Yesterday [at time of first writing; this was actually in 2022] I was passing through an airport café in Adelaide, Australia. My caffeine thirst twanged. I ordered an espresso. The barista apologised and told me the machine was broken. I stared at the oodles of unground coffee beans stored in the cafe's bean grinder. My caffeine thirst twanged anew. My noggin's cognitive concreting gave one final spark before caffeine drought brain death blah.

On a whim I asked him if I could just simply eat the beans directly.

He stared at me for three seconds, then laughed, and gave me an espresso shot of whole beans plus water to wash it down.

I stared at it for 27 years ... then got chewing.

Genuinely not bad! Unpleasant, sure, but when you really think about it, isn't all espresso? Come on. Who downs espresso and unironically enjoys its taste? Hipsters? Nah. They're all about preening and social facades.

So I attempted to pay. And the dude refused to accept a cent! He said witnessing me chowing down was one of the biggest and most joyous laughs he'd had in ages, and never in a million years had he thought anyone would ever attempt gobbling whole beans with zero prep like that. On the house mate.

Original: https://mikeyclarke.co.nz/blog/2022/5/how-to-score...