# Most mundane poll ever-- What's a regular coffee around your way? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 8, 2007, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377 "2007-02-08T17:51:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/21 "2007-02-09T01:17:35Z")
When I relocated to NE Ohio, from NYC, I had to re-learn several things: “Soda” is now “pop.” If you mention soda, they think it’s an ice-cream soda. “Mary,” “marry” and “merry” are all pronounced the same. “Route” rhymes with “out,” not “boot.” Few people know what an egg cream is. Or a bialy. Or a real bagel. Or a shmear. They refer to a “rush hour” here, even though the traffic is still moving. What kind of city has only one baseball team? I don’t know about coffee; I make my own, and just call it coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/22 "2007-02-09T03:18:00Z")
[QUOTE=gotpasswords] “regular” here is black. Season it yourself! The corner what? I’m guessing that’s a regional term for liquor store? [/QUOTE] It’s Puerto Rican for “corner store”. Of course, the store doesn’t actually have to be on a corner. Small grocery store, I think fits it best. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/23 "2007-02-09T03:35:58Z")
Saskatchewan-based non-coffee drinker here. As some other Canadians have said, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone order a “regular” coffee here that would relate to anything other than size. To those of you south of the border, “regular” appears reasonably commonly on menus in fast food places, that is, the menu will offer small, regular and large size options. As \*\*Quiddity Glomfuster \*\* mentioned, Tim Horton’s “double-double” (or “triple-triple”) has definitely permeated Canadian consciousness. (As has Tim Horton’s generally. Find a Tim’s anywhere and you will see people routinely waiting in drive-through lineups that are around the building, through the parking lot and out onto the street.) ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/24 "2007-02-09T03:51:03Z")
[QUOTE=Spoons] Regular coffee: coffee with one cream and one sugar. Common in Ontario, but less so in Alberta, I’m finding. [/QUOTE] I can confirm this, in Ontario it’s one cream one sugar. It’s funny but it seems like everyone I ever get coffee for always gets a medium double double. It’s been ages since I’ve known anyone content with just one cream and one sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/25 "2007-02-09T03:53:04Z")
Regular would be black, if anything. Milk and sugar are extras. But I don’t think I’ve heard the term. Here people order the specific type of coffee that they want: laté, flat white etc. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/26 "2007-02-09T04:04:18Z")
I am, of course, all too familar with “a regular coffee means put milk and sugar in it”. (Stupic NYC). I drink mine black, and it’s a PITA to always have to explain that I only want the freaking coffee. To me, personally, “regular” coffee means “not decaf”. If you want stuff in it, you ask for it, the default is without. After all, if there’s a misunderstanding, it’s a lot easier to add something than to take it back out! ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/27 "2007-02-09T05:12:25Z")
I live in one of the neighborhoods of Seattle where the Beautiful People live, though I’m decidedly not one of them. If I wander into my local coffee shop and ask for a “big-ass regular coffee”, I’ll get a 20-oz black non-decaf drip (and generally a compliment about whatever concert shirt I’m wearing at the time). The locals think soda is called “pop”, but since I’m from NJ I know they’re wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Silence\_of\_the\_clams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Silence\_of\_the\_clams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silence_of_the_clams)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/28 "2007-02-09T10:40:20Z")
Here in Norway regular coffee is black, I’m drinking one right now, filtered coffee. In more rural areas you would usually also have a lump of sugar with your coffee, in between your teeth. And if you go to a coffeebar you can get black coffee without any trouble, because there usually is a coffeepot at the counter with a free refill. May I ask what decaff is? ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/29 "2007-02-09T11:05:59Z")
China is Nescafe instant. although there are about 100 starbucks and an uncountable number of small coffee shops of varying degrees of coffee from roasted on premises to lukewarm instant ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/30 "2007-02-09T11:31:29Z")
Michigan Regular coffee is Black. If I ask for a regular and I get any of that fuffy crap in it expect me to send it back. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/31 "2007-02-09T14:15:10Z")
Around here, a regular coffee would mean black and not decaf. I’ve never had anyone add cream/sugar to my coffee for me, there is always a station set up with sugar, Equal, sweet and low, cream in carafes and such and I add what I want myself. I usually order (at my school’s coffee shop) a regular medium coffee with SF caramel syrup and I get an empty cup with a few shots of SF caramel and I add the coffee from the vacuum pots and add the cream from the carafe at the station with all that stuff. I’m thinking about bringing my own SF syrup in because the coffee shop charges 50 cents for about 3 pumps and I only pay $4.12 for a whole bottle of the stuff from Sam’s. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/32 "2007-02-09T15:22:53Z")
\*Regular \* coffee is 1/2 and 1/2 and 2 sugars. \*Black \* coffee is called black. _Soda_ is soda. \*A slice \* is pizza. _A pie_ is pizza. Why doesn’t the rest of the country get it? (NYC born) ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/33 "2007-02-09T15:36:17Z")
… deleted double post ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/34 "2007-02-09T16:03:06Z")
In the midwest “soda” and “pop” are getting to be pretty interchangable. In the south a lot of my friends call it “coke” no matter what falvor. “Tonic” is a new one on me. I think of tonic being tonic water as in “give me a gin & tonic”. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/35 "2007-02-09T16:14:39Z")
[QUOTE=Kotick] May I ask what decaff is? [/QUOTE] Decaf = decaffeinated. The caffeine has been (mostly) removed. There are several methods/processes for doing this, and I found a good summary in the [wikipedia article on decaffeination](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decaffeination): > [@](#): > > In the case of coffee, the decaffeination processes are performed on unroasted (green) beans, but the methods vary somewhat. It generally starts with the steaming of the beans. They are then rinsed in solvent that contains as much of the chemical composition of coffee as possible without also containing the caffeine in a soluble form. The process is repeated anywhere from 8 to 12 times until it meets either the international standard of having removed 97% of the caffeine in the beans or the EU standard of having the beans 99.9% caffeine free by mass. and > [@](#): > > Almost all brands of decaffeinated coffee still contain some caffeine. Drinking five to ten cups of decaffeinated coffee could deliver as much caffeine as one or two cups of regular coffee, according to research at the University of Florida Maples Center for Forensic Medicine. ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/36 "2007-02-09T16:19:06Z")
[QUOTE=Patty O’Furniture] I would never expect my coffee to come with cream & sugar already added. I don’t trust them to know how much I take, and some place’s coffee is stronger than others, so the amount of additives varies every time. I’ve never specified anything other than just “coffee”. The sugar is already on the table and the cream comes in a little cream server. If it’s carry out or fast food, the creams and sugars are in the condiment area and I grab what I need. [/QUOTE] Lots of small deli’s or bagel shops don’t have coffee stations to sweeten your own coffee. So around here if they ask how you’d like your coffe, you either say black, no sugar etc. Regular just means a little cream & sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Silence\_of\_the\_clams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Silence\_of\_the\_clams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silence_of_the_clams)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/37 "2007-02-09T16:52:47Z")
Thanks Waenara. But does decaff still taste like coffee? Is there a huge difference in the taste like you get between instant coffee compared to “regular” coffee? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/38 "2007-02-09T17:06:35Z")
Around here, a regular is probably a double-froth, half-decaf, caramel espresso flip with half-foam. Sometimes southern California can be a pain. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/39 "2007-02-09T17:35:27Z")
[QUOTE=Kotick] Thanks Waenara. But does decaff still taste like coffee? Is there a huge difference in the taste like you get between instant coffee compared to “regular” coffee? [/QUOTE] I’m not much of a coffee drinker, but the only way I can tell the difference between decaf and non-decaf coffee is by how much the amount of caffeine affects me. (i.e. whether I get a big caffeine “buzz” from regular coffee and a very small one from decaf.) People who drink coffee more often may be able to notice a difference, as they’d notice a difference between brands, flavorings, etc. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377/40 "2007-02-09T18:01:18Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] “Tonic” is a new one on me. I think of tonic being tonic water as in “give me a gin & tonic”. [/QUOTE] When I first moved to Boston (where regular is sweet and light), I walked into a convenience store and asked where the pop was. The clerks laughed their asses off at the silly hick who asked. “Pawp?!? Pawp?!? Looks like someone is stuck in the fifties! Haw haw haw! Who the hell cawls it pawp? Go back to Nebrasker, ya losah! It’s tawnic! TAWNIC!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-mundane-poll-ever-whats-a-regular-coffee-around-your-way/391377.md?page=3)