In my daily life, I’m not much of a coffee drinker. I love energy drinks but coffee itself is something that I can go without. If I’m being honest, I never really feel the caffeine either. When I’m having a tough morning, I’ll drink coffee as a placebo effect, fully knowing that it’s not actually making me feel anymore awake. That being said, I do enjoy the taste and am somewhat of a purist as I will drink it black or at the very most with a little bit of milk. But alas, it’s something that I’ll drink to treat myself maybe once or twice a week. My usual Tim’s order is an iced coffee with almond milk and no sweetener. WINK WINK, NUDGE NUDGE. I like my coffee chuggable.
Although I used to not care too much about coffee I have developed a bit of a craving towards good coffee. I wouldn’t say I’m a foodie but I’ve always been very keen to have good food and have always appreciated a good meal. I think coffee is just something that is included in that list of things that I like tasting. And I’ve never really been a snob about coffee until this past Fall when within a month I visited Portugal and also America. While in Lisbon I had the best coffee that I’ve ever had in my life at a snobbish coffee place that I’ll link here. The next month, I would travel down to the states with some friends and I tried Dunkin’ for the first time . . . probably for the last time too. Now I understand why Americans have such an affinity towards Starbucks. All that paired with last week when I was in England, France, Monaco, and Ireland – where the coffee is just on another level on average compared to Canada – well my tastebuds were spoiled. I’ve paid for $7 coffees in Canada at artisanal coffee places that just suck, now that’s a waste of money.
If I had never travelled out there in the world, I would never be able to tell what a good or a bad coffee is. I wouldn’t know the difference between a cortado or a cafe latte. It’s because I’m fortunate enough to see the world that I can understand what is out there being offered. I can understand now why so many Canadians turn their noses up at Tim Hortons and why Starbucks isn’t as successful in Europe as they are in North America. As you see more of the world, your world changes more and more. Qualitative values such as what is good or bad start to morph and you realize that you don’t know what you don’t know, until you get out there and witness just how clueless you are. That your entire world is really just a blip in the grand scheme of things.
I don’t know if I’ll travel for coffee but when I’m travelling I will always try the coffee. While there, I’ll speak to the person serving me, maybe even chat up any locals for their recommendations around the city. And of course, I’ll always make sure to ask about the local cuisine as well. I can’t live on the McDonald’s app while I’m traveling internationally. We have no idea what or who the world can put in front of us in another time zone, so always stay curious.
