Smoking: The side effects as it pertains to Baristas

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Permalink Reply by Jason Dominy on March 27, 2008 at 10:08am

First off, in yo mouth is a palate, not a pallet. A pallet's what you put stuff on to ship. O.K. Now, to your great question. And this is tricky, cause I know many people who smoke, and this ain't personal, it's just facts. Over time, your receptors will dull, and this will affect your ability to target specific tastes in coffee. I have many friends who have attested to this, so I take it as fact. There is also plenty of research on it on the web to back it up. Plus, don't those flavors stick around your mouth and nostrils for some time?

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Permalink Reply by Joe Stormer on March 27, 2008 at 11:03am

Yeah, man, I love a good pipe, too. I one time decided to pick up a few different blends of pipe tobacco in an effort to challenge my palate and succeeded in numbing my tongue for a week. Not worth it.

I know a number of great baristas who smoke though, with palates like a dog's nose. I think that if you are a regular smoker before going into coffee you can pull it off. It's kind of like singing; singers who get used to smoking can still sing but they can never go back to their nicotine-free lifestyle.

As a cyclist, though, I'm mostly worried about lung-capacity.

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Permalink Reply by Lorrie McCullaugh on March 28, 2008 at 10:03am

I'm a smoker, have been for a very long time. I'm sure there's plenty of research that says smoking is bad for my ability to taste. My experience with cupping, however, is that smoking hasn't affected my palate that much. Maybe it's cuz I'm used to it, like Joe says. I was smoking long before I was cupping.

I've been told by people that I respect a great deal that I have an excellent palate, especially for defects. My palate gets a little burned out during a long day of cupping, and I find that if I drink water and smoke, it works to help bring my palate back to life. I don't know, maybe it's psychosomatic, but it works for me.

Some of the best cuppers that I know happen to be smokers. It is what it is.

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Permalink Reply by WMitro on April 2, 2008 at 12:51pm

A little hookah never hurt anyone!

It seems to me that you know your way around a smokeshop, thus makes me assume you know different grades and qualities of tobacoo, and other tastes of smokeable products. Now with that said, and this is just a question with all health issues aside, wouldn't your pallate be a little stronger for say cupping? If you are training yourself to pick up those hickories, pines, florals, nuts, etc... in whatever your smoke, I would think you might have a little edge on your cupping notes. Being able to pinpoint those aspects from smoke tastes and getting them down would help you pick out certain coffees, or even cigars.

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Permalink Reply by Alex Negranza on April 4, 2008 at 1:44am

I too am a smoker. Not for a long time though, I am worried about the long term damage to (not only my lungs, cancer, etc...) but my palate. I have yet to notice any challenges with my palate due to this.

Flavors do stick around my mouth and nostrils. I use a Netti Pot on semi-regular basis to flush "stuff" out. As for the mouth, as with anything (eating, drinking, smoking) its ALWAYS good to cleanse your palate prior to cupping. My pesonal choice of cleanser, Soda Water. Mmmmm.

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Permalink Reply by Barry Lawrenson on April 4, 2008 at 12:04pm

i was a heavy smoker when I started my journey into coffee and a couple of years ago decieded to quit and one of the factors i used to reienforce my resolve was the belief that my sensativty for cupping would increase ......
two years on smoke free, all I can say is for a while i noticed a diffrence mostly in picking up acidity but it was allmost as if i had to reset my default if that makes sense? so it all went a bit wild before it leveled out...........of course it might have been a placebo effect and my belief it would taste better!

i guess it all boils down to what your "starting" point is as far a taste buds goes
not to generalise but the one thing i know for a fact is i now have a better appreciation for kenyans.

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Permalink Reply by Benza Lance on April 5, 2008 at 4:09pm

I just wanna get in on this, as friends of mine constantly bring it up. I am a step away from being a chain-smoker, and, being since I started smoking AFTER I became a barista, have noticed a diminished palate since that time... too an extent. While I can't pick up on extreme highs (sorta feels like the high notes are wrapped in a blanket, so to speak), the middle and low notes JUMP out at me now. I've totally seen my coffee preference change too: Before, I was ALL about Ethiopia's, and now I'm branching more into the Guat/Braz arena (although awesome Eth's still win in my book).

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Permalink Reply by Lorrie McCullaugh on April 6, 2008 at 9:39am

I think Barry has a point when talking about your "starting point". I started smoking long before I started training my palate. Before working in coffee, I was a wine taster. I started training my palate as a smoker, and maybe this is why I haven't noticed a diminished palate.

I wouldn't say that smoking has affected my preference for certain coffees or origins over others. As I have more opportunities to cup truly outstanding and unique coffees, my appreciation of them rises. I go through cycles, too. 6 months ago, I was drinking a beautiful Sidamo on a daily basis. Today, I'm really into coffees from Panama. I tend to seek out coffees that aren't what you'd usually expect to taste in a (insert country or region here).

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