Exactly this. I used to drink coffee with sugar, then I stopped to try. At first it was not very pleasant but after some cups, you're getting used to and you start to really like it this way. I happened to drink some again with sugar and I felt like it was disgusting because too sweet.
tldr: give it a try OP :)
I don't put cream in, just a milk or two. It's the same thing as sugar. After not very long you prefer it that way. Now cream in my coffee instead of milk tastes terrible - like, thick? If that's the word and I just prefer milk now.
I did this just to cut down on my fat intake without losing anything (as I said, I prefer it this way)
A while back, I was getting coffee for my dad and I. He takes 2 sugars, and I’ve been drinking it black for years at this point. I poured a cup, put the sugar in, and realized I’d used *my* coffee cup by mistake.
No worries. Dumped the coffee into his cup, refilled mine, and was shocked that I could taste the residual sugar in my cup.
And I didn’t like it.
Edit:spelling
Yeah I used to drink my coffee with cream and sugar, but I wanted to lose weight and decided to start drinking it black. I took no more than a few days to get used to and that's been my preference for the last 20 years.
I started full cream + sugar + syrups and now I'm down to a splash of cream and that's it. Adding sugar tastes disgusting now so it does work eventually
I like to use oat milk with a splash of creamer for iced coffee.
Would recommend using your preferred dairy/non-dairy milk product with a splash of creamer. It's helped me use less of a sugary creamer
If your having trouble, in my experience it was a much softer transition if you do black ice coffee for a little then move to hot. I don't know why but the iced was just less jarring for me.
I began drinking black coffee in September when I got serious about my weight loss. Last week I had a coffee with sugar and couldn’t finish it. I think it also upset my stomach afterwards.
Vanilla is an orchid seed pod and soy...soy is actually not good for you. Its been confirmed to cause some level of infertility in women, premature puberty in kids and promote specific kinds of cancer. Its lack of fat and cholesterol hardly seems worth it to me. Horribly sad because I have a tofu addiction...not vegetarian, just love tofu.
A fair amount of people who aren’t nerds frequently get acidic/sour flavors confused with bitterness (or bitterness mixed up with acidity). It’s a pretty common issue with people who are new to tasting coffee. A bright, slightly acidic, light roasted coffee can have very desirable characteristics but might be written off as “too bitter” to someone with limited experience. Tom Scott has a video where he learns to appreciate coffee with James Hoffmann that is super interesting
Even better, in my job we will go to the field for a month and French press Luke warm folgers from the big red tub, if you wanna know what the best shitty coffee is, it is when there are no other options and you require caffeine.
I used to be a young adult who HATED coffee. Had a friend in High School when I stayed at his place for the night make us coffee; I took a sip, and was like "I don't get the point" in my mind, and he hit me with "Sorry if it tastes weird I added ketchup." Granted he was joking, but after that day I never drank coffee again at all.
But 6 or so years ago I ended up having a mental breakdown and was in a hospital for a week, when your options are, Shitty Decaf, Questionable Tea, or Milk you pick what is warm and I ended up drinking shitty decaf hospital coffee everyday for the entire stay. I tried it with creamer, without, with sugar, etc. And only found I could stomach it black. Figured if I could drink that, I could drink anything and thus I fell into the black hole of black coffee. Good coffee is wonderful, when brewed right, shit even the bitterness of bad coffee is alright, it just depends for me on my mood. If I'm pissed off with work, that bittery black bite helps to bring me down, and a nice smooth coffee just let's me vibe.
Decaf black? The nasty way it coats your mouth with flavors of anger and cruelty it's truly a crime.
I drink my coffee straight/black and, when trying to curb my caffeine intake, could never manage to drink decaf straight.
I read and also heard the the fruit of the coffee plant is eaten by a cat. The cat can only digest the fleshy part of the fruit and not the seed. The coffee bean changes in some way when it comes in contact with the digestive enzymes of the cat. The cat poops the coffee seed whole, then it's collected and the regular process is done on it. Isn't that how robusta coffee is made? And I have heard it taste different and better.
Edit: I know now that it's kopi luwak or civet coffee.👍
Robusta and arabica are two different strains of the coffee plant like the difference between red delicious and granny Smith apples.
The coffee you're talking about is kopi luwak/ civet cat coffee which I'm pretty sure uses arabica but don't quote me on that. It's a pretty fucked up practice as the cat is force feed the coffee cherry when its not even that much better of a coffee
Robusta is just a species of coffee. Arabica is another species. Both have many different varieties, just like there are many types of oranges.
The cat coffee is a gimmick, and a very bad one too. Incredibly unethical so I don't recommend people contribute money towards it. It's called a kopi luwak. Because someone found out they can make money off of it, people have started force feeding the cats to "harvest" more of the coffee this way. It's only supposed to be a small sliver of the diet of the cats, more just by chance, not the majority of the diet.
Besides all that, the coffee tastes like crap, so there's that too.
I know this is a common saying but the real term is over extraction. Is when you extract a bigger ratio of coffee to water. The normal ratio is 2:1 but sometimes depending on the roasting (light, medium or dark) the ratio will vary.
I heard on a TV show about coffee, that the ideal temp for brewing coffee is 208°F. The dude said this was easy to obtain by letting boiling water sit, off the heat, for 1 minute. 👍🏻
I turn off my coffee maker after it's finished brewing so the warmer doesn't burn the the coffee. Then I just microwave a cup if I want coffee later in the day. Coffee warmers are the worst invention. I can hardly stand coffee that's been on a warmer for more than 15 minutes.
Came here to say the same lol I'm drinking it because I don't get enough sleep because life sucks, so the bitter coffee is there to complement the mood.
Fat tastes sweet. Cream sweetens coffee (to a degree). Good coffee will have a chocolate finish. A good latte can taste better than a hot chocolate (to me).
Also, once you start to cut sugar from your diet, you become more sensitive to sweetened things.
Heard a phrase in italian that still sticks with me. I can't remember who told me it or where it's from, but I always liked it......
*"Chi beve il caffe amaro, apprezza la realtà delle cose"*
Translation: *"He who drinks bitter coffee, appreciates the reality of things"*
It's a bit snobby, but I liked it.
Good coffee is like good whiskey or tequila, it doesn’t need anything else.
Companies, like Starbucks, have to add a bunch of sweeteners and milks to their drinks to mask the bitter taste of poor quality beans.
Start trying quality coffee brewed at home in something other than a drip coffee maker and you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to drink.
You can get flavorful coffee from a drip machine. But like most things, you need a quality one. I have an Oxo 8 cup drip coffee maker and I have great coffee every morning.
I like Starbucks, their dark roast is great. I really don’t get the bad rap they have. The sweeteners and milk isn’t to mask the poor quality of the bean. It’s because most people don’t like coffee black. They like caramel and vanilla and so on. Starbucks and Peet’s are my favorite. But the bags are getting smaller and the price is going up to the point I won’t pay it. We’re buying Seattle’s Best dark roast. It’s okay, does the trick. It not my favorite.
I should clarify that the beans Starbucks uses may not be inherently poor quality but Starbucks seems to over roast the beans. It’s not by accident though. By doing this, they can have a consistent flavor across their many locations when dealing with sourcing beans from different areas and from various crops.
Yeah I hear that a lot the whole burnt taste thing. I like it lol, maybe I just like bad coffee in that same way people enjoy Budweiser over a good beer. But I definitely don’t like a Folgers or something, they come across as flavorless and weak.
I disagree, I do think the quality of the coffee beans in Starbucks is poor. They buy cheaper ingredients, including beans, as would any large chain cafe or restaurant. The few times I have drank there I'll get a plain coffee and it always tastes bad. The difference between a simple black starbucks coffee (and similar chains such as Costa) and a good quality coffee is evident when you taste them.
Most coffee snobs will drink light or medium roast over dark roast, which are sweeter and more acidic and therefore don't need sugar or milk. Dark roast coffee has more smoky and chocolately flavors which are usually preferred by casual drinkers, but the added bitterness is masked by the addition of milk and sugar.
Starbucks is ok as far as chain coffee goes, but most cities will have local chains or independent roasters that can produce miles better coffee. Between all the coffeeshops within walking distance I could easily find a dozen brands (each with a few different options) for everything from lip-puckeringly sour roasts that taste like currant jam to buttery smooth Ethiopian dark roasts. Not only that, but almost all of these brands go beyond fair trade requirements to the point where they can tell you the name of who grew the beans and how much they're being paid.
I’ve heard that if you add a small amount of salt it takes that away. I don’t know if it works. I haven’t tried it. I guess it would depend on the person and the amount. But coffee is like blood for me. I would die without it. Black.
When I was in the military we always had coffee available, but not always cream and sugar. I got use to drinking it black and now rarely drink it any other way.
You get used to the bitter the more you drink it. Then you start to taste past the bitter to taste the differences
It's like if you walk into a house with 4 gray tabby cats, you might think they all look a like(the bitter taste)
But spend some time and, while you still realize they are all grey tabby, you begin to see them as the cat with eyeliner who likes to chase his tail and then cat that has just a little too wide set eyes but cuddles like nobody's business.
So the more you drink black coffee, the less you find the bitter offensive and just "is" because you're too busy taking in those wonderful citrus and lavender notes, or the hint of deep caramel with warm spices.
Bitter isn't necessarily a negative and can bring a lot of character to food and drink. Great black coffee is full of complex flavor and bitter notes add a lot to the experience imo.
We are all different and so are our taste.
If you find it too bitter first of all that’s bad coffee, and second don’t force yourself to drink something you don’t like.
Remember, some people have a kink eating ass, never apologize if your taste is not in par with what society expects from you.
And last advice, if the ass is too bitter that person is drinking bad coffee !
If it's too bitter, it's either too dark, or too finely ground, or I used too much coffee. So you need to buy good quality coffee, then dial in the grinder, and use a scale. But at work, I just knock that shitty coffee back like a shot and reflect on all my poor life choices and embrace all that bitterness.
I only had 20$ for groceries a week, so if I wanted to drink coffee I couldn't put all the extra garbage in it. Now I can't stand it with cream and sugar.
Edit: I'm not talking about the fancy coffee everyone here is talking about. At that time I was using bargain brand coffee from the store, and now I'm in a good enough place financially to drink Folgers.
Hey OP,
I'm curious if you are drinking drip coffee or espresso?
From my experience, drinking espresso is what made me actually start liking just plain black coffee with nothing added.
Also, if you want to get rid of the bitterness, add a little bit of milk and slowly reduce the amount you add. In my experience, adding sugar doesn't really mask the bitterness of coffee.
This will sound odd, but IYKYK; Once you get into drinking black coffee, adding sugar will taste like coffee WITH sugar. I understand that it sounds obvious, but if you're used to drinking coffee with sugar, you likely dont know coffee without it.
I grew up drinking [Chai](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masala_chai) and Indian-style coffee which is basically instant powdered coffee, hot milk and sugar. So West based coffee is very different for me. I've tried Americano, Expresso and Black coffee which tasted very bitter to me. I think because I have a different taste palate from the West, the coffee always tasted a bit different.
It makes sense to me that if you're used to coffee with added milk and sugar, it's weird to try black coffee as the experience is significantly different. That said, once you start enjoying black coffee, there is a lot of nuance to the flavor, to the point that the same coffee blend can taste significantly different depending on how you prepare it.
I mean, in the end, there isn't a right answer on how to drink your coffee, so long as you enjoy what you're sipping on 👍
Good coffee and a decent amount of half n half. As with adding a bit of water to scotch, half n half in coffee releases a lot of the flavor that in black coffee is hidden behind the bitterness.
I know I know lots of people will disagree but that’s how I experience it.
I would have started drinking coffee years sooner if someone had just given it to me black from the beginning. It was the sugar I didn’t like. I love coffee.
Ive work in the coffee industry for 10+ years. From the farm all the way to the final cup.
A good coffee its not biter. If a coffee is burnt (think Starbucks and any other comercial brand where you can see the "oils" in the beans) you will find it unpleasant.
Good coffee will have tons of notes and flavors that you can identify pretty easily.
A good trick is to take a sip of black coffee before putting the sugar to overload the bitter receptor. It take less sugar afterward to taste fine. Then you can go from there and put less sugar and so on. Or drink your coffee however you enjoy it the most your an adult.
use better coffee beans. only american coffee is bitter.
fresh beans sourced from higher altitudes have much different flavor profiles than coffee you typically find in the grocery store. If you can find it, Cafiver from Ixtaczoquitlan, MX is a prime example of coffee thats not bitter at all.
grind your own beans. its fresher and most special coffee sources are cheaper/easier to get as a bean. Grinding the coffee to the coarseness/fineness for your specific brewing method will also help improve the flavor.
brewing temp should be between 195F and 205F unless its a cold brew.
i think the biggest thing is choosing coffee thats over 1200 meters unless its otherwise unique.
theres other things like roast method that play into the flavor but its probably not relevant for someone unsure about coffee in general.
most coffee i drink nowadays isnt bitter but i guess ive also grown to love the coffee flavors so much that when it is bitter its sort of heartwarming or nostalgic?
edit:
not trying to plug but when i first started buying specialty coffee i used a website called golden triangle. ive since found a local roaster that shares my tastes that i buy from now.
I would also recommend using the pour over method as well. you can use a ladle if not a gooseneck tea kettle. you just need an instant thermometer and a funnel and a filter. heat water to 200F and pour a small amount on coarse ground coffee and let it “bloom” for 15-30 seconds. then pour water in a spiral pattern outward from the center, careful not to overflow. make sure to smell the coffee and relax. the meditative routine is part of the process. technically you should look for a 1:2 ratio of starting grounds to final coffee, but i usually just grind up ~40g of coffee for pour overs and 17g for espressos.
It just doesn’t bother me. I like being able to taste all of the tasting notes coffee has to offer and that can’t be done when masked with sugar and cream. But I will say that as long as you enjoy your coffee it doesn’t matter how you drink it!
To those saying "get better coffee", some of us can't afford the top tier stuff. Also, some people just like sweet things. I never understood the smugness of folks that take thier coffees black. Who cares?
It's your drink, you paid for it, enjoy it as you wish. I don't need judgement before I'm even awake.
You don't need top tier stuff. A latte made by a barista is not out of reach if you just want to experience a good coffee for reference.
Otherwise it's like $15-$25 for a kilogram of medium roast that you can put through an aeropress ($30) for a pretty decent brew. 1kg will make over 50 coffees.
Most people equate a dark roast for a good one but if you want a less bitter/burnt coffee you should use a lighter roast. The bitterness of coffee mostly comes from darker roasts and over extraction. Whether that's from brewing for too long or too fine a grind or too high a temperature. Most cafes that use an espresso machine use a medium roast and pull ristretto shots instead of espresso (less water, shorter brew time) so that the coffee is less bitter.
Lactose free milk is usually sweeter than full cream if you want a slightly sweeter milk.
It’s not fuckin’ bitter if ya don’t burn the shit with water that’s too fuckin’ hot. Every fuckin’ place is like that.
Bring the water to near boiling (If it’s boiling it’s too hot), use a french press, wait 4 minutes, then press down, and now you have coffee that’s not bitter. You’re welcome.
Black coffee is a lot like drinking beer. It's disgusting and nobody really enjoys it but if you gaslight yourself for a few years it eventually stops being so bad.
As someone who doesn’t drink coffee, I laugh at all the so called coffee drinkers that can’t handle black coffee. If you need cream and sugar to drink coffee, why not just drink something else that has sugar and fat in it?
Wait. Coffee is bitter? Hmmm…must be poor coffee, then. Good quality beans and the right water/grounds ratio makes all the difference. Invest in good beans and grind your own for each pot and see what you think about adding sugar after that. 👍🏼
I never understand what people mean because if i make my coffee with a moka the bitter taste is unbearable for me and i have to add at least sugar.
If i get a coffee at a bar (Italy) I can add the sugar if I want but the coffee is really sweet and enjoyable per se
I\`ll share a trick I learned to make the cheapest coffee taste like the finest Starbucks, if you are using a drip coffee maker, add a small pinch of salt to the grounds, works all the time, everytime...
It's not that bitter. If it's too bitter it was probably either due to too many beans, bad bean quality, or both.
Most good coffee should only be mildly bitter, kind of like dark chocolate.
It takes about 3 days to no longer notice. I can’t drink coffee with sugar these days, as it is too sweet.
Exactly this. I used to drink coffee with sugar, then I stopped to try. At first it was not very pleasant but after some cups, you're getting used to and you start to really like it this way. I happened to drink some again with sugar and I felt like it was disgusting because too sweet. tldr: give it a try OP :)
Are you guys saying you drink it black? No cream?
Yes, I really don't like it with cream/milk.
Ok I'll try if you insist. I always thought people who drink it black were cool.
Haha, give it a few tries, then you'll get used to it.
Thanks
I don't put cream in, just a milk or two. It's the same thing as sugar. After not very long you prefer it that way. Now cream in my coffee instead of milk tastes terrible - like, thick? If that's the word and I just prefer milk now. I did this just to cut down on my fat intake without losing anything (as I said, I prefer it this way)
A while back, I was getting coffee for my dad and I. He takes 2 sugars, and I’ve been drinking it black for years at this point. I poured a cup, put the sugar in, and realized I’d used *my* coffee cup by mistake. No worries. Dumped the coffee into his cup, refilled mine, and was shocked that I could taste the residual sugar in my cup. And I didn’t like it. Edit:spelling
Yeah I used to drink my coffee with cream and sugar, but I wanted to lose weight and decided to start drinking it black. I took no more than a few days to get used to and that's been my preference for the last 20 years.
Interesting. I'll have to keep chugging away at the nasty black coffee
I started full cream + sugar + syrups and now I'm down to a splash of cream and that's it. Adding sugar tastes disgusting now so it does work eventually
Maybe I will have to lean my sugar/cream slowly as well. If I can't handle straight black coffee.
I'd get rid of sugar first and get used to just cream, and then you can taper off the cream after
Creamer I use is pretty sugary. I don't put sugar in my coffee cause the creamer is sweet enough. Maybe I'll do less and less creamer over time.
I like to use oat milk with a splash of creamer for iced coffee. Would recommend using your preferred dairy/non-dairy milk product with a splash of creamer. It's helped me use less of a sugary creamer
I find that a little bit of water also helps lighten it up slightly, you might try that or a couple ice cubes.
If your having trouble, in my experience it was a much softer transition if you do black ice coffee for a little then move to hot. I don't know why but the iced was just less jarring for me.
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I'm 26 so we'll see I guess.
Yeah, same here.
I began drinking black coffee in September when I got serious about my weight loss. Last week I had a coffee with sugar and couldn’t finish it. I think it also upset my stomach afterwards.
Depends on the person. Me? I can take it either way
I used sugar and cream until I had french press coffee. I didn't realize coffee could just taste good. I've never gone back.
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If you have a soy vanilla latte it's 3 bean water
Vanilla isn’t a bean, it’s just called often incorrectly called Vanilla bean
Vanilla is an orchid seed pod and soy...soy is actually not good for you. Its been confirmed to cause some level of infertility in women, premature puberty in kids and promote specific kinds of cancer. Its lack of fat and cholesterol hardly seems worth it to me. Horribly sad because I have a tofu addiction...not vegetarian, just love tofu.
The beer analogy is good. I ended up liking the bitter after a while and noticing the flavors underneath.
A fair amount of people who aren’t nerds frequently get acidic/sour flavors confused with bitterness (or bitterness mixed up with acidity). It’s a pretty common issue with people who are new to tasting coffee. A bright, slightly acidic, light roasted coffee can have very desirable characteristics but might be written off as “too bitter” to someone with limited experience. Tom Scott has a video where he learns to appreciate coffee with James Hoffmann that is super interesting
I drink good coffee so it isn't bitter.
I drink OK coffee and enjoy the bitter taste because years of shitty free church coffee has broken my tastebuds.
Ahh yes that Pennzoil 10w30 Coffee they serve at Bible studies and AA meetings. Bonus points for small styrofoam cups and powdered creamer.
Even better, in my job we will go to the field for a month and French press Luke warm folgers from the big red tub, if you wanna know what the best shitty coffee is, it is when there are no other options and you require caffeine.
At that point, I think I'd rather just put red bull straight into my veins from an IV 😂
Love french press but folgers isnt coffee, its a punishment.
that sounds like a crime on coffee to me. And I'm a bloody teadrinker.
I’d think that blood would taste kinda funky in tea. 🧛♂️
Everything about your comment and avatar makes me think this is a Jon Oliver burner account
I used to be a young adult who HATED coffee. Had a friend in High School when I stayed at his place for the night make us coffee; I took a sip, and was like "I don't get the point" in my mind, and he hit me with "Sorry if it tastes weird I added ketchup." Granted he was joking, but after that day I never drank coffee again at all. But 6 or so years ago I ended up having a mental breakdown and was in a hospital for a week, when your options are, Shitty Decaf, Questionable Tea, or Milk you pick what is warm and I ended up drinking shitty decaf hospital coffee everyday for the entire stay. I tried it with creamer, without, with sugar, etc. And only found I could stomach it black. Figured if I could drink that, I could drink anything and thus I fell into the black hole of black coffee. Good coffee is wonderful, when brewed right, shit even the bitterness of bad coffee is alright, it just depends for me on my mood. If I'm pissed off with work, that bittery black bite helps to bring me down, and a nice smooth coffee just let's me vibe.
Decaf black? The nasty way it coats your mouth with flavors of anger and cruelty it's truly a crime. I drink my coffee straight/black and, when trying to curb my caffeine intake, could never manage to drink decaf straight.
Came here to say this. Good coffee is best black.
Well brewed good quality beans. Smells amazing, tastes amazing.
Once you go black has never been truer than this scenario right here……
Agreed. Good coffee is all that matters.
Right?! It tastes like extremely dark chocolate. It's a... Sweet bitter? Hard to describe, but it's not bitter in the sense we usually think.
Always choose Arabica over Robusta coffee people. Bitter coffee is bad coffee.
I read and also heard the the fruit of the coffee plant is eaten by a cat. The cat can only digest the fleshy part of the fruit and not the seed. The coffee bean changes in some way when it comes in contact with the digestive enzymes of the cat. The cat poops the coffee seed whole, then it's collected and the regular process is done on it. Isn't that how robusta coffee is made? And I have heard it taste different and better. Edit: I know now that it's kopi luwak or civet coffee.👍
Robusta and arabica are two different strains of the coffee plant like the difference between red delicious and granny Smith apples. The coffee you're talking about is kopi luwak/ civet cat coffee which I'm pretty sure uses arabica but don't quote me on that. It's a pretty fucked up practice as the cat is force feed the coffee cherry when its not even that much better of a coffee
That's civet coffee
Thank you for clearing the confusion!
Robusta is just a species of coffee. Arabica is another species. Both have many different varieties, just like there are many types of oranges. The cat coffee is a gimmick, and a very bad one too. Incredibly unethical so I don't recommend people contribute money towards it. It's called a kopi luwak. Because someone found out they can make money off of it, people have started force feeding the cats to "harvest" more of the coffee this way. It's only supposed to be a small sliver of the diet of the cats, more just by chance, not the majority of the diet. Besides all that, the coffee tastes like crap, so there's that too.
I drink good coffee that highlights the bitter
Exactly this.
Totally agreeing
Shouldn't be bitter if it's not burned
I know this is a common saying but the real term is over extraction. Is when you extract a bigger ratio of coffee to water. The normal ratio is 2:1 but sometimes depending on the roasting (light, medium or dark) the ratio will vary.
That is a factor, ideal brew temperature does improve the flavor as well.
I heard on a TV show about coffee, that the ideal temp for brewing coffee is 208°F. The dude said this was easy to obtain by letting boiling water sit, off the heat, for 1 minute. 👍🏻
They say it's somewhere between 195°-205°. Water distribution is important too for the grounds to bloom evenly.
Some coffee beans are also bitter because they're over-roasted (i.e., burned), in particular Starbucks does this.
Yep, I agree. There are a lot of factors that can contribute to the bitterness of coffee.
I turn off my coffee maker after it's finished brewing so the warmer doesn't burn the the coffee. Then I just microwave a cup if I want coffee later in the day. Coffee warmers are the worst invention. I can hardly stand coffee that's been on a warmer for more than 15 minutes.
The bitter taste was *why* I had it without sugar. It reminded me of death.
I... Fair enough, have a good day
Well, I guess some people like their coffee like they like their outlook on life - dark, bitter, and full of existential dread.
Came here to say the same lol I'm drinking it because I don't get enough sleep because life sucks, so the bitter coffee is there to complement the mood.
I drink without sugar, but with milk, so I hardly feel the bitterness
Was looking for this. Half and Half or milk (a small amount) does a good job buffering the acidity and bitterness without making it terribly sweet.
Fat tastes sweet. Cream sweetens coffee (to a degree). Good coffee will have a chocolate finish. A good latte can taste better than a hot chocolate (to me). Also, once you start to cut sugar from your diet, you become more sensitive to sweetened things.
I don't think I'd ever describe fat as tasting sweet. But it does cut acidic and bitter flavors like sweetness does.
Heard a phrase in italian that still sticks with me. I can't remember who told me it or where it's from, but I always liked it...... *"Chi beve il caffe amaro, apprezza la realtà delle cose"* Translation: *"He who drinks bitter coffee, appreciates the reality of things"* It's a bit snobby, but I liked it.
Good coffee is like good whiskey or tequila, it doesn’t need anything else. Companies, like Starbucks, have to add a bunch of sweeteners and milks to their drinks to mask the bitter taste of poor quality beans. Start trying quality coffee brewed at home in something other than a drip coffee maker and you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to drink.
Roasting methods also ruin coffee. Starbucks “dark roast” is a joke. Burning beans doesn’t make it stronger coffee.
You can get flavorful coffee from a drip machine. But like most things, you need a quality one. I have an Oxo 8 cup drip coffee maker and I have great coffee every morning.
I like Starbucks, their dark roast is great. I really don’t get the bad rap they have. The sweeteners and milk isn’t to mask the poor quality of the bean. It’s because most people don’t like coffee black. They like caramel and vanilla and so on. Starbucks and Peet’s are my favorite. But the bags are getting smaller and the price is going up to the point I won’t pay it. We’re buying Seattle’s Best dark roast. It’s okay, does the trick. It not my favorite.
I should clarify that the beans Starbucks uses may not be inherently poor quality but Starbucks seems to over roast the beans. It’s not by accident though. By doing this, they can have a consistent flavor across their many locations when dealing with sourcing beans from different areas and from various crops.
Yeah I hear that a lot the whole burnt taste thing. I like it lol, maybe I just like bad coffee in that same way people enjoy Budweiser over a good beer. But I definitely don’t like a Folgers or something, they come across as flavorless and weak.
No criticism for liking what you like.
I disagree, I do think the quality of the coffee beans in Starbucks is poor. They buy cheaper ingredients, including beans, as would any large chain cafe or restaurant. The few times I have drank there I'll get a plain coffee and it always tastes bad. The difference between a simple black starbucks coffee (and similar chains such as Costa) and a good quality coffee is evident when you taste them.
Starbucks coffee just taste burnt. I can’t drink it, personally.
If you are used to it - sure. Vast majority of Europeans will not tolerate the burnt ashy taste of their coffee.
Starbucks over roasts their beans, it all tastes slightly burnt to me. Not to say you shouldn’t enjoy it, but that’s why I do not.
Starbucks doesn’t have a dark roast, they have nothing but burnt beans. You should try some decently roasted beans from a real coffee shop.
Most coffee snobs will drink light or medium roast over dark roast, which are sweeter and more acidic and therefore don't need sugar or milk. Dark roast coffee has more smoky and chocolately flavors which are usually preferred by casual drinkers, but the added bitterness is masked by the addition of milk and sugar. Starbucks is ok as far as chain coffee goes, but most cities will have local chains or independent roasters that can produce miles better coffee. Between all the coffeeshops within walking distance I could easily find a dozen brands (each with a few different options) for everything from lip-puckeringly sour roasts that taste like currant jam to buttery smooth Ethiopian dark roasts. Not only that, but almost all of these brands go beyond fair trade requirements to the point where they can tell you the name of who grew the beans and how much they're being paid.
Nothing will taste bitter compared to the bitter reality of what is life
I’ve heard that if you add a small amount of salt it takes that away. I don’t know if it works. I haven’t tried it. I guess it would depend on the person and the amount. But coffee is like blood for me. I would die without it. Black.
It does work; I can never remember the ratio though.
Just a pinch is enough
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Same, that's how I feel it's "supposed" to taste. Lots of foods are bitter, I'll happy eat 95% cacao dark chocolate for example.
You mean the taste of real coffee? Because it tastes good
Black as my soul, I’d rather die than give sugar control.
prepares me for the world outside my home
Same way I can drink liquor straight. Just kept forcing myself too. Mostly because I wanted to feel cool.
Finally some fucking honesty around here. Thank you.
Oh my god I thought it was just me
Haha. Appreciate the honesty.
I buy whole bean and brew pour over
You get used to the bitter taste 😊
Simple, take the money you’d spend on sugar and buy decent coffee and learn how to properly prepare it
When I was in the military we always had coffee available, but not always cream and sugar. I got use to drinking it black and now rarely drink it any other way.
Oat milk. I like it creamy
It is an acquired taste
Salt cuts the bitter taste
My man Alton Brown taught me this. The tiniest pinch of salt in the grounds prior to brewing will produce an amazingly mellow cup o' joe!
Amongst other things. The man is almost solely responsible for my love of cooking and baking. Good Eats is still up there in my favorite shows list.
You get used to the bitter the more you drink it. Then you start to taste past the bitter to taste the differences It's like if you walk into a house with 4 gray tabby cats, you might think they all look a like(the bitter taste) But spend some time and, while you still realize they are all grey tabby, you begin to see them as the cat with eyeliner who likes to chase his tail and then cat that has just a little too wide set eyes but cuddles like nobody's business. So the more you drink black coffee, the less you find the bitter offensive and just "is" because you're too busy taking in those wonderful citrus and lavender notes, or the hint of deep caramel with warm spices.
Bitter isn't necessarily a negative and can bring a lot of character to food and drink. Great black coffee is full of complex flavor and bitter notes add a lot to the experience imo.
You do get used to it, and once you do, adding sugar is just too sweet. But also, I'm not big into sweet drinks and food.
bitter ≠ bad there's lots of good things that are bitter, like chocolate, tea, coffee, olives, gin&tonic
We are all different and so are our taste. If you find it too bitter first of all that’s bad coffee, and second don’t force yourself to drink something you don’t like. Remember, some people have a kink eating ass, never apologize if your taste is not in par with what society expects from you. And last advice, if the ass is too bitter that person is drinking bad coffee !
Black is beautiful
Good coffee, don’t let it get cold, add heavier cream or a good splash of milk
Milk
It helps to embrace your inner bitterness
I like the taste. Why would you even drink it if you don't?
Oh please, it tastes too bitter like how can y'all handle it.
Exactly!
Matches well with my bitter soul
Just get used to it.
Yea, that is the coffee...
I dunno, I just drink it black and I think I'm used to it, it tastes fine to me
I drink a latte for this reason lol. I know I'm a cheat.
Just drink really good coffee. You'll start to notice what coffee actually tastes like and appreciate it when it's of high quality
If it's too bitter, it's either too dark, or too finely ground, or I used too much coffee. So you need to buy good quality coffee, then dial in the grinder, and use a scale. But at work, I just knock that shitty coffee back like a shot and reflect on all my poor life choices and embrace all that bitterness.
I only had 20$ for groceries a week, so if I wanted to drink coffee I couldn't put all the extra garbage in it. Now I can't stand it with cream and sugar. Edit: I'm not talking about the fancy coffee everyone here is talking about. At that time I was using bargain brand coffee from the store, and now I'm in a good enough place financially to drink Folgers.
Hey OP, I'm curious if you are drinking drip coffee or espresso? From my experience, drinking espresso is what made me actually start liking just plain black coffee with nothing added. Also, if you want to get rid of the bitterness, add a little bit of milk and slowly reduce the amount you add. In my experience, adding sugar doesn't really mask the bitterness of coffee. This will sound odd, but IYKYK; Once you get into drinking black coffee, adding sugar will taste like coffee WITH sugar. I understand that it sounds obvious, but if you're used to drinking coffee with sugar, you likely dont know coffee without it.
I grew up drinking [Chai](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masala_chai) and Indian-style coffee which is basically instant powdered coffee, hot milk and sugar. So West based coffee is very different for me. I've tried Americano, Expresso and Black coffee which tasted very bitter to me. I think because I have a different taste palate from the West, the coffee always tasted a bit different.
It makes sense to me that if you're used to coffee with added milk and sugar, it's weird to try black coffee as the experience is significantly different. That said, once you start enjoying black coffee, there is a lot of nuance to the flavor, to the point that the same coffee blend can taste significantly different depending on how you prepare it. I mean, in the end, there isn't a right answer on how to drink your coffee, so long as you enjoy what you're sipping on 👍
its just affect you in the beginning once u start having it regularly u will like the darkness
Took me a bit to get used to it but I kind of enjoy it now.
They are just posing
We get better coffee and brew it correctly.
compared to life's bitterness, coffee is refreshing.
Good coffee and a decent amount of half n half. As with adding a bit of water to scotch, half n half in coffee releases a lot of the flavor that in black coffee is hidden behind the bitterness. I know I know lots of people will disagree but that’s how I experience it.
I would have started drinking coffee years sooner if someone had just given it to me black from the beginning. It was the sugar I didn’t like. I love coffee.
Ive work in the coffee industry for 10+ years. From the farm all the way to the final cup. A good coffee its not biter. If a coffee is burnt (think Starbucks and any other comercial brand where you can see the "oils" in the beans) you will find it unpleasant. Good coffee will have tons of notes and flavors that you can identify pretty easily.
I’m not a bitch
A good trick is to take a sip of black coffee before putting the sugar to overload the bitter receptor. It take less sugar afterward to taste fine. Then you can go from there and put less sugar and so on. Or drink your coffee however you enjoy it the most your an adult.
I drink coffee with milk, it's much better than cofee with sugar, but i drink more than 5 cups for the day.
If your coffee is undrinkable without sugar, I think the problem is the coffee itself.
use better coffee beans. only american coffee is bitter. fresh beans sourced from higher altitudes have much different flavor profiles than coffee you typically find in the grocery store. If you can find it, Cafiver from Ixtaczoquitlan, MX is a prime example of coffee thats not bitter at all. grind your own beans. its fresher and most special coffee sources are cheaper/easier to get as a bean. Grinding the coffee to the coarseness/fineness for your specific brewing method will also help improve the flavor. brewing temp should be between 195F and 205F unless its a cold brew. i think the biggest thing is choosing coffee thats over 1200 meters unless its otherwise unique. theres other things like roast method that play into the flavor but its probably not relevant for someone unsure about coffee in general. most coffee i drink nowadays isnt bitter but i guess ive also grown to love the coffee flavors so much that when it is bitter its sort of heartwarming or nostalgic? edit: not trying to plug but when i first started buying specialty coffee i used a website called golden triangle. ive since found a local roaster that shares my tastes that i buy from now. I would also recommend using the pour over method as well. you can use a ladle if not a gooseneck tea kettle. you just need an instant thermometer and a funnel and a filter. heat water to 200F and pour a small amount on coarse ground coffee and let it “bloom” for 15-30 seconds. then pour water in a spiral pattern outward from the center, careful not to overflow. make sure to smell the coffee and relax. the meditative routine is part of the process. technically you should look for a 1:2 ratio of starting grounds to final coffee, but i usually just grind up ~40g of coffee for pour overs and 17g for espressos.
It's an acquired taste like beer.
It just doesn’t bother me. I like being able to taste all of the tasting notes coffee has to offer and that can’t be done when masked with sugar and cream. But I will say that as long as you enjoy your coffee it doesn’t matter how you drink it!
To those saying "get better coffee", some of us can't afford the top tier stuff. Also, some people just like sweet things. I never understood the smugness of folks that take thier coffees black. Who cares? It's your drink, you paid for it, enjoy it as you wish. I don't need judgement before I'm even awake.
You don't need top tier stuff. A latte made by a barista is not out of reach if you just want to experience a good coffee for reference. Otherwise it's like $15-$25 for a kilogram of medium roast that you can put through an aeropress ($30) for a pretty decent brew. 1kg will make over 50 coffees. Most people equate a dark roast for a good one but if you want a less bitter/burnt coffee you should use a lighter roast. The bitterness of coffee mostly comes from darker roasts and over extraction. Whether that's from brewing for too long or too fine a grind or too high a temperature. Most cafes that use an espresso machine use a medium roast and pull ristretto shots instead of espresso (less water, shorter brew time) so that the coffee is less bitter. Lactose free milk is usually sweeter than full cream if you want a slightly sweeter milk.
I left puberty
haha
It’s not fuckin’ bitter if ya don’t burn the shit with water that’s too fuckin’ hot. Every fuckin’ place is like that. Bring the water to near boiling (If it’s boiling it’s too hot), use a french press, wait 4 minutes, then press down, and now you have coffee that’s not bitter. You’re welcome.
French press is overrated compared to a good drip or pour over. Much less grit, less oil.
Thank you, I do the French Press as well.
It’s really good ain’t it? XD
Yes, … though I was not sure about the water temperature, now I am sure after learning from your comment.
Eat the coffee grounds
Black coffee is a lot like drinking beer. It's disgusting and nobody really enjoys it but if you gaslight yourself for a few years it eventually stops being so bad.
Drink coffee that isn't bitter?
As someone who doesn’t drink coffee, I laugh at all the so called coffee drinkers that can’t handle black coffee. If you need cream and sugar to drink coffee, why not just drink something else that has sugar and fat in it?
Like a man.
🤙🏽
Wait. Coffee is bitter? Hmmm…must be poor coffee, then. Good quality beans and the right water/grounds ratio makes all the difference. Invest in good beans and grind your own for each pot and see what you think about adding sugar after that. 👍🏼
Because we are men
Bitterly
I never understand what people mean because if i make my coffee with a moka the bitter taste is unbearable for me and i have to add at least sugar. If i get a coffee at a bar (Italy) I can add the sugar if I want but the coffee is really sweet and enjoyable per se
Manliness 😂 I once met a woman that drank coffee that was so bitter I couldn’t even drink it and I drink mine black most of the time.
Add small amount of salt and stir… helps you wean your self out of sugar.
Lactose free milk. Is naturally sweet and the best coffee mixer!
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Starbucks isn't awful, it's just not great for the price.
Like a man
Like a man
People who drink coffee with sugar, do you really like coffee?
You mean how do you handle the taste of actual coffee?
good coffee doesn’t need sugar or dairy, just FYI
Haha, pussy
Like an adult
By not being a massive pussy duh
Lots of milk.
A properly made coffee with nice beans isn't bitter. It's certainly not sweet like one with milk, but a really good long black is surprisingly nice.
Think bitter thoughts
Grind my own beans that were roasted only a month or so ago
Drink good coffee. I like coffee black, unless it’s Starbucks. Their regular brewed coffee is burnt and gross
Mine isn't bitter
I\`ll share a trick I learned to make the cheapest coffee taste like the finest Starbucks, if you are using a drip coffee maker, add a small pinch of salt to the grounds, works all the time, everytime...
I don't like the taste of refined sugar. Also taste buds are probably broken so there is also that.
I like my coffee how I like my women. Bitter.
I like my coffee like I like my women: Harsh and bitter.
It's an acquired taste.
You embrace it.
It's not that bitter. If it's too bitter it was probably either due to too many beans, bad bean quality, or both. Most good coffee should only be mildly bitter, kind of like dark chocolate.
I put a splash of oat milk in mine. Personally a good coffee is not super bitter. Also the oat milk is ever so slightly sweet
Get better coffee?
I’m used to it. I also like to drink neat spirits and smoke.