Hi everyone and welcome back to Spill The Beans… The Coffee Beans. Usually on the blog I talk about my love for coffee, but today I am going to discuss  something a little different.  I thought it would be interesting to explore the other side of the coffee spectrum and interview someone who hates coffee, and explore their reasoning behind it. To get the point of view of  someone on other side I reached out to someone I know who has a strong distaste for coffee– my longtime friend Kimmy Barboza. I have known Kimmy for seven years and throughout our friendship she has always steered clear of coffee; To find out why she dislikes coffee, I asked her a series of questions that explored why she doesn’t like coffee and the influences behind it. Here’s what she had to say.

Have you always disliked coffee? Why do you dislike coffee?

I have disliked coffee since the first time I tried it. I dislike the bitterness and how strong coffee is, but the aftertaste of coffee is what I hate the most. I also get a headache and nauseous when I drink coffee, so I avoid drinking it as much as possible.

Do you dislike all coffee or just certain types? 

I dislike all coffee types except for the caramel frappe from Mcdonalds, because it is pure sugar and I don’t really taste coffee in it. I absolutely can not stand hot coffee, but I will occasionally try iced coffee if someone offers me a taste. 

Does anyone in your family drink coffee? Are you the only one who dislikes it in your family?

 My parents and my younger sisters all enjoy the taste of coffee. I am the only one in my entire family, including my extended family who dislikes coffee.

How old were you when you first tried coffee? What was the experience like?

I was probably eight years old when I first tried coffee, and it wasn’t even a sip, I just dipped my cookie in my parent’s coffee. Once I tasted it, I instantly spit it out trying to rinse out the taste from my mouth. That’s where my hatred for coffee started.

If you had to order coffee at a coffee shop what would order? Why?

If I were to get a coffee drink at Starbucks, it would probably be a grande caramel frappuccino with light coffee and extra caramel. I would get this because it would to drown out the bitterness and aftertastes of the actual coffee. Another coffee drink that I would consider ordering is an iced honey-cinnamon latte from the Meek House in Redlands, Ca because I  took a few sips from it once and enjoyed the taste– mostly because it was very sweet and I couldn’t actually taste the coffee.

As you can see, Kimmy and I have a different opinion on coffee– she detests it, I love it. She does not enjoy drinking coffee because she finds it “too bitter” and “dislikes the aftertaste”. On the rare occasion Kimmy does enjoy coffee, it is always an iced sweet drink that does not have a strong coffee taste, is not bitter, and does not leave an aftertaste. Kimmy’s reasoning for disliking coffee has as much to do with the effects it has on her as it does with the way it tastes– she avoids coffee because it “makes her nauseous” and often “gives her a headache”. I hope you enjoyed hearing from someone the other side of the coffee spectrum and learning why they have a distaste for coffee.