AJ Jacobs: A Thankful Interview — Articles of Antiquity
There’s a coffee from Colombia that my taster friend calls “Willy Wonka coffee,” because it’s like the Everlasting Gobstopper — just a series of waves of flavor after flavor. I’m not sophisticated enough to distinguish all the flavors, but I catch some of them. Plus I love Willy Wonka. The farm is called Colombia Manatiales del Frontino.
What does gratitude mean to you?
I think it’s one of the keys to a well-lived life. There’s a quote from a Benedictine monk that I love: “Happiness doesn’t lead to gratitude. Gratitude leads to happiness.”
How did you get involved with TED Books?
The editor of TED Books — Michelle Quint — asked me if I had any ideas for a TED book. I sent her five ideas, and she chose this one. For which, of course, I’m deeply grateful.
Why do you think this book is culturally relevant in today’s world?
I’m disturbed by the trend toward tribalism and isolationism and extreme nationalism. I think my journey shows that globalism certainly does have downsides, but the upsides are much greater. It doesn’t just take a village to make a cup of coffee. It takes the world.
If you had to pick a job from any of the jobs and people you interviewed what would you do in the coffee industry?
I spent a lot of time with the man who chooses what coffee beans my café serves. He flies around the world sampling the best coffees. He taught me how to taste coffee properly. Or tried. He’ll take a sip, and say things like “I detect notes of overripe honeycrisp apple and maple syrup.” And I’d take a sip and say, “I’m detecting…coffee. It tastes like coffee.” But with his help, I eventually began to distinguish the fruitiness and acidity and texture. And it really enhanced my coffee — not to mention other foods.
Fun Questions
If you were stuck on an abandoned island what five items would you want with you?
I only need two: A laptop and a high-speed router so I could get internet. I think I could sell a book to my publisher “My Year of Living on An Abandoned Island.” If Amazon Prime delivers to this island, all the better.
If you could travel to any time period where would you go?
I would go back to the early 1930s in Queens and stop Fred Trump from meeting Mary Anne MacLeod at a party.
If you had to pick only one kind of coffee to drink what would you choose?
I have to be loyal and say I’d drink the coffee from Joe Coffee, which is my local café. Though I’d add almond milk, which would disappoint my more expert friends. Anything added on top of ground beans and water pollutes the purity of the coffee.
What is your favorite holiday?
My wife throws an epic Academy Awards party every year. So maybe I’d choose that. She encourages people to dress up like their favorite movie. She sometimes lets me take the easy way out — I remember a few years ago I dressed as the Michael Caine movie “The Quiet American.” I just wore my normal clothes and didn’t say much.
If you could have a super power what would it be ?
I love listening to audiobooks on doublespeed. It allows me to ingest so many more books. But imagine if I had the super power to listen to books on quadruple or quintuple speed and still understand them! Think of how much I could learn! I also believe this would make a great Marvel movie: Listens-to-audiobooks-super-quickly-Man. Channing Tatum to star. Please option this now.
Author of the upcoming book “ Thanks a Thousand: A Gratitude Journey” in which I thank every single person who had a role (however small) in making my morning cup of coffee possible.
Originally published at http://thearticlesofantiquity.com on November 22, 2018.
