Bad coffee is the best coffee.
When you like something, its not typical to voluntarily try a worse version.
Its much more usual to try a better version, as a splurge.
You start to rely on specific coffeeshops; you visit friends and turn down an offered cup.
A tier of coffee that used to hey you now disappoints you.
Youve kicked the ladder out from under you.
Youre no longer backward compatible.
What if instead, you tried a downgrade?
Acclimate yourself to a slightly inferior cup of coffee?
Splurge on a cheap cup from McDonalds or Dunkin or the bodega?
Grab the pre-ground beans?
Buy a fifteen-dollar coffee machine instead of fussing with pourover or French press?
Your body still appreciates the caffeine.
If your first attempt at cheap coffee goes horribly, that doesnt mean you dont like cheap coffee!
It just means you have to test more varieties.
Some bad coffee is burnt; some is watery; some is acidic; some just tastes funny.
Theres a good chance theres a bad coffee that doesnt taste bad to you.
Why would you give any less room to this experiment?
And when you find the bad coffee that fits you, what a payoff!
If youre downgrading home brewing methods, youre saving time.
If youre ditching lattes for drip, youre cutting your costs in half.
If these experiments fail entirely, they will still renew your appreciation for the coffee you already drink.
At no longterm expense, your usual cup of coffee is now an upgrade.
But once youve downgraded coffee, youll be ready to downgrade anything.
Mass production has improved cheap beer, cheap clothes, cheap furniture.
you’ve got the option to even do fine with acrappy smartphone.
No one has good taste in everything, andno one should aspire to that.
So go on, try the bad coffee.
