"Coffee Guide without nonsense" became an unexpected hit! Do you really know nothing about coffee, or do you have a dark sense of humor?

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Over the years, coffee has become one of the most popular drinks in the world, and many people choose to drink a cup of coffee when they feel sleepy or enter a coffee shop when they need to socialize. In any case, even in China, where coffee culture is still in its infancy, we now have a lot of opportunities to meet a coffee store on the street corner, whether it's a convenience store, Starbucks or Lucky.

But there is one thing that coffee shops all over the world are more or less the same-the coffee menu. Americano American coffee, Cappuccino cappuccino, Latte latte, Mocha mocha, Flat White white coffee. There may be some differences in text translation, but more than 99% of the world's coffee shops (personal guess) menus will have the above styles.

But have you ever wondered what these coffee names, each of which can lead to a long list of magnificent, mournful and touching romantic stories in the eyes of coffee lovers, mean in the eyes of non-professional and non-experienced coffee consumers?

Recently, a British cafe full of black humor has made a "different" menu guide, claiming to be a "nonsense coffee guide-hot drink menu". After being put online by netizens, it unexpectedly became popular unexpectedly, and caused a big round of controversy.

This "guide" uses a rude ✘ to cross out the common style names of those coffee menus, and then simply make a noun explanation:

Americano=black coffee (black coffee)

Flat white=white coffee (white coffee)

Cappuccino=frothy coffee (foam Coffee)

Latte=milky coffee (Milk Coffee)

Mocha=choccy coffee (Chocolate Coffee)

Tea=not coffee (not coffee)

Hot chocolate=also not coffee (not coffee either)

Such a simple and rude explanation of the name of coffee is simply a provocation to "professional" coffee personnel and coffee lovers, and has naturally received a lot of criticism:

"I don't want to drink coffee made by people who don't know anything about coffee!" , "they may be using Nescafe Instant (Nestle instant)", "Flat white is not white coffee", "Americano should be Watery Coffee".

Screenshot source: Reddit

Of course, not everyone is infuriated by this "coffee guide", more people think that this is just a black humor, although there are many inappropriate and inexhaustive aspects of the above comments, it is useful.

It's just a joke? No! To many people, coffee doesn't seem to be a joke.

Is such a rough and simple coffee guide useful for coffee consumers? Of course there is.

Regardless of China, even in Britain, compared with the popular tea culture, the coffee culture in Britain is still relatively weak, and the popularity of coffee knowledge is not as good as that of other western developed countries. Although this is not illustrated, the coffee guide, which is simple and clear enough, will be much more friendly to novices who drink coffee. The menu is clear at a glance and can tell at a glance the composition of all drinks (though not accurate enough) and can help customers decide what to drink more quickly without being disturbed by other things they are not interested in. If the menu name is easy enough to read and understand, customers will tend to try more different varieties. And if you need to put too much effort into studying the variety of coffee, customers usually only order basic, error-free styles.

Of course, there are obvious drawbacks-first of all, you will scare off a large number of coffee lovers. The coffee guide, which is too rude and straightforward, is destined to be unable to explain the specific meaning and practice of the coffee name in detail and professionally. In this way, "professional" coffee lovers will subconsciously think that your coffee is definitely "not good" as soon as they read this "coffee guide". Even some people who are used to making instant coffee with hot water at home will think, "the coffee here is so simple, why is a cup so expensive?" ". There's always a premonition that both sides are thankless.

So, what if we think of this Coffee Guide as a black humor?

That's right! This "coffee guide" is actually complaining and satirizing the menus of modern cafes that are becoming more and more complex and grandiose, without paying any attention to the feelings of non-professional coffee consumers. For example, McDonald's once made a commercial called "what is Flat White" to satirize cafes that interpret coffee names so obscure that they are "mystical" and "full of nonsense". Professional and unfamiliar names will only make those consumers who don't know anything about coffee at a loss. Looking at a lot of words they don't understand, they don't know whether to try them or not. In the end, they either endure the risk of being looked down upon by others and ask the barista; or they either have an impression of which, just like low achiever doing multiple-choice questions. Even confuse the drinks of a boutique coffee shop with the specialty drinks of a well-known chain store. Well, for example, Macchiato macchiato.

In retrospect, most of the people who criticize this "nonsense coffee guide" should be real coffee lovers and professionals in the coffee industry. The reason for their criticism is that the interpretation of the name of professional coffee in this Coffee Guide is not accurate, professional and romantic enough, people who understand coffee do not need such a rough and superficial introduction, and people who do not understand coffee are easily misled.

But the question is, have the baristas who are known as "professional" and "boutique" baristas and those who have been studying coffee for many years well explained various professional obscure coffee terms to beginners? While shouting that others "do not understand coffee" and "mislead consumers", how many professional and careful "guidance" have they done for consumers who do not understand coffee?

The editor thinks that it is a good thing that coffee is made professionally and exquisitely, but if you blindly show off professionally, narcissistic, unapproachable, and do not know how to meet the real needs of public consumers, it is better to sell instant coffee.

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