Black coffee

I had an interesting exchange at the water cooler coffee machines at work today. I was putting in the massive amount of sugar and non-dairy creamer I always use, and a younger coworker commented about me putting it in the cup before pouring in my coffee rather than after. I said I make coffee like that because I think you get a better mix if you do it this way, and she said she felt it was easier to gauge how much creamer you should use by mixing it in and watching the coffee turn lighter.

Of course she's right; different blends of brew might require a different amount of cream. But I guess I got used to pre-pouring in my stuff because over my 14 1/2 years in Japan most coffee I've made at work tends to be of the instant variety, and in that case you're more trying to mask the foul taste than anything even remotely related to the enjoyment of a good cup of Joe.

Anyway, it reminded me of the shock I got when I first arrived here that I was even using creamer (or sugar) at all. Everyone I met just knew all Americans drink their coffee black. I swear I had the same "wait, you're using sugar? But you're from America!" exchange about a thousand times. Over the years, though, that kind of conversation dwindled, then disappeared. Now no one ever comments on it. I guess the myth has been busted.

Of course the "Americans drink coffee black" idea comes from how anyone cool in the movies always drinks coffee like that (I think). But is that true anymore? I can't honestly say I've seen any coffee drinking scenes lately that revolve around a character taking theirs black. Maybe that's why the stereotype is disappearing.

When I first came to Japan there were a lot of examples of this, though. I think a lot of it owed to the simple fact that more Japanese back them simply never had the experience of meeting someone from a foreign country. So they had no basis to form opinions besides what they might see in movies and on TV. I would get the "Can you use chopsticks?" question all the time. Or I got stares for wearing shades because the image was people wearing sunglasses must be criminals. Or people would ask other simple questions that may seem inoffensive at the time, but grate on your nerves after the thousandth time. But those questions come at me less and less.

Nowadays I guess we're just a bit more common (and less mysterious). There are also a ton of TV shows and internet sites telling about real life outside Japan, so the information is there and probably more accurate than it was a decade and a half ago.

Of course it's not all gone - I still get the occasional question assuming my preferences account for the tastes of all white people/foreigners/Americans. And I do see racist or stereotypical assumptions thrown around a lot online. But overall the world outside Japan I think has become more familiar and less of an unknown to most people. Or at least I hope so.

OK, enough talk for now. Time for another cup of coffee.

I'll take it as bitter and nasty as possible with a heap of creamer and enough sugar you can plant the spoon like a flag, thank you very much.