Let's admit it ... there's nothing better than a hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning on a cold wintery day, right? The fire is crackling, your fuzzy slippers feel oh so comfortable, your dog is sprawled out on the floor in front of the fire too intoxicated by the heat to even look up as you walk by, and with coffee in hand you make your way over to the window. Yep, still cold and drizzly. No bother because the smell of the Guatemalan coffee you brewed is wafting up into your nostrils.

Winter is tamable with coffee.

For a decade I lived in the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona. There was probably ample reason why I was never a coffee lover then. Who wants hot coffee when the temperature gauge hits triple digits for a good half the year or more? No thanks, iced tea is just fine. However, life up north, particularly the Pacific Northwest, is prime for coffee year-round. Since it is mostly cold and rainy all year (except for a splendid summer) there is a reason why Northwesterners drink coffee like Scandinavians. We depend on coffee to stave off the insanity of endless overcast, rainy, and snowy days.

But it is worth it. The place we live is spectacular beyond description. Coffee becomes the needed boost in the morning that propels us outdoors ... to tackle the rain-soaked and darkened forests by bike or to cruise up higher in the mountains for a day skiing or snowboarding on the glaciated slopes of an active volcano.

However, coffee is more than popping in liquid caffeine for the utilitarian purpose of a jolt to the system to wake us up. Instead, it is really part of the slow food movement. Manually brewing coffee is (or should be) just as soothing and enjoyable as when you press the mug to your lips to take in your first sip. It is part of the process. Part of the rhythm. Part of the seasons. And in this case in the winter ... part of the start of a perfect day.

Drink coffee. Do things.

Words by Sean Benesh, Loam Coffee Founder and Brand Manager