16
Had a random talk with a barista that totally flipped how I order coffee now
I was at this little shop in Portland last Thursday waiting for my pour over and the guy behind the counter asked what I was getting. I said my usual medium roast with room. He just goes "you know room kills the temp and messes up the flavor curve right?" I shrugged it off at first but then he handed me a small cup of just the black stuff and told me to taste it before adding anything. Dang if it did not hit completely different. He explained how the heat brings out different notes as it cools and adding cold milk or cream just nukes that whole process in the first sip. I have been drinking coffee straight black for a week now and I actually taste the fruitiness I never noticed before. Has anyone else had a random stranger change up your routine like that?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
the_jade15d ago
And the wild part is once you get used to drinking it black, suddenly 90% of the coffee places you used to like just taste burnt or watery or just flat out bad. That barista basically did you a massive favor because now you actually get to figure out what good coffee is supposed to taste like. It is kind of funny how we just follow the same routine for years without stopping to ask if there is a better way to do something so simple. I had a similar moment when a total stranger told me to try pour over instead of my automatic drip machine and I never looked back. Now I get annoyed when people dump sugar and milk into something that was carefully roasted to have its own flavor. Makes me wonder how many other small habits we have that are just waiting for someone to call them out.
2
john64815d ago
The thing that gets me though is how much of coffee culture is basically just gatekeeping dressed up as expertise. Everyone acts like there's one right way to drink it but in reality taste is just personal preference and always has been. I'm glad you found something you like better but let's not pretend dumping sugar in your coffee makes you a bad person or something.
2