50 beans | in the majority

In an interesting statistic lifted from Oliver Strand's NYT blog-post, I presumed to have found myself in the company of a surprisingly small minority of coffee drinkers out there (at least I thought I was, more on that in a bit). Apparently, in a survey of a handful of coffee shop owners in NYC, regular espresso accounts for roughly 5% of their total sales. Most americans will drink espresso-based drinks (i.e. cappuccinos and lattes), but not many people will order a straight espresso, which I've noticed a lot these days. Heck, I even got called out (in a good-humored way) the other day on my coffee ordering. A buddy of mine commented that the double espresso I've made my morning habit is actually technically a macchiato since I do add a bit of cream to it (I protested slightly before finally getting wikipedia'd). So yes, I drink espresso, but with some cream (I still refuse to call it by any fancy names).

The main exception to that is at Temple, where the barista will actually shoot you the stink-eye if you carry their demitasse cup anywhere near the cream bottle, as if you're there to deface their cream and sugar station. The guilt trip at Temple to drink your espresso straight is quite a heavy load, and you should sit quietly and obediently drink your espresso with the ever-so-slight sips. Asking for a take-out cup for your espresso will draw the same measure of stink-eye from the barista. Of course they're there to maintain the purity of the espresso, which I guess I can respect, but at the same time lighten up a little!

Somehow somewhere I think people (maybe incorrectly) get the impression that espresso is simply for the hardcore coffee drinkers, and I think some of the attitudes of coffee places can, at times, give that impression. In the world of coffee, straight espresso drinkers make up the 5%, and the rest of the 95% are comfortable with the cappuccinos and lattes, and yes, the macchiatos (yup... we are the 95!). But before you go and Occupy your nearest local coffee-shop, paint picket signs, and stop taking showers, please bear in mind that, at the end of the day, coffee is good, and meant to be enjoyed whichever way you'd like.