These coffee snobs ban milk and sugar

These coffee(ˈkäfē,ˈkôfē) snobs(snäb) ban(ban,bän) milk(milk) and sugar(ˈSHo͝ogər)

A bitter(ˈbidər) customer service experience for some?

By Alina(əˈlinə) Dizik(diˈzək)

Three years ago, when travelling(ˈtravəl) for work, I dropped into a café(kaˈfā, kəˈfā) for a dose(dōs) of morning caffeine(kaˈfēn,ˈkafˌēn). Sleep deprived(dəˈprīvd), I was grateful to be handed the perfect pour(pôr) over – where you hand-pour the water over ground coffee – a few minutes later.

But when I asked for a bit of sugar, the barista(bəˈrēstə) flatly(ˈflatlē) refused(rəˈfyo͞oz), telling me they didn’t offer it. What happened to the ‘how do you take your coffee’ culture I was used to? Irritated(ˈirəˌtādəd), I had no choice but to drink it unsweetened(ˌənˈswētnd).

Actually, it was pretty(ˈpridē) good. Turns out I had stumbled(ˈstəmbəl) upon Oddly(ˈädlē) Correct Coffee Bar, a cafe in Kansas(ˈkanzəs) City, Missouri(məˈzo͝orē, məˈzo͝orə). A café which I subsequently found out many foodies consider to be one of the top coffee spots in the US.

Part of its so-called charm(CHärm) is its enforcement of strict(strikt) coffee culture rules. Oddly Correct is part of a new breed(brēd) of high-end coffee shops that have adopted zero(ˈzi(ə)rō,ˈzēˌrō) tolerance(ˈtäl(ə)rəns) policies(ˈpäləsē) on sugar, milk and cream(krēm) to preserve(prəˈzərv) what they feel is coffee quality. Others simply opt(äpt) out of selling smaller espresso(eˈspresˌō)-based drinks ‘to go’ because they feel the taste(tāst) suffers(ˈsəfər) if not enjoyed right away.

Often called Third Wave(wāv) coffee shops, these aficionados(əˌfiSHəˈnädō, əˌfisyəˈnädō) use high-quality roasted(rōst) beans that they feel should be consumed unadulterated(ˌənəˈdəltəˌrādəd) by additional(əˈdiSH(ə)n(ə)l) flavours(ˈflāvər) (even ones their customers might wish to add). Many of these zero-tolerance coffee shops feel that they are simply re-educating(ˈejəˌkāt) consumers by implementing these rules, but the issue(ˈiSHo͞o) is polarising(ˈpōləˌrīz).

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https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190402-these-coffee-snobs-ban-milk-and-sugar