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Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 16, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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The allure of the smell of ramen shops is inversely related to the hour of day-- meaning in early morning the smell is revolting. Late night, enticing.

Is this an observation of your internal state or how the smells change during the cycle? (They boil bones for the broth for around half of the day, don't they?)

I think @George_E_Hale is right that they've cleaned or dumped stuff because in the morning they sometimes smell more like a dumpster than a ramen shop.

I’ve noticed this effect with coffee. I love the smell of coffee in the morning, but I hate it in the evening. It could be because I associate the smell of coffee in the evening with some hellish all nighters I’ve pulled.

Coffee smells lovely all the time. It's its taste that is comparable to the worst kinds of medicine. Which is weird, because the cooking nerds convinced me that most of the food flavor comes from the smell.

I felt this way around 20 years old and younger. Coffee smelled great, but tasted unbearably bad.

Now I think coffee tastes great also. Black only please. It is sickly sweet and gross if a bit of sugar is added.

Keep trying coffee and I think your taste will change until it is the best flavor you'll have all day.

I don't take long to acquire tastes, I took to wine and whisky immediately, there's no chance I'm going to ever like coffee without drowning it in additives to an unrecognizable point. Especially cold brew, vile stuff. But so damn effective, I'm literally shaking after a can.

Some of us like the taste of coffee.

Yeah I have no idea what that's about. Similarly, I bought some tea recently which smells divine. It's one of the best things I've ever smelled. Unfortunately, it tastes just as bad as every other tea I've ever had.

Sure it's not an issue with brewing? I used to hate the bitter taste of green tea until realizing I'd been steeping it 30 degrees too hot my whole life. Literally just screwed up every cup I ever drank.

I can't say no categorically, but I don't think so. The tea said to steep at 200 degrees, and my water can't have been that much above 200 (I'm at 5000 ft elevation so it's not like it gets to 212 to begin with). Maybe it was 205 instead of 200, but I have a hard time imagining the margin of error is that tight.

Hard to say. I'm certainly typically more sober earlier in the day. Also there must be some rancid oil or something in the early morning that maybe is taken out or otherwise disposed of in the evening. I don't think I'm alone in thinking the smell can be quite strong, but it may be that the smell is also quite different at these differing times.