The guy who lectured me for 20 minutes on bean origin

I was at a small shop in Austin last month just trying to order a plain pour over and this older dude behind me starts going off about how my choice of Ethiopian beans was 'too fruity for afternoon drinking.' He literally followed me to my table and gave me a whole speech about roasting profiles and elevation. Has anyone else had a random coffee lecture that just wouldn't end?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_eva17d ago

I get that the guy was pushy and that's annoying, but I actually kind of see where he was coming from. Ethiopian beans can be really bright and fruity, and sometimes they don't pair well with a heavy lunch or later in the day when you want something more mellow. I've had baristas warn me that a certain pour over would be "too acidic" with my meal, and honestly, they were right. The guy should have dropped it after you said you were fine with your choice, but I don't think he was totally wrong about the bean origin mattering. Sometimes those long talks come from a place of wanting people to enjoy coffee more, even if they go about it the wrong way.

oliver_mitchell17d ago

@the_eva yeah the guy had a point about bean origin mattering, but man... I once had a dude at a cafe in Portland explain the whole fermentation process of my decaf order for 15 minutes and I was just like "I really just want to sleep tonight." Guess we're both collectors of coffee lectures we didn't ask for...