The best cup of coffee is the one you like best.
Let me repeat this: The BEST cup of coffee is the one YOU like best.
Obviously, I really really like coffee. I take it very seriously, and I spend way more time and energy on it than the average person. Yes, this means I have my preferences, but I don’t think that this means that my opinions are any better than someone else’s. I attended a coffee cupping several years ago back when I was firmly in my Indonesian coffee kick, and all the coffees present at the tasting were from Central America, including one Gesha (at around $50/half lb, it was quite the special guest!). None of the coffees that day were really to my taste at the time; when the cupping instructor asked me what I thought, I truthfully said that while I could taste the raspberries and lemon curd and whatever other flavors were present, it wasn’t really my thing. He asked what I liked, and I told him I was drinking a lot of Sumatran coffee. I remember him sniffing somewhat derisively and saying that Sumatras were overrated and the beneficiary of a great marketing campaign. Way to make me feel small, dude (and on my birthday, as well!).
It’s true that I have grown to appreciate Central American coffees a lot since then, and if I attended the exact same tasting today, I probably would enjoy everything much more. However, I didn’t come to this place in my palate because this man made me feel bad about myself. I wish he had understood that anyone that would take the time to drive 1.5 hours to a coffee cupping on a Saturday morning WANTS to learn more about coffee, and that it wasn’t necessary to insult me. Perhaps he didn’t mean to come off demeaning, but to me, that attitude is coffee snobbery at its worst.
When people find out how weirdly obsessed with coffee I am, they tend to say things like, “You probably think I’m terrible for liking Starbucks/Folgers/gas station coffee.” This makes me sad, as I would NEVER want to make people feel bad for liking something. If you invite me over to your home and offer me coffee, I will gladly drink it in the spirit it is given… with love and hospitality! Coffee should be inclusive, not exclusive. Wine circles say to drink what you like, and like what you drink. If someone wants to broaden their palate, wonderful! But, if someone has found what they think is their ultimate favorite coffee? Enjoy. Life is too short to worry about what someone else thinks of your choices.