2 Big Mistakes When Drinking Coffee

…or why I started drinking coffee without milk

Do you really smell your coffee?

I didn’t — and if you’re like me, read on to learn why you should.

Before I met Kalle, I honestly don’t think I had ever smelled a cup of coffee. Every morning, I would wake up, cross the street to Ritual Coffee, and order a regular coffee. However, like many people I know, I would always (1) use a lid and (2) add cream (shh!). I’m usually late to work, so I’m hopping straight on the train. I need cream and a lid to cool my coffee down and make it easy to drink quickly.

Little did I know that a lid totally blocks the aroma and the cream completely masks it.

A cup of coffee, just waiting to be smelled.

When I first met Kalle and he made me a cup of coffee (an early Sudden Coffee prototype), I was excited. A coffee prepared by a world champion barista? I quickly rushed to sip, but Kalle stopped me and said:

Wait — take a second and smell the coffee.

Wow! I was blown away. A whole new range and dimension of flavors opened up to me for the first time. You know when you walk into a cafe and they have all those adjectives next to the coffee — peach, walnut, blueberry frosting — and you roll your eyes because you know there’s no blueberry frosting in your coffee? For the first time, I felt like I smelled those flavors (maybe not blueberry frosting). I could actually smell caramel and a hint of peach.

Now I’m a believer. When I taste coffee with someone, I urge them to try it without cream and without a lid. Pause and smell the coffee before drinking it.

It can be difficult to resist taking a sip, but try giving your coffee a sniff before you dive in.

These days, as the CEO of Sudden Coffee, I’m around coffee all the time, and it is so eye opening to realize the contrast and differences in people’s experiences with coffee. Everyone has their own ideas about how coffee should taste, smell, and be drunk. When I asked Kalle about putting a lid on his cup, he said he has never had coffee with a lid. On the other hand, I had never had coffee without a lid. Something as simple as a lid can transform the whole experience.

Next time you have a cup of coffee, before that first sip — smell it! See what you notice — and comment below to share it with the rest of us.

— Josh Zloof
Cofounder & CEO
Sudden Coffee

P.S.
I hope it goes without saying — if you want a guaranteed way to smell great coffee, try some Sudden Coffee here.