You know when you really want to like something but you just can’t understand how people like it? But then you remember that you never used to like gin and tonics and now you can’t imagine ever picking a Smirnoff Ice or fruity cider at a bar instead? I find it fascinating how palettes change as you get older and we slowly start to like a lot of the food and drink that we never understood why our parents liked. However, as much as I really should be a grown up at this point, there are still some items that I haven’t quite adjusted to. I’ve compiled 5 of the food/drink items that I believe make you an adult once you like them. How much of an adult are you?

1. Black coffee

(caramel frappucinos from Starbucks apparently don’t count)

I am an avid flat white drinker, which I think is fairly high up in the caffeine addict spectrum. However, as much as I have now gotten to the point where I order an espresso after dinner (and add milk) the thought of Drinking a black americano or black espresso still does not appeal. I can understand maybe liking really high quality coffee machine americanos, but how does one get to the point where you can just drink black filter coffee straight up with no sugar?

2. Olives

(dipping focaccia into olive oil doesn’t really cover it)

When I went to Greece last summer, we went on a tour of an olive oil factory and had olives in most forms, including drinking olive oil straight and spreading them onto bread. It was actually a super interesting tour and I finally learnt the difference between black and green olives (the time they are harvested – black olives are generally sweeter and less bitter as they are riper!) Since then I have forced myself to always eat olives in restaurants when they are provided (for free obviously) but I still haven’t cracked the code that makes me actually choose to eat them if they aren’t literally handed to me. Visiting Sicily over Easter, I started to enjoy the saltiness of them and selected olive bread over focaccia – a big step for me. It is a work in progress, but I am really trying.

3. Red wine

(there isn’t really a baby step for this, but red wine and pizza is still the best thing ever so it’s really worth getting into)

Luckily this is an area in which I am definitely adulting in. I didn’t really go through a white wine stage, mostly just went from echo falls rose to red wine without a blip. Though I can assure you it isn’t so easily reversed. Recently I have gotten more into white wine and very pale roses, but I have pretty much always loved red wine since drinking the house wine in every restaurant I visited in Rome when I was 18. 

4. Sparkling water

(I saw a very young child drinking this on the tube the other day and he said he likes it because it feels fizzy on his tongue – he is more of an adult than me).

I must admit, this has started to become something I choose to drink, rather than just drinking by accident. This is however a very recent development, starting a couple months ago in Sicily, which I blame on the warm weather and fancy restaurants we visited. It isn’t something I would choose to drink if I was thirsty, but I am starting to see the appeal. To be honest, I am such a ‘tap water please’ guest in restaurants, so I’m not quite sure I will like sparkling water so much that I would prefer to pay for it then drink free normal water, but perhaps that is a version of my future that will exist?

5. Whiskey

(or ‘whisky’ depending on where you’re drinking it)

As much as I really like long whisky cocktails, I am still not able to convince myself to like an old fashioned or enjoy drinking whiskey straight. This is definitely something that is associated with an ‘old man drink’ and lots of my male friends are very much into it, much more so then my female friends. I have been on a few tours in whiskey distilleries and definitely know I prefer triple-distilled Irish whiskey as it has a smoother and less smokey taste than Scottish whiskies. My knowledge of American whisky is poor, past the house bourbon, but I have been told that I should try Japanese whisky, as it is quickly becoming an incredibly popular.

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If I can give myself half a point for sparkling water and olives, then I score a 2/5 on this test, which really means I’m quite a long way off becoming an adult. How did you do?

Kayleigh