Developing A Love for Coffee: Learning How to Caffeinate
Coffee certainly has enjoyed sustained success as the next big beverage for quite some time now. Move over, tea! You're only for Brits and people who need to calm down before going to bed on a chilly winter's evening. But a love for coffee isn't as simple as walking up to the counter at Starbucks and ordering whatever sounds the most Italian. No, it takes a little more work than that.
A lot of people who think they know a lot about coffee actually don't, really, because they assume that in cultures where coffee is consumed more, people know more about it. The fact of the matter is that just because a country drinks coffee every day, it doesn't mean that the people sitting in the cafes know any more or any less about it than your average Starbucks customer. It's just a part of the culture, and a huge part of socializing.
A bit of history on coffee: it's not something that every country can make, which is why a lot of countries were a little late to the game, or had some seriously sub-par beans for quite some time. And a love for coffee doesn't mean that you even have tried that many varieties. From Columbia to Jamaica, Kenya to Java, a number of locations all develop their own special types of beans, which can only grow in those climates.
Many coffee drinkers think that getting serious means switching to espresso, which definitely enjoyed a surge in popularity thanks to the whole Starbucks movement. The thing with espresso, though, is that it's just a stronger version of regular coffee, which is something that a lot of people don't quite realize. In fact, espresso machines didn't even exist until 1901. But those with a love for coffee who are looking for a stronger drink, remember this when you're ordering your espresso: the really, really good kind should be able to have some serious hang-time when you toss in that spoon of sugar. Otherwise, you might as well just drink regular coffee.
In fact, ordering coffee is one of the biggest parts of learning to drink it, and if you're going to be using coffee to socialize in new and exciting places, you should probably know what you're getting yourself into. Except early in the morning on the way to work, when you stand at the bar and do a shot of espresso, drinking coffee in Italy is going to set you back at least an afternoon. The same is true in France. Those are a couple of the only countries where you can order a shot of espresso and make it last for a couple of hours, so order accordingly.
But part of a love for coffee is appreciating all of the fun and fancy versions of drinks that have been developed, and trying them all out. Depending on where you are in the world, or the style of coffee you're sampling, a number of different things are used for flavor. Whether it's enjoying the taste of chocolate in a mocha or drizzling some sweet caramel-like sauce down in Argentina right into the coffee, it doesn't have to be a bitter-tasting drink experience.
Want to make sure you don't make any mistakes when you're out drinking coffee in public? Just order a simple beverage, and pay attention to what everyone else is getting. If they get elaborate foamy drinks that take a while to drink, and you're stuck holding a shot of espresso that's not designed to be sipped, then you're going to throw the balance off. Order a big drink when other people are ordering big drinks, and a small drink when people are ordering small drinks, and if in doubt, just add as much sugar as you want.
Don't forget: the main purpose of drinking any sort of beverage with a group of friends is to socialize. You don't need to be an expert on coffee, or even have a serious love for coffee, to go out and use the excuse of an afternoon cup to make a great friend or get to know a new place better. Just do it.
If Damian Papworth has a major celebration he dusts off the 12 cup coffee maker. For all other mornings though one cup coffee makers are more appropriate