Should a Coffee Enthusiast Need to Understand Coffee to Belong?

A blogger who topped up 8,400 yuan over more than a year at a café asked for a refund of her remaining balance after the owner mocked her three times in the shop's group chat. The owner said she did not understand coffee and listed her visits and recommendations as offenses, prompting wide discussion online.

Many coffee enthusiasts online said they had similar experiences, arguing that cafés should not rank customers by how much they know about coffee. The case has renewed debate over how coffee professionals treat ordinary drinkers and whether specialty coffee culture stays welcoming to newcomers.

A loyal customer topped up a total of 8,400 yuan at a coffee shop over the course of more than a year, yet was scolded by the owner in the store's group chat for "not understanding coffee," and was even listed as a "offense." This blogger not only frequented the place herself but also enthusiastically recommended it to friends, yet ultimately chose to request a refund to cut her losses after repeated cold remarks from the owner. The incident has sparked widespread discussion: should a café really distinguish customers based on whether they "understand coffee"? And how should coffee professionals view the needs of ordinary consumers? This article sorts through the course of events and netizens' opinions to explore inclusiveness and respect in coffee culture.

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When you come across a charming little shop and drink a satisfying cup of coffee, most people can't help recommending it to friends around them. A blogger on social media did exactly that.

She often gathered her friends to visit the hidden gem café she had discovered and try the various drinks on the menu. Out of love for this shop, she also proactively posted recommendations on the platform, hoping more coffee lovers would learn about it. What's more, as a regular, she topped up a total of 8,400 yuan over more than a year, making her a truly loyal supporter of the store.

However, recently this blogger posted that she was unwilling to set foot in this coffee shop again and demanded that the owner refund the remaining balance on her membership card. This decision was not made on impulse—she mentioned that she had been mocked by the shop three times, and on the third occasion, the other party publicly listed her "offenses" in the store's customer group: saying she didn't understand coffee, that the friends she brought didn't understand coffee either, and that she went café-hopping and checking in all day long.

Faced with such words from the owner, this customer felt deeply hurt, feeling that a year of love and support had been misplaced, so she decided to request a refund and cut her losses in time.

After the post was published, it quickly sparked heated discussion. Many netizens with similar experiences expressed empathy in the comments, understanding the protagonist's feelings of being "stabbed in the back" by the owner, and also disagreed with the owner using "whether you understand coffee" as a yardstick to divide customers into ranks and treat them differently.

Among those who walk into a café, besides enthusiasts with some knowledge of coffee, there are also many who are simply curious. They may not be able to use professional terminology or articulate flavor descriptions, but simply judge from the perspective of an ordinary consumer whether a drink suits their taste and whether it's good.

A netizen in the comments who only started drinking coffee because of a friend shared that she only orders milk coffee every time she visits, and the barista at the shop always tells her which beans are being used that day before making it. Once she admitted that she didn't understand coffee and couldn't tell the difference between each cup of milk coffee, and didn't understand why the other party bothered to introduce it to her again and again.

This barista replied that he didn't care whether customers understood or not; in his eyes, his sharing was more like a guide, and perhaps one day the customer might find the beans she likes through the changes in the taste of her milk coffee. This approach easily wins the goodwill of customers who don't understand coffee, and may even make them willing to actively explore the wonderful world of coffee because of the other party's patient professional introductions.

Another coffee shop owner with seven years of industry experience also believes that the point of a cup of coffee is that it tastes good, not that someone is more noble than someone else, and whether you understand coffee should not be a criterion for judgment. Baristas can show customers the professional side of coffee, but they should also understand that some consumers simply treat coffee as a pastime to please themselves.

After all, distinguishing the flavor differences and quality levels of coffee beans is one of the job responsibilities of coffee professionals, but it is not a standard that all consumers must meet.

Image source: Internet

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