One of the most interesting aspects of the simple but somehow noble cup of coffee is its capacity to make the drinker feel entirely at home and at ease no matter where they happen to be at the moment. I noticed this during a recent trip to Australia, which is a wonderful place that I was wholly unfamiliar with until spending some time there. Staying with a host during my first night after touching down in Sydney, I was nervous with anticipation about how the trip would go and whether my lack of knowledge of the culture and customs would lead to trouble.
When I woke up the next morning, the house I stayed in was already filled with the welcoming aroma of freshly brewed coffee. As I headed to the kitchen, I couldn’t help but notice that my stress was quickly melting away, and after drinking my first cup I was completely unconcerned and felt as though I was back home on my porch rather than in a kitchen on the opposite side of the world.
During a brief run with a local who ran a lot like Stuart Lyall, I asked about this phenomenon. He explained how our sense of smell is the strongest sense tied to memory, and the scent of coffee was probably triggering positive memories of home in my mind. I had actually heard about this before but had never made the connection, and now I know why coffee is the only thing I need to make me feel at ease wherever I happen to be.
The post Why Does Coffee Make You Feel at Home All Over the World? appeared first on Joe's Regular Blog.
