Learn to Bite Your Tongue.

There are people out there that think Starbucks is the epitome of gourmet coffee.  I need to learn how to live with this.  Recently, I had a conversation with someone that went something like this:

Me: Watcha drinking?

Friend: Ah, it's the new light roast from Starbucks... The, umm, Veranda Roast.  You're super into coffee, right? I think you'd like it.

Me: Veranda Roast? That's the name?  Goodness, that's an awful lot of pretention going into that cup.  These beans aren't even a 'light' roast.  They're at least a full city roast, which most would consider to be medium-dark. 

Friend: Okay... Have a sip...

Me: Not bad.  Their espresso still sucks.

Has anyone else spotted where this conversation went horribly wrong?  I don't know why I feel compelled to judge someone for their coffee choice or bombard him or her with somewhat useless coffee knowledge.  Worst of all, the cup of coffee in my friend's hand was incredibly drinkable despite the name associated with it.  It wasn't the greatest cup, but it definitely fell within the spectrum of good.  A better response by me would have been, "You're right. I do love a good cup o' Joe.  I should take you to [insert favorite third wave cafe here].  I've found that they brew a great cup, maybe the best." 

Sometimes, as a coffee afficianado, I tend to forget how the outside world views coffee.  In the eyes of your average Starbucks consumer, coffee is either a flavoring or a wake-up necessity.  Not everyone views coffee as a culinary experience, which, to me, is a shame.  However, I feel the same way about chocolate chip cookies as most do about coffee.  Yet, if we were to take a survey of the internet, I'm sure there are just as many, if not many more, sites dedicated to the ultimate chocolate chip cookie experience.  

With this in mind, I'm gonna do my best to respect the differing degrees to which people enjoy their coffee (and chocolate chip cookies).