Don Senneville and Jim White
It’s a Divine Bakery was certainly that on a sunny morning enjoying excellent coffee and an array of European pastries. Only in Cave Creek could one enjoy such diversity of lifestyles as here on Coffee Row. From Paris pastries to Bike Week, to pastrami, posole, and rodeos. Now that Spring is on us, outside morning coffee seems a must. If you are out and about on Thursday mornings, you can enjoy the cozy patios of The Grotto Cafe or the cushioned chairs by the Carefree Sundial, and smell the roasting beans all the way from Roc 2, (By the way, we just heard from long-time Creeker, David Anderson, owner of Roc2. He says, “Creekers can get their Organic Coffee\Caffeine fix at Roc2. There is always a pot brewed and it’s FREE.”) Elsewhere, while enjoying our free coffee in the sun, we admired the plethora of dogs and owners parading by. And yes, there was one of “man’s best friends” actually sitting on a chair with paws on the table having a wonderful time with its human mates. We were aghast! Though later, Don said he might be OK with it, as long as it was a small dog. This dog did not leave a tip. We will not name the establishment. The total value of Carefree dogs equals the GDP of Guatemala.
We love our towns.
Who isn’t thinking about money these days? Yes, especially us “penny pinchers”. Pennies, nickels and dimes have created caffeinated mathematical thoughts like “what if coffee was still 10 cents?” Think 1954 when it all changed (not to coin a phrase). To adapt to the rising global cost of beans, rather than shrink the cup, they went to 15 cents per cup – a 50% jump! Why not 11 cents or 13? Has the penny just been tolerated all these years? Why? Five and Dime stores now charge 99 cents! Penny loafers are a dime. Below is the math. Our calculations are fueled by a perfect macchiato and lemon bar at the Creperie.
Today we now know a penny costs about 3.7 cents to make…think deficit spending. A nickel takes almost 14 cents to make. But alas, the soon-to-be invaluable dime comes in at just under 6 cents to make and prevails as the best deal today. Now we see why coffee should still be a dime! Without the penny and nickel, all purchases would just end with a 0. Add up all the expenses of making 1 & 5 cent pieces since 1954! Wow. We know one of our math nerd genius readers will do the calculus for The CUP. Please. It takes 3.2 cents to make a dollar bill! If I paid for my $4 coffee with 400 pennies, the real cost would be $14.76. A dime cup of coffee would be 16 cents today. Just a cup of Joe, black please; 10 cents, free refills. 1954!
We could go on, but Don, who got bored with the math, wants us to explore and solve the equation required for coffee + liqueur = X. This query was brought to us by a loyal reader who enjoys kahlua and coffee with cream. This sounds much better than olive oil, gelato, or flowers, or pistachios or flavored whatever. Think Baileys. We will report our research results after extensive testing. If you would like to be a part of this mildly important clinical trial, please contact us at The CUP at [email protected].
