[vik0]

I don't get how so many people like coffee. I've tried it maybe a handful of times in my life, getting the type that my friends said is great, and I've always found it to be reminiscent of dirty water, that is, water that has been contaminated with dirt.

Why do so many people like it?

My friends say they like the taste, but I don't believe them. I think it has to do with them being coerced into liking coffee at a young age, and now they're addicted to it because of its caffeine content.

I come from a country (Macedonia, ruled over by the Ottomans for more than 500 years. The Ottomans liked their coffee) where every going out with friends is centered around coffee. So when people want to hang out, they never, ever, say stuff like "Hey, let's hang out", but always "Let's drink coffee" (I understand people in the civilized world, people say stuff like this too to hang out with friends, particularly in America (I'm not familiar with Western Europe as I haven't lived there, though I assume its similar to the US), but not like they do here, and the surrounding regions.)

And when you do go out to hang out casually with friends, it's always to a fucking cafe because they want to get their daily dose of caffeine in, because they're totally not addicted to it.

(The overwhelming majority of people here go to cafes every day to drink coffee with their friends, who also drink coffee. It's become something like a ritual for them at this point.)

When I hang out with my friends in a cafe, naturally as their sacred ritual insists, and I order anything other than coffee, which I always do, other than those 2 times, they look at me like I've just committed the mother of all sins.

I apologize for my off-topic rant, but I had to get it off my chest.

[pasquinelli]

i can't taste cardamom. when i taste freshly ground cardamom it's like eting a pinch of sand.

maybe you have something like that going on with coffee.

i'll say i had no interest in coffee until i tried it in my early 30's and really enjoyed it, though i found the caffine too strong. now i drink it every day (smaller cups though.) point being, i wasn't made to like coffee at a young age, and i've liked it ever since i started drinking it.

[laurentlassalle]

> My friends say they like the taste, but I don't believe them. I think it has to do with them being coerced into liking coffee at a young age, and now they're addicted to it because of its caffeine content.

Daily coffee drinker here. Maybe I'm in the minority but I really enjoy the taste (strong espresso without sugar/milk) and really dislike the caffeine content (always prefer decaf, if available).

[jrmg]

Also a daily coffee drinker.

I have a theory that humans like _complexity_. I’m pretty sure I didn’t originally like coffee (or e.g. scotch), but I do now because part of my brain really enjoys analyzing the flavor.

It’s a different enjoyment than e.g. donuts or bananas, which just ‘taste good’. Coffee (and whisky) ‘tastes interesting’ to a degree that overcomes the initial harshness.

So GP is sort of correct for the most basic interpretation. They’re just not appreciating that enjoyment and liking are not always straightforward.

[aappleby]

Coffee is delicious and worsens my arthritis. I drink a coffee substitute called Dandy Blend most days, but damn do I miss the real stuff.