[BurningFrog]

The thing with coffee isn't that it's delicious. It's actually quite hard to make it palatable.

But coffee is (1) addictive, and (2) induces wakefulness and action.

I've seen loose theories that coffee was the real reason for the Industrial Revolution. It's not hard to imagine the extra energy it produces to also go into political efforts.

[smt88]

> The thing with coffee isn't that it's delicious. It's actually quite hard to make it palatable

This is like saying it's hard to make chocolate, tea, or many other ultra-popular foods/drinks palatable.

Step 1 of 1: add sweetener. Not hard at all.

Many people (including me) would argue that coffee is delicious without sweetener, though. Perhaps you don't understand how people like it, but that's far from a universal opinion.

[BurningFrog]

I drink a few cups a day, and enjoy the effects.

My theory/speculation is that if you consume something that tastes badly but makes you feel good, the human body will over time translate the expectation into "this tastes good".

Maybe that's part of how addiction works. Maybe that explains "acquired tastes". And maybe my uneducated guess is completely wrong :)

[em-bee]

i never liked coffee. the addiction and wakefulness it induces takes more than one cup. but i was turned off from coffee after just having one sip. so i suspect that there must be more to it than that and that i simply don't understand how people like it.

probably things like mild peer pressure, fitting in with the grown ups, etc, much like smoking, and maybe even drinking.

[smt88]

I don't totally understand what you're trying to say, but again: some people enjoy black coffee, smoking, and alcohol just on their own.

Yes, social factors increase usage of all these things and people will force themselves to do it, but that's not universal.

I also love the flavor of smoking tobacco products (including cigarettes), although I only smoke a few times a year for social, health, and convenience reasons.

[em-bee]

the point is, addiction and side effects only take hold after consuming coffee for a while. for someone who doesn't like coffee there is a low risk of getting addicted. therefore there either must be people who do like coffee as it is or they are pushed by some form of peer pressure.

obviously, tastes vary strongly, so both groups must exist.

in my case i escape the peer pressure by discovering that strong coffee actually made me sick, and i used that as an excuse to reject coffee even in situations where it was considered impolite to reject an offer when i was visiting people.

[BurningFrog]

I used to be you. I hated the flavor of coffee, and I also didn't want to be addicted.

Now I've "matured" and realized coffee is a drug. Or, if you will, a medicine. You don't take medicine because it tastes good, but because the effects are, on balance, good for you.

[Digit-Al]

That's funny, I've heard that tea was a potential contributor. The theory goes that the health benefits of drinking tea allowed our British cities to grow larger without disease spreading. This meant more people congregating in one place, which allowed a greater exchange of ideas. Something along those lines.

[BurningFrog]

For both, the fact that you boil the water is a huge health boost.

Though I was thinking of the caffeination of the workforce. And coffee has more of that than tea.

[sjg007]

Why coffee but not tea?

[petre]

Probably coffee made folks hyperactive, eager to spark a revolution rather than just exchange ideas over tea and biscuits.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mW7_wOrZC48