My name is Liam, I’m 30, and I live in Seattle. Like most people here, I drink a lot of coffee. Not just occasionally — I’m talking about the kind of routine where the barista knows your order before you even say it.
About three months ago I started going to the same small café near my apartment almost every morning.
Nice place. Friendly staff. Good coffee.
The first few times I ordered a latte, it came out… lukewarm.
Not terrible, but definitely cooler than I prefer. By the time I walked two blocks back to my apartment, it was barely warm.
So one morning when the barista asked how everything had been, I casually mentioned it.
I said, “Would it be possible to make it a little extra hot?”
He nodded and said, “Got it.”
The next day my latte was definitely hotter.
Mission accomplished, I thought.
But then something strange happened.
The barista started remembering my order.
And not just the drink itself — the extra hot part.
Every single morning since then, when I walk in the door he immediately says:
“Extra hot latte?”
And before I can even reconsider the decision, he’s already steaming the milk.
At first it was fine.
But over time the temperature of these drinks has slowly escalated into something that feels less like coffee and more like molten lava in a paper cup.
The last one I bought was so hot that I had to hold it with two napkins just to carry it outside.
I tried taking a sip after about five minutes.
Instant regret.
It felt like I had just attempted to drink something straight out of a volcano.
Now here’s the real problem.
The baristas are incredibly friendly and clearly proud of remembering regular customers’ preferences.
Which means if I suddenly walk in and say, “Actually, could you make it normal temperature now?” it feels like I’m rejecting the carefully memorized system they’ve built.
So every morning I continue accepting a beverage that could probably sterilize medical equipment.
The other day one of the baristas even said, “We made it extra extra hot today — just how you like it.”
At this point I’m basically carrying around a cup of coffee that can’t safely be consumed for the first fifteen minutes.
Which raises the obvious question.
How do you politely undo a very specific coffee preference that you accidentally created months ago?
Because if the temperature keeps increasing, I’m pretty sure my next latte might arrive actively boiling.
And I’m not convinced the lid on those cups is designed for that level of thermal commitment.
