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Why the Average Favorite Coffee May Not Be Your Favorite

The same average score can hide very different coffee preferences. See a simple example and use research to choose a cup that fits your taste.

By Edward MillerPublished April 24, 2026Updated October 25, 20264 min read

Quick Answer

A coffee's average liking score can hide very different reactions: some people may love it while others prefer another cup. Use a recommendation to find a promising coffee, then look at the flavor, strength and drink the reviewer enjoyed. A shared pot may call for a broadly liked compromise rather than your own favorite.

Several small cups of black coffee, a spoon, beans and aroma references on a tasting table.

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The Same Average Can Describe Different Experiences

These scores are invented to explain the arithmetic, not results from a coffee study. Four people rate two coffees on a scale from 1 to 9:

Two preference patterns with the same average score

Two preference patterns with the same average score
Person	Coffee A	Coffee B
Person 1	9	6
Person 2	9	6
Person 3	3	6
Person 4	3	6
Total	24	24
Mean: total / 4	6	6

Both coffees average 6, but the first two people prefer A, while the others prefer B. If you were choosing only for yourself, knowing which response resembles yours would matter more than the tie.

For this group, B is a practical shared-pot compromise: everyone gives it 6, avoiding A's two low scores at the cost of the enthusiasm behind its two 9s. The same numbers support a different choice depending on whom the coffee is for.

Coffee Research Has Found Different Preference Patterns

In a 2021 Journal of Food Science study, 118 consumers who reported drinking black coffee, most of them college age, evaluated a range of brews. The authors' deposited methods describe one medium-roast washed coffee from Honduras, prepared under 27 brewing conditions and served without brewing information in randomized order.

The analysis identified two preference groups, with preferences differing most strongly with total dissolved solids (TDS), a measure of brew strength. People in this experiment did not all want the same concentration. Those groups describe responses to the tested coffee, not two permanent palate types.

That makes intensity a useful question when choosing your own cup: is this a concentration you enjoy, even if someone else prefers it stronger or lighter?

A Recommended Target Is a Starting Point

Use a brewing target to make a repeatable starting cup, then judge its flavor and concentration. If the flavor balance is pleasant but the cup is too concentrated for you, explore a lighter concentration. Harshness or sharp sourness calls for a separate check of the coffee and preparation, rather than assuming strength alone is the problem.

The coffee-extraction guide explains concentration and extraction yield and how to choose the next brewing adjustment. A measured strength describes the drink; whether you want it again is a separate judgment.

Turn a Recommendation Into a Personal Decision

Ask what the person liked, then match it to the cup you want:

What did they enjoy? Look for flavor, concentration and drink context behind the score. A description such as bright, light-bodied or roast-forward helps you recognize a style.
Do I want that style? Consider whether your preferences overlap and whether you are choosing a black breakfast cup, a milk drink or coffee for several people.
Would I buy or brew it again? Try a small amount when practical. After tasting, choose buy again, try one adjustment or choose another style, with one reason.

The coffee-tasting guide helps separate description from liking. If you want to interpret the evidence behind a recommendation, use the coffee-study reading guide.

A personal note: I value a coffee recommendation most when it explains what the person enjoyed. A high score alone leaves me wondering whether we want the same thing from a cup. I would rather hear about the flavor, the drink and the reason it worked for them. That gives me something to compare with my own preferences while leaving theirs intact. I also think a shared pot asks a different question from choosing coffee only for myself. A comfortable compromise can be a good choice without becoming everyone's personal favorite, and a divided opinion can still point me toward a coffee I might enjoy.

For a Shared Pot, Choose the Compromise Deliberately

Choose broad acceptability when you need one pot for people with different preferences. Ask "Would you like this again?" and "What would you change?" so you know whether the compromise is working.

A household can keep a broadly liked coffee for the daily pot and make a separate cup when one person regularly wants another style. If one shared coffee works well enough, keep it; there is no need to keep searching for a universal favorite.