."
• According to the National Coffee Association, 62% of American adults (or more than 150 million people) drink coffee every day, with the average coffee drinker consuming three cups daily.
• Americans drink about 400 million cups of coffee a day, or more than 140 billion cups annually.

A recent study by the financial website WalletHub compared the 100 most populated cities in the United States to find the nation's "best coffee cities" on the basis of 12 metrics, including average price for a cup of coffee, average coffee expenditures per household, percentage of households with coffee makers, coffee shops with free Wi-Fi per capita and even the number of doughnut shops per capita.

What they found, not surprisingly, was that Seattle (corporate home of Starbucks) is ranked best coffee city in the United States. In this region, Chicago is ranked 25th, St. Louis 39th, and Memphis, Tennessee, placed 97th out of the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas.

n

If you've wondered about the construction just east of Walmart in Jackson, it's a new automatic car wash. Owned by Kevin and Connie Heberlie of Perryville, Missouri, Blazin' Car Wash is expected to open later this fall. The Heberlies also own Blazin' Car Wash locations in Cape Girardeau.

n

At last week's meeting of the Jackson Board of Aldermen, city administrator Jim Roach was asked by Alderman David Hitt to address "dumpster diving" behind several businesses along East Jackson Boulevard.

Specifically, Hitt gave Roach a deadline of 4 p.m. last Friday to come up with a plan to discourage rummaging behind the Teen Challenge Thrift Store, 1985 E. Jackson Blvd., where people often left donations after store hours.

I talked to Roach on Friday and asked what the plan would be. He said the city, in cooperation with Teen Challenge, will take a three-pronged approach to the problem — increased police patrols, aggressive prosecution of trespassers and dumpster divers, and creation of a "more secure" area behind the building, possibly including installation of a chain or cable to block access to the dumpsters at night.

Roach said the thrift store is preparing to move a few doors down from its present location, which could also help minimize the problem.

n

Missouri has taken another step toward legal sales of medical marijuana with the commencement inspection approval of the state's first cannabis testing facility, according to an email I received over the weekend from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

"With cultivation, dispensary and testing facilities now operational, medical marijuana will soon be available to Missouri patients," according to DHSS.

With the first legal sales anticipated later this fall, the COVID-19 pandemic has apparently not had a significant impact on the timeline for the state's medical marijuana program.

"This is particularly evident when considering Missouri has more facilities to usher through implementation than any other state except Oklahoma, which did not require some of the key safety measures required in Missouri, such as testing and tracking medical marijuana," DHSS said in its email.

Missourians approved the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and use of medical marijuana in 2018. The state is among 21 to implement medical marijuana programs since 2005.

Do you crave business news? Check out B Magazine, and the B Magazine email newsletter. Check it out at www.semissourian.com/newsletters to find out more.