As a child, I had a penchant for loading up my cup with milk and any chocolate beverage, whenever bread was for breakfast. It was so bad that there was an inhouse joke that till I see the bottom of the milk or beverage container, I do not leave the table.

My parents are neither tea nor coffee people. They only got milk and chocolate beverages because of their children.

One day we went holidaying at an uncle’s house and it was my first time seeing instant coffee. The aroma was heavenly.

I felt coffee was like any other chocolate beverage – the more you add to your cup, the sweeter. So I just loaded up my cup with more spoons than I could count. The aroma kept urging me on.

Then the moment of truth occurred. On my first gulp, I spewed everything out, messing up the table. I now had a very bitter tongue and a lot of cleaning to do. While cleaning, I could not figure out how something the adults seemed to be enjoying was so bitter.

In time, I learnt that with coffee, if you do not desire a bitter note, less is more.

Till this day I am not really a coffee fan. I rarely have it, and when I do, it is in the smallest quantity required to get the aroma.

Nothing specifically wrong with coffee, but I naively applied my knowledge of other beverages that looked like it. It backfired instantly.

The same applies to people. No matter how similar people look, they do not necessarily share the same values. Better to check before exposing yourself needlessly.

– Osasu Oviawe