TIL most people stir their coffee wrong, including me

Drove past a small cafe in Portland last Tuesday and saw the barista do this thing. She poured the milk first, then the coffee over it. Barely stirred. I tried it at home with my normal mug. 3 days now and the flavor is way more even. No more bitter first sip then sweet at the bottom. Why does everyone stir like it's a science experiment?

3 comments

3 Comments

keith_rivera1928d ago

My brother's been a barista for 12 years at this little shop in Denver... he told me the whole "stirring evenly" thing is actually a myth from old coffee ads. He said the real trick is pouring the hot water in a spiral from the center out, not just dumping it in one spot. I tried his method last week and yeah, the first sip is way less bitter now. Also stopped using a metal spoon and switched to a wooden chopstick... no idea why but it feels like it mixes gentler or something. The whole science experiment thing you mentioned... people treat coffee like they're in a lab coat, man.

the_brian20d ago

The wooden chopstick thing is actually legit though. I use them for everything in the kitchen now, not just coffee. They don't scratch anything and they're cheap as hell. Plus you can just toss them when they get funky instead of scrubbing a spoon.

cole99427d ago

Wait wooden chopstick? The whole spiral pour thing I could buy but a wooden chopstick? That sounds like one of those things that sounds good but who actually has a wooden chopstick just laying around their kitchen. I mean your brother is probably right about the metal spoon thing, metal can scratch the inside of a ceramic mug and mess with the flavor or whatever. But i gotta ask does he actually go out and buy wooden chopsticks specifically for coffee or does he just grab them from takeout? Because I got a drawer full of those things from Chinese delivery and now I feel like I've been missing out on some secret coffee hack.