BBC Take Away English (Wake up and smell the coffee! 闻闻咖啡 清醒清醒)

咖啡有提神醒脑的功效，但它的奥秘可不止于此。专家表示，咖啡豆发出的醉人香气也同样重要。本集《随身英语》探讨为什么这种饮料闻起来总是比尝起来的味道要好那么一点。

coffee

>本文音频戳这里<

---

article

There are only a few truly pleasant smells to wake up to in the morning. It might be the aroma of freshly baked bread, or the scent of your partner's freshly brushed teeth – but for me, it's the smell of freshly brewed coffee. Just a sniff of it makes me jump out of bed and rush to the kitchen for a gulp of the hot black liquid. But then things quickly go downhill.

If you're a coffee connoisseur, you'll understand that opening a new packet of coffee releases an amazing smell – fresh, roasted coffee beans. Delicious! And if you've got a nose for the stuff, you'll be able to identify the beans' origin – Colombia, Vietnam or maybe Brazil – the world's biggest coffee producer. Tim Hayward is a food writer and coffee shop owner; he told the BBC that the smell "is absolutely vital, it's the key thing. And when you walk into the coffee shop in the morning and that smell hits you, you're getting physiological responses."

I know from experience when I walk into a cafe for my double espresso or flat white, my mouth begins to water in anticipation. Although it's really the caffeine hit I'm after, it's the smell that makes me feel good.

However, this feeling sometimes turns to disappointment when I actually start drinking my hot beverage – the taste just doesn't match the smell. This is particularly the case when I order a coffee to go in a tall paper cup and sip the liquid through a hole in the lid. Yes, it's convenient, but is it really the right way to appreciate it?

Tim Hayward describes this process as 'weird' and 'baffling'. He says, "You walk into the coffee shop, you get the smell, but when you actually take the drink out, you are drinking it from something that is designed to deliver the hot liquid directly past your tongue, but stop any smell coming up to your nose."

As well as eliminating the smell, takeaway coffee cups create a lot of waste and a vast majority of them still don't get recycled. In 2011, it was estimated that 2.5 billion coffee cups were thrown away each year in the UK, and that figure is likely to be higher now. So maybe now is the time to really wake up and smell the coffee by drinking from a cup or mug in a cafe, chatting with friends and saving the planet!

vocabulary

aroma （食物的）香气
scent 气味
brew 煮、冲（咖啡）
brewed coffee 煮好的咖啡
connoisseur [ˌkɒnəˈsɜ:(r)] 鉴赏家，行家
roasted 烤的
have a nose for 善于发现…，有发现…能力
have an eye of 有眼光
origin 原产地
physiological response 生理反应
double espresso 双份浓缩咖啡
flat white （有奶泡的）白咖啡
make someone's mouth water 使…馋涎欲滴
caffeine hit 咖啡因的提神功效
beverage 饮料
to go 外带
sip 喝一小口、呷
deliver 送到
wake up and smell the coffee （告诉人）认清形势
mug （装热饮用的）杯子，马克杯
baffling （adj）令人疑惑的，不解的
a vast majority of...大量的...
figure (n) 人物;数字;身材;算术
figure out 想出，思考
go downhill 走下坡路
a gulp of 一大口
It is estimated that...据估计...

make sentences

1. My Dad is a connoisseur of fine wine and now he's bought a share in a vineyard!

2. When making a pot of tea, you need to leave the tea leaves in the hot water for a few minutes to allow it to properly brew.

3. We're in a bit of a rush so please could we have these pizzas to go?

4. John! Don’t gulp your soup like that. You’ll be sick! Sip it slowly!

5. How long until dinner? The smell of roast chicken is making my mouth water.

question

why is the smell of coffee vital?

reference

BBC learning english
Getty images