Greek or French? Espresso, frappe or cappuccino? Whatever coffee we choose is a pleasure, a ritual but one of the popular daily habits that we stubbornly refuse to part with.
For many, morning movement is necessary to start the day well and their company throughout.
But does the coffee we drink show anything to us? Our coffee tastes can reveal a lot about our character, our eating habits or our mood, scientists say.
For example, according to scientific research, espresso is preferred by workaholics, those who are leading figures and quick to achieve goals and at the same time good lovers.
Macchiato is preferred by women who have a career and are mothers at the same time, while those who have a weakness for cappuccino seem to want to be in control, but at the same time they are too sensitive.
Those who prefer frappe are known for their relaxation, while, in a worse position, according to research, are those who drink decaffeinated because they let others know that they do not go out often to have a good time.
Filter coffee is preferred by the refined, and Greek coffee is drunk by the most traditional and conservative types.
"Does the coffee we drink show anything to us?" we ask Mr. Antonis Loumidis, owner of the Loumidis coffee mill in Kifissia.
"It shows how deep the consumer has knowledge of coffee. There are people who are very concerned about the coffee they drink, where it comes from, what its characteristics are, how it is brewed, if it is fresh. They do not go and just order a coffee. A person who comes and asks questions while drinking a coffee, you immediately understand what a person he is. It shows from the coffee he drinks what characteristics it has.
Also the coffee we drink, whether plain or sweet, shows our eating habits. There are people who ask for whipped cream, syrups, truffles, caramel and actually make it look more like sweet than coffee. This indicates a predisposition to a worse eating habit. Finally, it shows the consumer's disposition for taste experiments in general ".
As for which coffee has the first place, Mr. Loumidis answers us:
"Espresso, and its derivatives, are at the forefront in terms of both taste and consumption. "Espresso is a method of making coffee which can give most of the characteristics of the coffee bean because there is high pressure hot water from the beans for a while and it can get more taste characteristics".
Isn't it fashionable? we wonder…
"It's not fashionable. We do not wrong the other categories, we are not espresso addicts but we must say that good quality coffee is not drunk espresso, it is drunk as a filter. We will make a very good and expensive coffee with a very good filter method to drink it. That way we will extract it. "
Espresso is the most popular coffee but also the healthiest, according to Mr. Loumidis.
"Espresso and its derivatives, ie cappuccino, latte, etc. are the most popular coffee but also the healthiest in theory, due to the small amount it has in the cup and therefore the less caffeine it has."
Of course, there are people who "live" in the same cafe and do not show much willingness to change.
"Many" live "in the same cafe. It shows a conservatism in their lives in general without being a negative thing. I would do the same if I was not in the industry. Probably judging by my other eating habits I would stay in the same drink, I like that I would drink. There is the meaning of habit ".
However, there are many who say "only Greek coffee wakes me up, no one else catches me". Is this true or is it their idea?
"His body is used to it and he is waiting to drink the specific taste effect that the specific coffee he drinks has to give him the stimulus to wake up," says Mr. Loumidis. "The human body gets used to what we give it and learns. It's not a weird thing, it's a habit that's biological. This is how the body has learned, it is not of the mind ".
What coffee do you drink? We ask him.
"I drink all the coffees because of work but mainly espresso stretto and plain. If we want to try or get to know a coffee better, it must be plain, with nothing else in it. And that I drink it plain I started to try and it became a habit ".
Coffee in Greece is not just a drink but part of our social life, something that Mr. Loumidis confirms.
"Coffee is intertwined with relaxation, well-being and sociability in Greece. We say "drink a cup of coffee to relax" like others do a cigarette. It does not relax biologically since it has caffeine, but it relaxes the mind. My friends and I go for coffee every Sunday morning. And we can go for coffee and not drink coffee in the end but we say "let's go for coffee". The expression "let's go for coffee" does not mean that we are going to drink coffee means "let's say goodbye". In Greece, the consumption of coffee lasts for a long time, it is not short, we want to sit down, to say and our news, to go for coffee means to go and stop it ".