What do you eat before you take your sip of coffee or espresso? I find that depending on what I ate, it will affect the flavor of the coffee. Maybe when you give a taste of your coffee someone who doesn't like it had eaten something prior which affected the taste, etc. Like right after brushing your teeth, or mint gum makes coffee taste pretty bad. Anyone know a food that prepares you for drinking coffee and getting the maximum flavor instantly?

My biggest wake-up issue is "How long should I wait after brushing my teeth before having my first shot?" My fuzzy brain says "5 seconds," but I try to wait about a half hour to avoid that minty coffee taste. I know that isn't possible for the many people who have long commutes.

As to your general question, anything you eat or drink, except water, will affect the taste of coffee. But, as anyone knows, sweet things go well before or with coffee.

I brush with toothpaste before bed, in the morning I give a quick gentle scrub with just water, tongue as well.

I find snorting water up nose / blowing out in shower to greatly increase the overall experience.

Coffee first, then food.

Although toast with just butter works fine beforehand.

If its later on in the day / afternoon the usual palate cleansing foods work well for me, particularly plain dry water cracker followed by rinsing mouth with water.

Marshall wrote:My biggest wake-up issue is "How long should I wait after brushing my teeth before having my first shot?" My fuzzy brain says "5 seconds," but I try to wait about a half hour to avoid that minty coffee taste. I know that isn't possible for the many people who have long commutes.

As to your general question, anything you eat or drink, except water, will affect the taste of coffee. But, as anyone knows, sweet things go well before or with coffee.

Sweet things usually do the trick for me, too. It's mostly the notes that are hard to discern after brushing.Instantly after taking a bite into a chocolate coated biscuit I can taste the nuanced flavors (at least I think I do).

sweet things go well before or with coffee

Not for me -- sweet foods tend to mask the natural sweetness of coffee. Mild savory flavors usually interfere the least for me. The danish or dessert may taste better with coffee to me, but not the coffee itself.

Not to be difficult, but it's water then espresso/coffee then food for me... I want to taste specifically what I'm putting my effort into