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Types of Coffee

Coffee had always seemed like the exotic, fancy foreign drink back then, at least to me. And it’s funny I’m writing about coffee this time since I wrote about tea only a few weeks earlier. Believe me, this is no sheer intention of mine, just coincidence and a random thought of mine that I couldn’t help but type away.

Back then, the only types of coffee you could get was black coffee and milk coffee and the difference was astonishingly clear. But then, modernization and western lifestyle hit the Nepali market, and coffee was not the simple coffee anymore. You had to practice the foreign names a few times correctly like Latte, Cappuccino or Mocha so that you don’t seem like a fool. And initially I though all these different types of coffee were different styles of coffee; with the beans used or the way they are made. My friend Shristi and I have a rather dreaded memory of that. We had ordered Espresso Lavazza Barista, Jawalakhel, some years ago. We thought espresso is a new drink we had not drink. We were surprised by the size of the drink, not to mention the taste; turns out espresso are coffee shots without sugar. Needless to say, we have never had another one since then.

It was only much later that I found that these types of coffees were all named differently mainly because of the amount of milk used. I was confused at first, if I have to be honest. Would it not be more styles of coffee, then? It’s basically the same ingredients, unless it’s affogato which has ice-cream. I had asked myself. But, of course, I know better than to question names that have been used for decades, now. And mainly because this put another random thought in my head.

Maybe, people are also like types of coffee. Maybe, our nature, our environment, our culture, our teachings makes the amount of steamed or foamed milk different in our cup of coffee, but inside we are all made from the same coffee beans. We are all humans. One could be the dark, bitter coffee without sugar, or one could be the sweet coffee with extra sugar but we come from the same origin: coffee beans. And we are all the same from inside. What do you think? What type of coffee are you?

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