Can you get drunk on coffee, or does it just taste like wine?

No, coffee cannot make you drunk. The alcohol-like note in some beans is a flavor, not ethanol. Fermented and anaerobically processed coffees, plus ice drip aged overnight, can carry winey, fruity and fermented aromas that remind drinkers of liquor, which is why the question can you get drunk on coffee keeps coming up.

The comparison goes further than flavor. Coffee has become the daytime drink adults share in place of evening alcohol: two cups on the table instead of two glasses, and too much coffee at most speeds up the heartbeat rather than causing intoxication. The taste journey runs from instant powder to pour-over, and why does coffee taste like alcohol is usually answered by processing, not by anything in the cup.

When we were young, we thought adults looked incredibly cool swirling red wine in their glasses; only now that we've grown up do we understand that holding a cup of brown coffee is the everyday comfort. Coffee has long since evolved from a mere pick-me-up into an essential daytime beverage for adults, whether socializing or enjoying solitude. This article will take you into the world of coffee, exploring why it's jokingly called the "life-extending water" for workers, and the history of taste evolution from instant to pour-over. Whether you're a keyboard warrior or a coffee enthusiast, you'll find something to relate to.

In childhood, watching adults hold stemmed glasses, red wine slowly sliding down the sides, that scene seemed effortlessly cool. Yet as adults, we've discovered that rather than delicate wine glasses, people are more accustomed to pouring dark brown liquid into all sorts of containers, sipping it like "dishwater" and savoring that layered acidity with a sweet finish. That's right—compared to alcohol, today's young people prefer coffee.

Workers love to joke: coffee is life-extending water, tea is the soul-reviving elixir. For many, coffee's strongest impression is none other than "drink it in the afternoon, stare wide-eyed until dawn." Even so, on leisurely weekends, how many still habitually brew themselves a cup to pass the time?

When there's nothing to do at home, many folks dig out their dust-covered coffee gear and focus intently on making a delicious pour-over. Then they invite a few friends over, share the joy of coffee, and amid the chatting, unknowingly consume an entire bag of beans they'd normally be reluctant to drink.

This scene is much like back in the day, pouring out your heart to close friends over drinks at a street stall. The only difference: then it was night and alcohol; now it's daytime and coffee. When the older generation had heart-to-hearts, there was always a glass of liquor on the table; when we grown-ups do the same, we have two cups of coffee in front of us. After all, too much alcohol gets you drunk, but too much coffee at most speeds up your heartbeat.

In the past, intellectuals drank coffee mostly instant—powder plus hot water, stir, done. Today, people drink coffee for the ambiance. Order a pour-over, curl up in a corner doing your own thing, sip by sip savoring this cup that embodies countless people's efforts; or sit at the bar chatting with the barista, asking about the beans' origins, just like when you taste a good whiskey and can't help asking about its region and vintage.

Many of my barista friends like to visit other cafés on their days off. They simply order an iced Americano or pour-over, sit at the bar watching others brew, and enjoy the process. Ask them: "You drink coffee every day at work, don't you get tired of it?" Answer: "Of course! I'm tired of my own brews, so I go out to drink others'." It's like asking an alcoholic, "Don't you get tired of drinking every day?"

Young workers, sleeping late and rising early to rush off, started with one cup of coffee a day for a boost, and now they café-hop, tasting the flavors of different beans.

This is quite similar to red wine enthusiasts of the past—particular about vintage and regional flavors. Rather than numbing themselves, workers' more urgent need is to stay clear-headed.

Coffee has already become the daytime wine of contemporary adults.

Image source: Internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.