For the love of all that is good: no more bad coffee in books!

[mathewferguson]

This time is was "John Dies at the End".

"I was about the warn the girl about John's coffee, which tasted like a cup of battery acid someone had p*ssed in and then cursed at for several hours"

"She sipped the coffee, then grimaced as if it had bit her"

I hate hate hate this cliché. Drinking bad coffee and grimacing. Bad coffee being a joke between people (especially police officers). Seriously, how difficult is it to make coffee? Even instant coffee isn't so bad.

Please writers ... no more bad coffee. :-)

[MrPLD]

Aaah well, people with those fancy espresso machines do a brilliant job of ruining it a lot - most common fault - overdrawing/burning... "Doesn't it taste GREAT, nice and STRONG" ... ahem, no, burned != strong.

As for me, my stove-top moka pot does a wonderful job 2 ~ 3 times a day for me.

[Millard]

Bad coffee as a metaphor for the protagonist's mood is the new 'spilled red wine as a metaphor for murder'.

[ChadWilliamson]

Wrote last night a convo between my protagonist and her father about how bad his coffee is.

*walking off wearing hat of shame*

[J Dean]

Obviously these people have never been introduced to the pleasurable French press!

[Andrew Crevier]

I love using my moka pot. Broke the french-press beaker...

Sometimes cliché is good, or a least better than a fresh cup of Sanka.

[Bards and Sages (Julie)]

Seriously, how difficult is it to make coffee? Even instant coffee isn't so bad.

You aren't a coffee drinker, are you?  Really, saying "instant isn't so bad" is a bit of a heresy.  No real coffee drinker would say that.

[bluetiger1941]

In my books the people are always enjoying their coffee - usually its coffee and chicory; the protagonist takes it black and is savoring the taste.

[J Dean]

But the real question is, do you let them drink Postum?

[shelleyo1]

This time is was "John Dies at the End".

"I was about the warn the girl about John's coffee, which tasted like a cup of battery acid someone had p*ssed in and then cursed at for several hours"

"She sipped the coffee, then grimaced as if it had bit her"

I hate hate hate this cliché. Drinking bad coffee and grimacing. Bad coffee being a joke between people (especially police officers). Seriously, how difficult is it to make coffee? Even instant coffee isn't so bad.

Please writers ... no more bad coffee. :-)

Is it really a cliche? I've made what felt like some pretty horrifying faces many times after tasting coffee like Wong's description there. I loved JDatE, by the way.

I guess some people actually like the taste of instant coffee, but drinking it would definitely make my face pucker in on itself. If it was the only way to avoid a caffeine-withdrawal headache . . . maybe.

[Beth Dolgner]

My characters only drink good coffee. In fact, they occasionally find themselves at a coffee shop called The Big Bean Theory. I've put my heroine through a lot, but I don't think I have the heart to give her bad coffee.

[anne_holly]

The general tone of my days are often intimately connected to how good the coffee was that morning.

I get the point, and I know it comes up in a lot of books. (Perhaps the word grimace is well over-used, but it does describe the moment well.)

It doesn't bother me when I read it. To me, it makes sense - I know how the character feels if they got a bad cup. What's even better - when life is really stressful and harsh at the moment, and you get that really, d*mn-good cup, and suddenly things start feeling doable again. I love that feeling.

[MrPLD]

The general tone of my days are often intimately connected to how good the coffee was that morning.

Hear hear... and as such my days are generally shot due to my morning-coffee failures ( all explained at http://elitadaniels.com/blog/129 )... be thankful you don't live in this place *shudder*

[anne_holly]

You aren't a coffee drinker, are you?  Really, saying "instant isn't so bad" is a bit of a heresy.  No real coffee drinker would say that.

So-named because there's only an "instant" in which it tastes like coffee?

I had a friend who was such a coffee junkie, he'd eat a spoonful of instant coffee crystals in the mornings if he were running too late to make a pot.  

[R. M. Reed]

I never drank coffee until I started getting up very early to drive a school bus. Now I drink it just because it's a daily habit. However, the bitter taste has to be buried in sweetener and milk, I can't understand anyone who drinks it black.

[MichaelWallace]

The good people of Blister Creek, Utah do not complain about coffee.

[Caddy]

So-named because there's only an instant in which is tastes like coffee?

I have not ever found that instant...but then I like my french press, which many find snobby.  Makes really good coffee, though.

[FrankZubek]

Funny thread and I agree with mathew to a degree
But then, it seems to be ingrained in the brain of both writers and readers. Something that's a "given" that just HAS to be included

[anne_holly]

I have not ever found that instant...but then I like my french press, which many find snobby.  Makes really good coffee, though.

I keep instant in the cupboard in case of blizzards, since it's in no danger of being used except in emergencies.

It reminds me of winter camping, which is the only time I ever appreciated it.

[Tony Rabig]

Anyone reading this thread who has not yet done so should check out the opening credits sequence in the movie Harper, during which Paul Newman prepares his morning coffee.  Delightful.


Edit: the "not yet done so" refers, of course, to seeing the movie Harper and not to reading the thread.  Clumsy phrasing due to posting before I've had my morning coffee...

[TheSFReader]

If you're into Science Fiction, Nathan Lowell's "Share" series hero is quite a coffee - snob , and SPOILER ALERT wins his place in the spaceship by providing GOOD cofee to the crew. Later in the series, there are whole paragraphs about finding good blends...

Needless to say the series is not really about action, but I liked it greatly nonetheless

[JRTomlin]

This time is was "John Dies at the End".

"I was about the warn the girl about John's coffee, which tasted like a cup of battery acid someone had p*ssed in and then cursed at for several hours"

"She sipped the coffee, then grimaced as if it had bit her"

I hate hate hate this cliché. Drinking bad coffee and grimacing. Bad coffee being a joke between people (especially police officers). Seriously, how difficult is it to make coffee? Even instant coffee isn't so bad.

Please writers ... no more bad coffee. :-)

Instant coffee isn't so bad? You're kidding, right? *gag*

I suppose a French press is considered snobby by some, but it has the advantage of making good coffee which is NOT that easy to make.

Edit: Actually, it's not that hard but you have to have decent coffee and a good pot, which other than a French press is highly unlikely.  So although it isn't very hard, not many people manage it. It is unbelievable the p*ss a lot of people drink.

[Colin Taber]

You aren't a coffee drinker, are you?  Really, saying "instant isn't so bad" is a bit of a heresy.  No real coffee drinker would say that.

Never has a more truthful observation been spoken.

[JRTomlin]

Of course, I also live in the Pacific NW where more people worship good coffee than god. 

[Chrystalla]

I'm Greek (well, Greek Cypriot), and bitter "bad" coffee is a cultural thing (as is drinking instant coffee all the time - cold instant coffee anyone? shaken?)

Bad coffee makes me feel like home.