Thursday, January 12, 2006

Pouring Coffee

I recently discovered a new and improved way to pour a cup of coffee. If you put the cream in the mug first, then pour the coffee in, you don't have to stir it because the act of pouring the coffee in on top of the cream blends the mixture. So this saves a step, and saves dirtying a spoon or using one of those plastic stirring rods.

When I discovered this, I was shocked that in all the years I have been drinking coffee, this had never occurred to me before, and I'd never seen anyone do it. Most people pour the coffee, then the cream, then stir it.

I guess we learn how coffee should be served by watching what happens in restaurants. But in restaurants they can't do it the best way because they don't know how much cream you want. So restaurants have to use the less optimal method, and we all imitate it. Then it never occurs to us to try any other way, which is kind of funny.

I told a friend about this, and she said her father had taught her this before he died, and she had been just as surprised as I was. I thought it was very funny that this coffee-pouring thing was like a family secret handed down from generation to generation. No wonder I had not heard of it before. But now the secret is out.

6 comments:

clara* said...

ha! i discovered this when making tea at work. i was going to write the story but then realized it was boring.

suffice to say i understand your excitement.

Unknown said...

Here at Iron Monkey, nothing is too boring to post.

Anonymous said...

I expect such innovations from the Pacific Northwest.

RanDomino said...

BRILLIANT

Anonymous said...

See, if you drink it black, you won't have these issues. :-)

Anonymous said...

i'm torn. i love the efficiency, but i dislike the loss of romance.

if you're ever hanging around a coffee house, watch how different people perform this simple act. there's some beauty to it - especially since it's so second-nature.

it's more than a bit precious of me to talk about the romance of coffee additives, but i suppose it's to be expected from anyone who's spent that much time in cafes. >.<

~fat-monkey