American coffee

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I didn't drink coffee till I moves to Japan. I think it was 1) the trauma of spilling scalding McDonalds coffee on myself as child and 2) lack of flavor.

Upon arriving in Japan, I was given coffee which was fragrant without extra exotic flavors like vanilla or mocha. It was simple yet wondrous. I couldn't reject it as I was a guest so I drank it and was pleasantly surprised. Since then I became a two cup a day coffee drinker. No sugar but I do add milk and I'm not a fan of flavors nor creamer.

Of course in Japan you can get "American coffee". This is coffee with just a little more water than coffee. It's not heavy nor strong but just slightly weakened.

While living abroad I had forgotten what real "American coffee" was like. That was until I got back home for the holidays. I was given a cup of coffee but all I tasted was hot watered down milk with an extremely distant flavor of something resembling coffee.

Again not wanting to be rude I slowly went to the cupboard to add some instant Nescafé to the mug of flavored water; two packets I think. That made it taste just right. Haaaaaaaa.

Now this isn't to say that ALL American coffee is colored hot water. Starbucks makes coffee that tastes like coffee but I wonder if people actually drink "coffee" there. It seems to push highly sweetened beverages with coffee flavoring. I went to a Starbucks near Milwaukee and while waiting for a friend, I listened to the orders. I was the only one to order a thing called "coffee" - not a latte - coffee; black.

I think people might have wondered what I was getting. "What is a black coffee?" My sister drinks an amazing concoction; grande skim, no water, no foam, 6 pumps chai... That's not a coffee it's a chai of some kind and almost completely straight. (Quite strong in fact)

Now Starbucks is not the best coffee by far but certainly they have a drink that tastes right and is the proper color. They say that in the US, real coffee drinkers go to private coffee shops or chains like Alterra.

Next week, I fly back to Japan and when I get there I might try a coffee again to really tell the difference?

What's your take on American coffee?

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