David Berman of Trinity College Dublin, a philosopher who spent a lot of time studying the complex principles of thought and consciousness. He turned his attention to his favorite drink, coffee. He is the author of a book titled The Philosophy of Coffee-tasting.
Coffee connoisseurs may devote a lot of time to tasting the drink, but it's surprising that a philosopher took the time to sip coffee. Wasn't it enough to think about Plato and Hume? But for Berman, it was a very natural transition. One of his greatest interests is to think about different levels of inner experience.
Conceptualizing the world around us through words is a common tendency of all people, but Berman and others argue that this has the potential to mask underlying feelings and prevent us from better understanding the subtle movements of our minds.
He believes that the unique taste of coffee comes from only 0.5% of coffee beans
This philosophy is not unique to the philosophical community. There is evidence that things like language can indeed change ideas, a phenomenon known as "top-down processing." The way different sensations mix together to shape consciousness is known in neuroscience as the "Hard Problem."
Therefore, pulling out the layers of experience can help you better understand yourself and your inner world. "If you drink coffee as seriously as I do — even though I don't think it's necessary to do so — it allows people to try to get the immediate feeling they want." He explained. He believes that coffee is very much in line with this pursuit. "We consume caffeine when we drink coffee, which stimulates the brain and makes it sharper. At this time, your mind will not slacken off. You are in a clear-headed state. ”
So, take a sip of coffee and savor what it tastes like. The symphony of flavor ensembles did seem to be more vivid—as if the conductor had suddenly turned up the volume of the orchestra. The way to distinguish between different notes – the aroma that rises in the air, the silky slip that crosses the tip of the tongue. This is indeed a "conundrum" when thinking about how the brain can construct these many "qualia" subjective experiences that language cannot adequately express, and how to construct our conscious experiences.
Berman says all coffee has a common note that comes from a drop of oil — coffee oil. "It's a tiny percentage of coffee beans, at 0.5 percent." However, without coffee oil, the taste of coffee cannot be tasted at all. In contrast, there is no single "tea essence" in tea. Tea is made up of many ingredients, but none of them are essential essences.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="13" > tea and coffeeism</h1>
Therefore, Berman believes that coffee and tea represent two different philosophical views. Tea is a mixture of flavors reminiscent of the Eastern philosophy of the universality of things. Coffee, by contrast, is determined entirely by a key ingredient like coffee oil, which is very different from other flavors – perhaps aptly underscoring the Western concept of separating body from spirit. This theory may not convince everyone.
However, the single ingredient of coffee is deceptive. With just a small sip, I feel the unique taste of coffee oil explode on the tip of my tongue – however, it's just an illusion. To explain the reason behind this, Berman asked people to pinch their noses and take another sip. This time, the initial taste became very faint. "That's one of the things that surprises you." "You think you're tasting coffee, but if you introspect, you're thinking you're mistaking the smell for a taste," he says. ”
Coffee connoisseurs will tell you that despite this centralized flavor profile, baristas can craft different kinds of coffee around this core flavor. A slight roasting can make the sour taste in the coffee manifest itself, giving it a "more refreshing" quality. In contrast, a longer, more powerful roast produces new proteins and enzymes in the beans. These chemicals make up the coffee's "body," making it feel more mellow and viscous, weakening the acidity.
Berman says that for decades, our tastes have been going back and forth between sour and bitter. Early coffees were heavily roasted. Later, the first wave of industrially produced coffee preferred a sour taste ("canned coffee you bought in the supermarket when you were young"). Then in the second wave, Starbucks and Costa coffees began to focus on bitterness again, and the third wave of artisanal coffee shops once again began to promote more sour and aromatic flavors.
Do you prefer bitter or aromatic taste? Thinking about differences in taste may help us better understand other psychological differences.
Berman argues that the oscillation between these two extreme tastes may highlight a deeper commonality among humans. He suspects that a preference for bitterness or aroma represents precisely one of the most basic types of psychology — you belong either to one camp or another, and it's hard to understand each other's points of view. "You'll find that the taste of coffee can show in many important ways that people disagree on basic issues." He said.
It's been a long time since we've gotten so much joy out of a cup of coffee. Even if you're not impressed by his "coffee philosophy," his theories of introspection and contemplation are still thought-provoking. When exploring your own inner experience, when opening your heart and opening your senses, it is best to pick up the spirit and smell the coffee from time to time.