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Would you love coffee at first taste?

I’ve read a lot of LITRPG recently.  These are stories based on concepts introduced in role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, and on similar digital games such as Elder Scrolls and Final Fantasy.  They range from stories I would readily recommend to readers to some even I can’t finish. In these stories the protagonist usually completes tasks and levels up.

There’s a sub-genre of these stories where the protagonist is from Earth and transfers across to a new world. In a small but significant portion these (or otherwise I’ve just read a lot of them lately), the protagonist introduces this ‘amazing’ drink called coffee that all the locals instantly love.

Except … would they?

Particularly as the protagonist always seems to give the person who is trying the drink straight black coffee.  No sugar/honey, no milk/cream.

Yes, I can drink black coffee, and do on occasion when I’m desperate, and the coffee I drink most is is what we here in Australia call a long black—a shot of expresso with the rest of the cup filled with hot water—but I add milk to it.  Based on what I see around the coffeeshops, here in Australia only a small percentage of people drink straight black coffee by choice.

There’s the caffeine, of course, and that does help make one like the drink, but I’m not convinced that would override that first bitter taste.  For many people, coffee takes time to grow on you.

9 replies on “Would you love coffee at first taste?”

Not black, no. My mother drank her coffee black and when toddler me was attracted by the smell and she let me have a taste I hated it. But the smell! So very good! Wouldn’t some beings try it again just for that?

I’m not a coffee drinker at all though I can appreciate the smell. I do like coffee ice cream. Give me a hot chocolate or Milo anyday!

My husband has recently had to give up coffee, and he has been trying various substitutes such as Peanut Coffee (made from roasted peanuts, no), Medidate (made from roasted date seeds, no), and Coffig (made from roasted figs, yes!)

Perhaps those Earthen protagonists should try the local roasted beverage; they might be pleasantly surprised!

I have tried coffee honey, which isn’t bad, although salted honey is better.
If I had to pick which drink substitute would work I would have chosen peanuts, not figs. Interesting.

I hate coffee so no and honestly it shocks me when books like these try the oh coffee is ambrosia thing. Coffee is horrible, tea is where it’s at 🙂 My fav LitRPG is still Threadbare where the main character in the series is a Teddy Bear, but I read all the Carl and Donut ones and loved them too.

I drink coffee a lot but I had to train myself to it, I didn’t like it at all at first.
I like reading litRPG too, but sometimes it’s difficult to find a good one. I recommend the noobtown series, which are your favourites?

Yes. Definitely an acquired taste.

A story I am enjoying at present is Honour Rae’s All the Skills. It’s slightly different to the usual grinding stories. (I started with Travis Deverell’s He Who Fights With Monsters, which was fun for the first three books, then not so fun, but I still read them.)

I haven’t read Noobtown. I’m going to get the first book, see what it’s like.

Ok, if a hero/ine introduced CHOCOLATE (drinking chocolate or delicious milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate) to new worlds? Yes, 100%, cue all the shock and awe. Coffee? No. I love coffee – either black or with a bit of cream – but it was definitely an acquired taste that started out with plenty of sugar/syrup and cream.

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