I never drank it my whole life, and when I was in the USN, they used to get a five gallon tin of coffee for our “Coffee Mess” in our jet mechanic’s shop on the carrier.
I didn’t drink it because I didn’t like the taste and was worried I would get totally addicted like some guys, but...when you pulled that indented circular metal cover off the top of the can...it smelled unbelievable. It was nearly toxically pleasurable, that ground coffee! To me, the taste of the drink never measured up.
All the guys had their own cup up on pegs and they were nasty. They had gunk and grime in them, and to my eye, were evil to look at.
They made me run the Coffee Mess which involved cleaning it every day, stocking everything, and keeping it today. That really grated on me, because I didn’t drink coffee. I argued about it with our Chief, but he made me do it anyway.
So next time I had the duty, when I cleaned up the area, I took down all the cups and cleaned them with the surface cleaner in spray cans we used to clean the outside of the airplanes at sea because there was not enough fresh water to do it.
Boy, were they pissed at me. I thought it was because they tasted the aircraft cleaner (I could have been thrown off the catwalk into the ocean for that) but I had really washed them with soap and water after, so it couldn’t be the taste or smell of the cleaner.
Turns out, they LIKED the crud in their cups. Don’t know why, but they all, to a man, enjoyed a filthy coffee cup! They never held it against me, which I am glad of, because they sure could have.
To this day, I am surprised they didn’t keelhaul me! And on a carrier, that is some serious sh*t!
Fast forward to now, since about the age of 58, I began drinking coffee. One cup a day in the morning. I just could not get going in the morning, and drinking it, to someone who never drank it, was like taking a hit of speed! My productivity would pop!
Heh, NOW it is just a habit for me!
I did that exact thing in the Marines.
Our platoon Sergeant was a 40-something guy who had a coffee cup that was near black inside. I thought it was disgusting. So on morning before he got to work (he was married and lived off base), I cleaned it and made it look brand new.
He was pissed and he knew I did it but there was nothing he could do......................
Your post made me smile! I use a stainless steel old small stovetop percolator. I make two cups and just have one a day, nuke the second day cup. I never scrub it out. I just rinse it with water. Every now and then if hubby is doing any dishes he will scrub it out good and I don’t see it until I go to use it again. I don’t give him hell, but I keep asking him not to, I think the coffee tastes better. Maybe it’s a navy thing, Dad was a WWII navy vet. :)
The only way they cleaned the pots, was to put salt and baking soda inside, swish it around, and rinse thoroughly.
Soap (and any other cleaners) alters the taste - and it seems, you 'can't rinse it out enough'.
Salt & baking soda - all the way. There was no other remedy. (it works)
I did a stint in a Navy Squadron - land based. They said it was good luck to never wash a coffee cup. At the most, a quick water rinse. But I was Air Force, so I washed mine.