Coffee

“I love coffee, I love tea, I love the java jive and it loves me"

Coffee is so good but it's also so weird that it's so good.

​Like any kid or any person in the world who doesn't actually drink coffee would tell you that is smells good. 

The majority of people like to eat the smell of it, i.e. Coffee Crisp bars, coffee-flavoured ice cream, or other coffee-flavoured sugar products. But most first-time non-sugarized-coffee-drinkers spit it out or cringe when they have their first sip because the bitter taste does not match the warm, dreamy, inviting smell that cafes or most household kitchens smell of in the morning.

Do we actually drink coffee because we like the taste or do we just claim we like the taste because we like the feeling of drinking it (i.e. our brains like the addictive components of it)? 

I've read books and articles that touch on psychology and physiology and biochemistry and I took some chemistry courses in high school but I'm definitely an amateur when it comes to these things but from what I understand the function of the sense of taste is to signal whether what we are putting in our mouth is healthy for our bodies and whether the nutrients and chemicals contained in whatever our tounge and taste buds are touching is acceptable for our digestive system and needed by our bodies.

It definitely feels good to drink coffee, at least once you get in the habit of it, but next time you have some coffee that's not too hot, try just taking a good sip and let it just sit in your mouth for a while, maybe swirl it around a bit before swallowing. 

When I do this mindfulness practice there's nothing about the sensation in my mouth that is particularly pleasant. But when I'm holding that smooth mug or paper cup, and sitting on a comfy chair or at a desk and I'm feeling relaxed or productive, and when I'm slugging back the coffee, 1, 2, 5 cups of it, it feels quite nice, quite satisfying. 

Does this mean my digestive system doesn't actually want the coffee but it's just my brain craving the caffeine or some other component of it or some other feeling related to?

​It's just the same with other "acquired taste" food and beverages like alcoholic beverages, or olives, or hot peppers, or salad dressings. But then again, what taste isn't "acquired", it takes babies time to start liking certain foods?

All this is to say, if you really think about it and pay attention coffee is weird, taste is weird, and humans are weird even if they are also good things.