Persons in the know assure us that our strongest memories are inextricably linked to our sense of smell. An anatomist might point out the close proximity of the parts of our brains that control our olfactory to the parts that replay the ongoing movie that is our life.
You do not need to have a strong sense of physiological structure and function to understand and agree with the premise, however. A simple thought-experiment will do the trick … new-mown grass …entering the kitchen door from outside while Thanksgiving dinner is in the oven … the vibrancy of the night air after a thunderstorm. It is the smells associated with these experiences that generate clear mental images of past events.
Ben Nason, a vender found under the Stori bord canopy at the Presque Isle Farmers’ Market, would like to provide you with one more scent/scene connection … the smell of freshly roasted, freshly ground, freshly brewed coffee. Oooh, yeah.
Between the smell of bacon frying and the smell of brewing coffee, the morning experience of prying open sleepy eyes and blowing cobwebs from a sleepy mind just got a whole lot better. It does no harm that the caffeine found in coffee gives us a good swift kick in the pants to jump-start the day.
Ben makes it clear both in conversation and through his website (storibord.com) that he does not see coffee as “morning medicine.” Consumers find coffee a comfortable companion throughout the day, offering warmth and respite, flavor and contentment or used to relax and unwind in the evening.
The Stori bord philosophy is that good coffee is a social construct. A gathering around a table with family and friends is enhanced by sharing aromas and flavors associated with “a cup’a Joe.”
Ben insists there is a lot involved in making good coffee. For one thing, there is no chain; there is Ben! You can visit with Ben about the process of selecting, blending, and carefully roasting the beans, preferably while sipping a free sample of brewed coffee he generously pours for any and all interested potential customers. It is a sharing experience as well as an educational one. His enthusiasm is infectious and his coffee is almost addictive, though in a good way.
Regardless of what you have on the list of things to do on Saturday morning, stop by the PI Farmers’ Market in the Aroostook Centre Mall parking lot and visit with Ben at Stori bord. The conversation and the coffee will make your day; a bag of roasted beans to take home will make your weekend.
The Presque Isle Farmers’ Market contact person is Gail Maynard, who operates Orchard Hill Farm in Woodland with her husband, Stan. Their phone number is 498-8541 and their email is orchhill@gmail.com.
