The 7 AM regular who changed my whole morning routine

I've been hitting the same shop in Cincinnati for about a month now, and this elderly guy kept nodding at me from the corner table every single day. Last Tuesday he finally told me I was ordering the wrong thing for my temperament, so I tried his suggestion of a cortado with a splash of cream, and honestly it took me three days to admit he was right. Anyone else ever had a complete stranger read your coffee habits better than you do?

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the_spencer26d ago

Is it possible he wasn't being nice, just honest? Because the way you describe it, he basically told you your order was wrong and you took it. That's a bold move from a stranger. I had a guy at a diner in Covington tell me my hash browns should be extra crispy, "well done" as he put it, and I argued with him for five minutes before giving in. Turns out he was right too, but I still think there's a difference between someone who watches you order for a month and someone who just shouts advice from two tables over. The cortado thing though, that's a solid call. Most people don't even know what a cortado is here, so he's clearly got some experience.