As a teenager in high school in Jersey City, I used to walk 20 minutes to the nearest train stop with my friends to visit cafes in both Hudson County, New Jersey, and New York City. My best friend would religiously study the menus of these cafes to be sure of what she wanted. Me? I would check if they had matcha or chai on the menu.
​Before either of these drinks really blew up in the mainstream, I was strictly a matcha and chai warrior. No matter what, my orders at cafes would consist of two things: an iced matcha latte with vanilla and oat milk, or an iced chai latte with oat milk. I hated the taste of coffee, and even if I needed to get a latte, whether it be due to a limited menu or them running out of the other drinks, I would always ask for extra sweetener in the drink.
​My dislike of coffee lattes always seemed to throw everyone off. I mean, I grew up with my parents brewing coffee on the stove, and as someone of Ecuadorian heritage, it’s the norm to start the day with a cup of coffee and bread.
​How could I hate something I grew up around?
​My reason for avoiding coffee like the plague was simple: I hated the sour, bitter, and burnt taste. No matter how much syrup or milk I would add, the film of bitterness would stay on my tongue for ages. I couldn’t even enjoy a latte that sounded amazing on paper.
​However, everything changed one November in 2024, when my best friend Alyssa, our friend Sahara, and I took an impromptu day trip to Woodstock, New York. We got there later than we anticipated, and with most places either closing early or opening later in the evening, we had limited options for sustenance. A cafe called “The Garden Cafe” was the only thing open at 4 p.m., so we decided to order drinks to go.
​Since they didn’t have matcha or chai in stock, I decided to order a latte that sounded appetizing — a simple maple syrup latte with cinnamon and oat milk.
​I did not know how happy this drink would make me.
​I loved it. It was one of the best lattes I ever tasted. I loved it so much that I debated getting a second one (Alyssa managed to talk me out of that), and I even sent the cafe a DM asking what coffee they used (they never answered me).
​The taste of coffee was still in the latte, obviously, yet it was bearable. There wasn’t any bitterness, and I actually enjoyed how the flavor combined with that of the maple syrup.
​I found out later that coffee has different roasts, and they affect the taste significantly. After harassing my mom into getting medium roast ground coffee at Target and comparing it to the dark roast ground coffee we already had at home, I realized I have a preference for the beans that are brewed for less time and therefore more caffeinated.
​My hatred for coffee was simply because the roast was too dark, and most coffee shops I visited tended to use dark roast, which is why I found lattes hard to enjoy. Two years later, my regular orders at my favorite cafes tend to be a basic iced vanilla latte with oat milk. Especially after working at a cafe for the last year that primarily uses medium roast for the espresso, I’ve come around on the presence of coffee in my life, to the point that I make my own lattes at home.
​I realize why coffee is such a staple in the daily routines of everyone around me: it’s a constant comfort.
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