Since, I’ve started this blog, I’ve had many non-coffee drinkers, tea fanatics and hot chocolate fans ask me for coffee suggestions, however I’m probably the wrong person to ask. I took the long, scenic route to find delicious tasting coffee.
I started drinking coffee on a regular basis during my freshman year of college. It was more of a caffeine source, than a drink I was enjoying. It allowed me stay up all night partying, I mean studying and helped me get through my 8:30 am class the next morning.
After college, when I was working retail, I was known for hiding a cup of coffee just off the sales floor so that I could get a hit of coffee every time I left the sales floor. My friends and family would ask me if I was going to have some coffee with my cream and sugar. My average cup was at least a quarter cream and sugar, leaving my coffee looking white.
Then one year for Christmas, my brother bought me a pound of whole beans from Seattle Coffee Works and it opened up a whole new world for me. To start with, I had to buy a coffee grinder. That was the first time I experienced fresh coffee at home. Not only was it fresh, but it smelled so good that I put the sugar and cream on hold until I tried it black first. I was hooked. I wish I could remember exactly how it tasted, but I can say it was literally life altering. I haven’t looked back at Folgers or Maxwell House since.
With help of some friends from Twitter, I put together a guide that will helpfully help non-coffee drinkers experience the same joys of coffee.
Some of the suggestions, were pretty wild, but I couldn’t not mention them, just in case they work. My favorite was duct taping the non-coffee drinker to the wall and forcing them to drink the coffee while threatening them with a Hello Kitty Taser. Another great one was using a wrestling move called the armbar to submit them into drinking the coffee. If neither of those work, here’s some slightly more useful, but less entertaining methods.
For Hot Chocolate Drinkers
I’d recommend starting by ordering a White Mocha at the local coffee shop. It’s an espresso with steamed milk, mixed with white chocolate syrup and served with white whipped cream. The sweetness really hides the espresso taste.
Similar, is the Mochaccino. It’s an espresso, steamed chocolate milk, foam from steamed milk, topped with whipped cream, chocolate powder and chocolate syrup drizzle on top. You can’t get much closer to a hot chocolate without taking away the espresso.
If they actually want to taste the coffee, but still want something that isn’t overwhelming, they can try a Cafe Au Lait, which is simply espresso and milk.
For Tea Drinkers
I’d recommend reading this article at I Need Coffee called “A Coffee Lover’s Guide To Coffee.” It can easily be switched around to help tea fans find coffees with similar qualities.
An example from it, is if they like Earl Gray tea, they should try Kenyan, Zimbabwean or Ethiopian Harrar coffees.
If they like China Rose Petal tea, Kona and Brazilian coffees have some of the same qualities.
If they like green tea like Jasmine Blossom, Sumatra is the region that they’ll want to check out.
Using cream and sugar is perfectly acceptable, but it does hide a lot of the rich flavors that contain the true coffee experience, but it’s still a good way to start.
I hope that helps. If anyone reading has any other suggestions, I’d love to hear them.
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Drink Coffee Do Stupid Things Faster Metal Sign
from Amazon.
