Coffee culture

Coffee Written as Office? People Who Pretend to Be Coffee Connoisseurs Have Been Thoroughly Exposed!

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee
Last Updated: 2026/01/27, For more professional coffee knowledge exchanges and coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style). For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: qjcoffeex. Recently, a post from a netizen activated the DNA of office workers. The posting netizen自称

Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style).

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: qjcoffeex

A Viral Moment: Office vs Coffee

Recently, a netizen's post triggered the DNA of office workers everywhere. The poster, claiming to have recently returned to China, complained that the quality of life in the country was truly poor, noting that on a single street, there were only unhealthy beverages like milk tea. They then sincerely asked: "I want to ask, don't you guys normally drink office?"

Image showing the original viral post about office vs coffee

Thus, netizens played along with the misunderstanding and started a round of brilliant responses:

"I beg to differ. I normally drink PPT in China." "Office is expensive, so I drink domestic WPS office." "I frowned: shift! Who still drinks office these days?" "Windows 97 has a classic taste, while Mac is more bourgeois." "Excuse me, I drink Java." (PS: Java happens to be both a programming language and a coffee variety) "I usually drink coffee. Drinking too much office isn't good for your health."

Screenshot of social media responses to the office vs coffee confusion

Coffee Shop Terminology Confusion

I must say, everyone's quick thinking is really impressive! They immediately understood that the poster meant to say "coffee" but made a typo and wrote "office" instead. This incident reminded me of something recently shared by baristas in our group chat.

"I'd like a SEO, please." - "Sorry, we don't have SOE here." "I don't want SOE! I want SEO!" - "We really don't have single-origin espresso." "What single coffee? I want Single Espresso Omakase!" (Omakase refers to chef's choice without a menu, where the chef decides the dishes and prices based on seasonal ingredients) "And you call yourselves professionals! You don't even have SEO!"

Coffee terminology confusion illustration

"Did you watch Sasa's pour-over competition this year?" - "Yes, I watched. It's such a pity they didn't make it to the finals for WBC." "What nonsense? It's just an ice stone and beans processed with carbon dioxide maceration. I can do that too. It wouldn't be scientific if he won." "It's just long fermentation and materials that cool coffee immediately without dilution. With stainless steel ice cubes and that Yunnan 480-hour anaerobic natural processed bean, I could compete too! And I wouldn't even need to go to Panama for the trouble."

Coffee competition equipment illustration

The Evolution of Coffee Culture

From ancient times to the present, drinking and understanding coffee has been seen as something that enhances one's refinement, passed down through generations. Starting from the 15th century, coffee entered Europe from Africa as an exotic import. For several centuries, it was something only royalty and nobility could enjoy, and even money couldn't always buy it. Meanwhile, rumors about coffee's enchanting aroma built anticipation among those who had never encountered it.

Historical painting of European coffee house

In reality, in that era when coffee flavor received little attention, coffee might have smelled pleasant but tasted undoubtedly disappointing. Sugar was even rarer than coffee at the time. However, having gone to great effort to obtain coffee and considering face and cultivation, drinkers would display an elegant demeanor, pretending to be connoisseurs. Later, as coffee beans gradually became available to the public, wealthy merchants could also purchase them, so they began drinking coffee in front of common people to showcase their noble temperament and wealth.

Historical European coffee house scene

Starting from the late 19th century, the coffee shop industry gradually formed, but prices were not cheap. Although ordinary people could also drink coffee, it couldn't be considered a daily consumption. Therefore, people at that time could boast for a long time after drinking coffee just once. However, times are different now! Drinking coffee has become an extremely daily occurrence, available anytime, anywhere, just like drinking tea or water—it's the most ordinary thing. Thus began the competition of professional knowledge.

The Nature of Coffee Knowledge

As specialty coffee culture gradually deepened, although not everyone has a deep understanding of professional coffee knowledge, those who open coffee shops or work as baristas have some knowledge of basic coffee concepts.

Modern coffee shop interior

If it's just a slip of the tongue, correcting it is fine. If you've received incorrect information during your learning process, you can actually chat with baristas or research materials together with others. You can learn new knowledge and make new friends. The effort and dedication behind every competing barista is not as simple as it appears on the surface—they are truly outstanding. In the presence of experts, showing off often makes the scene incredibly awkward.

Barista working professionally

Coffee itself is very inclusive—it can be enjoyed in exquisitely decorated shops or at roadside stalls. It's just an ordinary agricultural product, just a beverage, and doesn't need to be treated as capital for showing off. Truly impressive people are often not loud but make their presence known naturally. It's wonderful that more and more people are researching and understanding coffee. But even with abundant knowledge reserves, one needs to aim for lifelong growth and continue learning humbly.

Simple cup of coffee

Image source: Internet

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