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

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A Viral Moment: Office vs Coffee

Recently, a netizen's post struck a nerve with office workers everywhere. The poster, claiming to have just returned to China, complained that the quality of life here was truly poor, noting that a single street had nothing but unhealthy drinks like milk tea. Then they asked, in all sincerity: "I want to ask, don't you people normally drink office?"

Netizens ran with the misunderstanding and produced a round of brilliant replies:

"I beg to differ. Back in China I normally drink PPT." "Office is expensive, so I drink the 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." (Java is both a programming language and a coffee variety.) "I usually drink coffee. Drinking too much office isn't good for your health."

Coffee Shop Terminology Confusion

Everyone's quick thinking was impressive. They understood at once that the poster meant "coffee" but had typed "office." This reminded me of something baristas recently shared 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 means chef's choice with no menu, where the chef decides the dishes and prices based on seasonal ingredients.) "And you call yourselves professionals! You don't even have SEO!"

"Did you watch Sasa's pour-over competition this year?" - "Yes, I watched. Such a pity they didn't make the finals for WBC." "What nonsense? It's just an ice stone and beans processed with carbon dioxide maceration. I could do that too. It wouldn't be scientific if he won." "It's just a long fermentation and materials that cool the coffee instantly without diluting it. 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 travel to Panama."

The Evolution of Coffee Culture

From ancient times to now, drinking and understanding coffee has been seen as something that refines a person, passed down through the generations. Starting in 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 of coffee's enchanting aroma built anticipation among those who had never encountered it.

In truth, in an era when coffee flavor got little attention, coffee might have smelled pleasant but tasted disappointing. Sugar was even rarer than coffee at the time. Still, having gone to great lengths to obtain coffee, and mindful of face and cultivation, drinkers would adopt an elegant manner and pretend to be connoisseurs. Later, as beans gradually became available to the public, wealthy merchants could buy them too, and so they began drinking coffee in front of ordinary people to display their noble temperament and wealth.

From the late 19th century, the coffee shop industry gradually took shape, but prices were not cheap. Ordinary people could drink coffee, but it wasn't an everyday expense. People back then could boast for a long time after a single cup. Times are different now: drinking coffee has become utterly ordinary, available anytime and anywhere, just like tea or water. So the contest shifted to professional knowledge.

The Nature of Coffee Knowledge

As specialty coffee culture deepened, although not everyone has a deep grasp of professional coffee knowledge, those who open coffee shops or work as baristas pick up at least the basic concepts.

If it's just a slip of the tongue, correcting it is fine. If you've picked up incorrect information while learning, you can always chat with a barista or dig into the material together, and in doing so learn something new and make new friends. The effort and dedication behind every competing barista isn't as simple as it looks; they truly are outstanding. In the presence of experts, showing off tends to make things very awkward.

Coffee is very inclusive; it can be enjoyed in a beautifully decorated shop or at a roadside stall. It's just an ordinary agricultural product, just a beverage, and it doesn't need to become capital for showing off. Truly impressive people are usually not loud but naturally make their presence felt. It's wonderful that more and more people are researching and understanding coffee, but even with a store of knowledge, one should aim for lifelong growth and keep learning humbly.

Image source: Internet

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the term confusion in this piece has you curious about what a real SOE tastes like, FrontStreet Coffee's single-origin lineup is a fine place to start. FrontStreet Huakui SOE is a medium roast with the full fermented fruit and sun-dried sweetness of a good Ethiopian, pulling as red berries, light florals and orange with a citrus-tinged crema, crisp and elegant in an Americano or a flat white.

FrontStreet Grana Geisha SOE is an Ethiopian landrace Geisha from a farm close to the famous Yirgacheffe town; the fully ripe cherries are sun-dried, and as an SOE Americano the cup is led by berry acidity with a ripe plum fermented aroma, while with milk it turns into yellow peach, guava and black tea. For something softer and sweeter, FrontStreet Queen Estate SOE, a high-altitude Brazilian yellow Bourbon, is roasted medium-dark for thick nut, cream and peanut aromas and a sweet chocolate finish, with plenty of crema for milk drinks.