How I Learned to Drink Coffee

Coffee Pot; c. 1936; Roberta Elvis; American; Source: National Gallery of Art

CEFR Level C1-C2

I passed the age of 40 without learning to drink coffee, even though I grew up in the United States where everyone, including my parents, drinks coffee. Despite these cultural influences, I somehow developed a preference for hot black tea with milk and a few granules of sugar. 

For my entire adult life, hot tea was my caffeinated beverage of choice. If that was unavailable, I would drink that iconic Southern brew called sweet tea or iced tea.

One day in the spring of 2025, WaWa opened a location in my town. To advertise their opening, they put coupons in advertising mail. The thicker cardstock caught my attention and I noticed that the coupon sheet offered me a free hot latte. I took that as my sign to give coffee another try.

This wasn’t a decision made out of the blue. I had been wondering if I should give coffee another chance. Coffee is such an important part of so many social cultures that I worried about limiting my opportunities by not partaking, especially when traveling. Plus, tastes change as we age. Also, I have always liked coffee ice cream, so why didn’t I like coffee as a beverage? These thoughts and the appearance of the coupon gave me a guilt-free way to try coffee again. Well, I might feel a little guilty for throwing away food, but I wouldn’t have financial regret. 

At the gas station food counter, I ordered a hot mocha latte. I figured that I like chocolate and lattes have a lot of milk. Milk is what keeps tea from tasting bitter or acidic, so maybe it would do the same for coffee. 

To my surprise, I enjoyed the latte. Apparently, with enough milk and sweetener, I do like coffee. That started a month-long craving for hot, sweet, coffee. 

For the sake of my budget, after trying a macchiato for comparison to the latte, I limited myself to one $2 coffee with Irish Cream-flavored creamer per week. I looked forward to that coffee all week.

I experimented with the ratio of coffee to sweetened creamer. The perfect balance for me is about ⅔ coffee and ⅓ creamer. I also discovered that I don’t like it when creamer and flavorings make the coffee too sweet. I want a smooth blend, not a mouthful of sugar flavor.

I tried Sheetz coffee because it is freshly ground instead of in a dispenser like at WaWa. I don’t know what the difference is, but I like WaWa’s coffee better. WaWa offers light, medium, and dark roasts. I prefer the dark roast. The light roast disappears into the creamer. Creamer alone is not the taste I look forward to. 

About a month later, I went on a trip. I tried the coffee at the cafeteria near the hotel. It was bitter and reminded me of why I disliked coffee. So, I experimented. I filled my mug with 1 part hot cocoa, then added 1.5 parts coffee, topping it all off with 0.5 parts vanilla-flavored creamer. Thoroughly mixed, this beverage was palatable and got me through an exhausting week.  

Back at home, my craving for coffee was broken. I returned to drinking hot tea. Still, I know that I do like some forms of coffee. This is a relief because I want to fit in wherever I travel. Maybe I will never be able to drink black coffee without milk, but surely being able to enjoy some type of coffee drink opens up opportunities for social connection that I would miss if I drank no coffee.