Coffee To Go

Wilfred coat (similar)
Everlane sweater
Grlfrnd jeans (c/o) (similar)
Zara boots (similar)
Cuyana tote
Burberry scarf
Zara sunglasses (similar)
Goody hairclip
Mejuri ring (similar)
Mejuri earrings (similar)
Location: Saint-Boniface Cathedral – Winnipeg, Manitoba

There are so many simple pleasures that have been largely inaccessible in the past year. It’s one thing to lament the inability to travel and explore (which I’ve done more than once.) But in the grand scheme of things, those adventures were never truly guaranteed. The one thing that was a constant my entire life that abruptly disappeared with lockdown was the ability to grab coffee to go.

I don’t even drink coffee. My usual to go order is an earl grey tea or, if I’m feeling indulgent, a chai latte. But like all Canadian children, I grew up going to Robin’s Donuts after museum outings and sports games. In later years, Tim Horton’s came along, largely replacing Robin’s, which was a family favourite, especially for my grandad. (I still prefer Robin’s. When it comes to donuts, no one can touch them.) Either way, coffee to go, a distinctly North American phenomenon, was always part of my life. I took for granted that, while running errands, I could always get my caffeine fix if I wanted it.

When lockdown began, running errands was suddenly limited to going to the grocery store once a week. There was no making stops along the way, no leisurely browsing the aisles of the liquor store to pick the perfect wine to go with Sunday dinner. And there was, abruptly, no option to grab a coffee to go from a local shop to sip while I shopped.

While I don’t drink coffee, there is nothing like the comfort of a hot beverage, no matter where you are and how the local culture dictates that you enjoy it. We love making a morning stop at a cafe in Paris to order second breakfast – we’re always up early, so coffee and a croissant at ten thirty in the morning is a perfect snack. There is no such thing as a coffee to go in Paris, unless you’re at Starbucks. (Which, while way better than in North America because European dairy products are so superior, is still just Starbucks and not really worth a visit in Paris.) Getting a coffee means sitting down, enjoying the sun or, at the very least, taking a momentary pause at a bar to glance at the daily newspaper while you sip.

In Vancouver, we often grabbed a coffee to go while taking a wander through the streets of downtown. Here in Winnipeg, we most often grab hot drinks when we’re out in the car, driving from place to place. In fact, many of you have probbably seen my passenger seat selfies on Instagram stories featuring to go cups from shops like Little Sister and Cafe Postal. We never did it often – because it was always something we could do any old time.

And then, last March, it wasn’t.

Getting coffee to go is such a simple thing but these days, it feels like a real luxury. And it’s one that I find myself indulging in far more than I ever did before, because of the uncertainty that surrounds it. These days, whether or not we stop for that coffee when we’re out is never a question – after all, we never know when we might get another chance.

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