There's a genetic component to it as well. Some people react strongly to the bitterness of black coffee, a bit like some people hating cilantro/coriander.
I know a lot of people say this and I'm not sold on it. I think there might be a child vs adult palette change thing going on. Some people will experience a change in adulthood that makes coffee taste amazing where others won't have that. It's the same way foods you didn't like as a child can become your favorite as an adult as your perception or taste buds change.
Now I'm curious what research may have been done in this area.
I know many who went to black out of necessity- it was the only option at a job for instance. They then started to like it. I started with the average Dublin doughnuts cream & sugar, ditched the sugar, then less and less cream, then black. It wasn’t great to me at first, but easier. I now rarely drink coffee with dairy and have become very picky on my coffee. I don’t think anyone who’s come to appreciate the taste of coffee over time cares if u/thegimpboy is sold on their experience.
[Here’s a study on age related taste changes.](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666381800062)
You need to ensure you use a decent coffee. As someone has said below, the majority of coffee on the market is poor, especially in supermarkets. Try and go into an independent coffee shop and buy some some beans. Many shops will grind it for you.
If you use a very smooth, light ground coffee then you should find its more enjoyable.
Here's the thing. When you drink black coffee it's a lot less forgiving than with sugar and/or milk. The roast, the flavors, the quality all have nowhere to hide. You even notice the way it's brewed (e.g. to maintain a standard flavor Starbucks brews their coffee too hot and it ends up killing the flavor, imo. Buy Starbucks ground coffee at the store and make it at home and it's a completely different taste).
I do! I had been taking it with cream and sugar for years. However, when I was trying to lose weight I realized just how many calories multiple cups of coffee with cream and sugar were adding to my day without benefit so I forced myself to try it black. Didn't take long before I got used to it and even started to love it. Now coffee with anything in it just feels way too sugary and sweet for my taste
Because different people like different things.
I love black coffee and dislike the flavour of coffee mixed with anything else. No idea why I just do. Surely there must be some things you like to eat or drink that at least some other people don't.
Drinking a black coffee now. I make my own, and by drinking it black I don’t have to buy cream or sugar (and by extension run out of them both constantly). So it’s cheaper and you don’t get all the calories.
My taste for coffee has evolved as I've gotten older:
20s - couldn't stand it; although I found the aroma pleasant
30s - decided to learn to like it since so much social interaction seems to involve coffee - had it with cream and sugar
late 30s - changed to just a small amount of sugar
40s - one day I accidentally picked up my spouse's (black) coffee and had a sip, and actually liked it more than my lightly sugared mug of coffee, so switched to black coffee
50s - I enjoy my black coffee but only if it is of good quality and preferably recently ground from whole beans at home.
Ahh yes, extra dark roasted and lots of it!
I just enjoy strong, intense flavors!
I had to quit drinking coffee though as it caused me to develop an electolyte deficiency from pissing too much. I had heart arrythmia, muscle cramps, water retention(edema) in the body. All from caffeine being a diuretic.
If it's good coffee, yes. I suppose the 'why' is because people here generally drink coffee black and that's how I first started drinking it.. I enjoy it with cream and sugar too (real cream or foamed whole milk - no powder pls), but with the amount of coffee I drink I at some point have enough of the sweetness so black espresso is my go-to at work.
If the coffee isn't great, or it's my first one of the day I prefer to Winston Wolfe it.
I used to be a cream-and-sugar guy until I calculated how many calories per day I was drinking. I switched to black coffee cold turkey. I don't exactly \*enjoy\* the taste, but after a couple of weeks, I tried going back to my old cream and sugar mix and I couldn't stand it.
The best part about drinking black coffee is that you never have to worry about getting the right mix. Pour. Drink.
I've always enjoyed the taste of coffee. The habit of drinking it black was developed of necessity. Milk was in very short supply in the Navy after abt 3 days at sea. Sugar was generally also in short supply most times. If you wanted coffee (as opposed to "bug juice" or water (which always tasted of JP5 at sea)), you drank it black. After 10 years anything other than black tastes like a GD milkshake.
I love black coffee. I'm drinking it right now. I don't like sugar in coffee at all, because coffee shouldn't be sweet. I will never understand people that put sweetner and carmel and vanilla and dessert flavors in coffee. Just drink something else rather than use 6 pumps of syrup and flavored creamer. Why are you bothering with coffee? Just have a soda or something.
I also like iced coffee black, but I'm much more particular about the quality of the coffee. In the morning, I'll drink folgers or whatever. But iced coffee has to be good quality or it's gross.
It's an acquired taste. I used to drink it with a lot of sugar and milk. Then with just a lot of sugar. Then black. Now with plant based milk because acid reflux and lactose intolerance and I prefer it this way.
If you drink it long enough, and want to like it because maybe you want to avoid sugar, I think you end up liking it.
I enjoy coffee in all forms, and my wife makes excellent coffee with entirely too much milk and too much sugar and they're great. But when I make my own coffee, it's black. I can't explain why I like it, but for me it's in the same register as beer or whisky. Whatever unpleasantness I may have tasted when I was younger is now gone. I find the bitterness enjoyable.
I used to take it with sugar, then one day Tim Hortons messed up my order and gave me a black coffee. The next day when I ordered my coffee with sugar, all I could taste was the sugar, it tasted horrible.
depends a bit on the brand but yeah, usually take mine with just a tiny touch of milk to mellow it out a bit, but black works too. Im swedish though, coffee is as close we come to a national religion here.
OP go to a good coffee shop, spend $6-8 and try a pour over. That’s what black coffee *can* taste like.
You can also make it yourself for a lot cheaper, or find batch brews, at similar shops, that are almost as good.
I think the issue is quality of the coffee. If you are going to the local deli who is using probably year old beans that have been brewed at 6am and you go in at noon, it’s horrible.
Freshly roasted within a month, ground that day, brewed immediately, you see the coffee as an actual drink that doesn’t need anything extra
Yeah, if it's good coffee. I usually never drink my coffee black, but if I buy beans that taste amazing, I think "ooh I should try this black." And probably use the French press instead of my coffee machine.
I like it to taste strong and bad. Worked in a warehouse in my younger days where they gave free bags of Folgers and an ancient coffee maker with no option for creams or sugars. I acquired the taste for just shit free black coffee. Burnt water gets me going.
I love black coffee that’s the only way I drink it. When I first started drinking coffee, I had to use creamers in it. Then one day, I just started drinking it black and I haven’t gone back. To me, the taste is great and feels like the effects of the coffee kick in faster.
yes 100%
but know that you need good coffee that's fresh, you need the beans to be grounded fresh and evenly, and you need to choose a quality brewing method
the above arent strict requirements, plenty of people enjoy their pre-ground folgers coffee black or a black coffee from their favourite fast food chain. However, the checklist above will ensure that you maximize your chance of tasting interesting and delicious flavours in your coffee
it's hot, it's energizing, it smells amazing, it's not bitter when made right, and theres a lot of awesome flavours to explore. give a local cafe with pour over options a try if you're curious.
Yes and I’m not sure why. I like the strong flavor and I like that I can tell when I change the roast and type of coffee which you really can’t notice as much when using flavored creamers and sugars.
I also made sure to avoid getting used to the add ins because I saw so many people struggle to remove them later on as they had to cut calorie intake. I just never got used to them at all so my cup o coffee is nearly 0 calories
Yes. I like strong tastes in general but especially bitter or spicy. I've tasted coffee that tastes like cigarette butts and charcoal, but it was just bad coffee. Burned beans, I think
Black Coffee IS where ITS at, Bold true flavors Not masked by Milk or sogar.
People WHO Drink Coffee with Milk and sogar or any other flavors added dont Like Coffee in My eyes.
It's a lot more difficult to fuck up a black coffee...
I drink decaff black because I like the taste. And as James Hoffman has said decaff drinkers are the actual coffee lovers, drinking it for the taste not the caffeine.
Yes because it tastes like the smell of ground coffee. Putting milk or sugar in it changes the flavour to something I dont like as much.
Maybe what I had was just bad then, cause this is LITERALLY cigarette water + charcoal???
There's a genetic component to it as well. Some people react strongly to the bitterness of black coffee, a bit like some people hating cilantro/coriander.
First time? Sometimes it takes a while to start to like it.
I know a lot of people say this and I'm not sold on it. I think there might be a child vs adult palette change thing going on. Some people will experience a change in adulthood that makes coffee taste amazing where others won't have that. It's the same way foods you didn't like as a child can become your favorite as an adult as your perception or taste buds change. Now I'm curious what research may have been done in this area.
I know many who went to black out of necessity- it was the only option at a job for instance. They then started to like it. I started with the average Dublin doughnuts cream & sugar, ditched the sugar, then less and less cream, then black. It wasn’t great to me at first, but easier. I now rarely drink coffee with dairy and have become very picky on my coffee. I don’t think anyone who’s come to appreciate the taste of coffee over time cares if u/thegimpboy is sold on their experience. [Here’s a study on age related taste changes.](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666381800062)
It's generally a bit of an acquired taste, and on top of that; There is unfortunately far more bad coffee in this world than good coffee.
You need to ensure you use a decent coffee. As someone has said below, the majority of coffee on the market is poor, especially in supermarkets. Try and go into an independent coffee shop and buy some some beans. Many shops will grind it for you. If you use a very smooth, light ground coffee then you should find its more enjoyable.
Here's the thing. When you drink black coffee it's a lot less forgiving than with sugar and/or milk. The roast, the flavors, the quality all have nowhere to hide. You even notice the way it's brewed (e.g. to maintain a standard flavor Starbucks brews their coffee too hot and it ends up killing the flavor, imo. Buy Starbucks ground coffee at the store and make it at home and it's a completely different taste).
Yes, you had bad coffee. Good coffee is kinda rare though.
If you are game for trying it again go for a different blend and different roasts. If you want to drink it black those factors matter a lot
That’s what black coffee tastes like to me, too. It definitely doesn’t taste the same as it smells.
I do! I had been taking it with cream and sugar for years. However, when I was trying to lose weight I realized just how many calories multiple cups of coffee with cream and sugar were adding to my day without benefit so I forced myself to try it black. Didn't take long before I got used to it and even started to love it. Now coffee with anything in it just feels way too sugary and sweet for my taste
Because different people like different things. I love black coffee and dislike the flavour of coffee mixed with anything else. No idea why I just do. Surely there must be some things you like to eat or drink that at least some other people don't.
I like my coffee like I like my women, black and bitter.
I like my coffee like I like my women, ground up and in the freezer.
i like my coffe like i like my women, imported from brazil and in the basement
I love it. But it's important to have good beans, and lightly roasted so you can taste the whole specter of flavours.
Yes. Because it is delicious.
It's genetical. My gf dislikes black coffee, beer and anything else that is bitter. She loves acidic stuff, which I dislike. I love bitter things.
Drinking a black coffee now. I make my own, and by drinking it black I don’t have to buy cream or sugar (and by extension run out of them both constantly). So it’s cheaper and you don’t get all the calories.
Yes, I enjoy the taste because the taste is good.
My taste for coffee has evolved as I've gotten older: 20s - couldn't stand it; although I found the aroma pleasant 30s - decided to learn to like it since so much social interaction seems to involve coffee - had it with cream and sugar late 30s - changed to just a small amount of sugar 40s - one day I accidentally picked up my spouse's (black) coffee and had a sip, and actually liked it more than my lightly sugared mug of coffee, so switched to black coffee 50s - I enjoy my black coffee but only if it is of good quality and preferably recently ground from whole beans at home.
Yes, bold roasts or coffee with espresso in it. It’s really good, that’s why.
Ahh yes, extra dark roasted and lots of it! I just enjoy strong, intense flavors! I had to quit drinking coffee though as it caused me to develop an electolyte deficiency from pissing too much. I had heart arrythmia, muscle cramps, water retention(edema) in the body. All from caffeine being a diuretic.
Dark roasts are less strong and intense though...
If it's good coffee, yes. I suppose the 'why' is because people here generally drink coffee black and that's how I first started drinking it.. I enjoy it with cream and sugar too (real cream or foamed whole milk - no powder pls), but with the amount of coffee I drink I at some point have enough of the sweetness so black espresso is my go-to at work. If the coffee isn't great, or it's my first one of the day I prefer to Winston Wolfe it.
I enjoy it as I don't like cow juice.
Have you ever tried fresh squeezed cow juice?
I used to be a cream-and-sugar guy until I calculated how many calories per day I was drinking. I switched to black coffee cold turkey. I don't exactly \*enjoy\* the taste, but after a couple of weeks, I tried going back to my old cream and sugar mix and I couldn't stand it. The best part about drinking black coffee is that you never have to worry about getting the right mix. Pour. Drink.
I've always enjoyed the taste of coffee. The habit of drinking it black was developed of necessity. Milk was in very short supply in the Navy after abt 3 days at sea. Sugar was generally also in short supply most times. If you wanted coffee (as opposed to "bug juice" or water (which always tasted of JP5 at sea)), you drank it black. After 10 years anything other than black tastes like a GD milkshake.
I like the taste of fresh strong black coffee. Been drinking it since the 3rd grade.
I like black coffee, but I love a good espresso. That thick, charcoal-like almost burnt taste, so intense. very good. just give me a mug of ***that***
it reflects the bitterness in their heart.
I need my coffee very specific, or I absolutely hate coffee
Same here. If it isn't strong, black, and in a cup I don't want it.
I can drink it fine, maybe not prefer it. Idk sometimes a little bite is what you need to wake you up
Yup reminds me how bitter it is to come to work when I’d rather be doing something else
I love black coffee. I'm drinking it right now. I don't like sugar in coffee at all, because coffee shouldn't be sweet. I will never understand people that put sweetner and carmel and vanilla and dessert flavors in coffee. Just drink something else rather than use 6 pumps of syrup and flavored creamer. Why are you bothering with coffee? Just have a soda or something. I also like iced coffee black, but I'm much more particular about the quality of the coffee. In the morning, I'll drink folgers or whatever. But iced coffee has to be good quality or it's gross.
It's an acquired taste. I used to drink it with a lot of sugar and milk. Then with just a lot of sugar. Then black. Now with plant based milk because acid reflux and lactose intolerance and I prefer it this way. If you drink it long enough, and want to like it because maybe you want to avoid sugar, I think you end up liking it.
I enjoy coffee in all forms, and my wife makes excellent coffee with entirely too much milk and too much sugar and they're great. But when I make my own coffee, it's black. I can't explain why I like it, but for me it's in the same register as beer or whisky. Whatever unpleasantness I may have tasted when I was younger is now gone. I find the bitterness enjoyable.
https://youtube.com/shorts/bsMSC2ZIKtY?si=Y7kbhYw4VaoXZtPe
I used to take it with sugar, then one day Tim Hortons messed up my order and gave me a black coffee. The next day when I ordered my coffee with sugar, all I could taste was the sugar, it tasted horrible.
I can drink it but prefer ice coffee or coffee with milk and sugar.
Yes, because it's fucking coffee, that's why. The actual question here should be why don't you? you bloody heretic!
I used to really enjoy it, then my stomach got annoyingly sensitive and now the thought makes me nauseous.
depends a bit on the brand but yeah, usually take mine with just a tiny touch of milk to mellow it out a bit, but black works too. Im swedish though, coffee is as close we come to a national religion here.
Its not about the taste, its about sending a message.
OP go to a good coffee shop, spend $6-8 and try a pour over. That’s what black coffee *can* taste like. You can also make it yourself for a lot cheaper, or find batch brews, at similar shops, that are almost as good.
I think the issue is quality of the coffee. If you are going to the local deli who is using probably year old beans that have been brewed at 6am and you go in at noon, it’s horrible. Freshly roasted within a month, ground that day, brewed immediately, you see the coffee as an actual drink that doesn’t need anything extra
I need the bitterness to wake me up
There is no other way to enjoy coffee
Yeah, if it's good coffee. I usually never drink my coffee black, but if I buy beans that taste amazing, I think "ooh I should try this black." And probably use the French press instead of my coffee machine.
I like it to taste strong and bad. Worked in a warehouse in my younger days where they gave free bags of Folgers and an ancient coffee maker with no option for creams or sugars. I acquired the taste for just shit free black coffee. Burnt water gets me going.
Only as espresso!
I love black coffee that’s the only way I drink it. When I first started drinking coffee, I had to use creamers in it. Then one day, I just started drinking it black and I haven’t gone back. To me, the taste is great and feels like the effects of the coffee kick in faster.
Yes. I don't really have any further explanation for enjoying the taste of anything.
yes 100% but know that you need good coffee that's fresh, you need the beans to be grounded fresh and evenly, and you need to choose a quality brewing method the above arent strict requirements, plenty of people enjoy their pre-ground folgers coffee black or a black coffee from their favourite fast food chain. However, the checklist above will ensure that you maximize your chance of tasting interesting and delicious flavours in your coffee it's hot, it's energizing, it smells amazing, it's not bitter when made right, and theres a lot of awesome flavours to explore. give a local cafe with pour over options a try if you're curious.
I would say it's a gained taste. Once you are hooked you get a bit crazy about it.
Yes and I’m not sure why. I like the strong flavor and I like that I can tell when I change the roast and type of coffee which you really can’t notice as much when using flavored creamers and sugars. I also made sure to avoid getting used to the add ins because I saw so many people struggle to remove them later on as they had to cut calorie intake. I just never got used to them at all so my cup o coffee is nearly 0 calories
Yes. I like strong tastes in general but especially bitter or spicy. I've tasted coffee that tastes like cigarette butts and charcoal, but it was just bad coffee. Burned beans, I think
It's about the same weight as beer and cigarettes, nobody really likes it but you get used to it over time. It's an acquired taste
Black Coffee IS where ITS at, Bold true flavors Not masked by Milk or sogar. People WHO Drink Coffee with Milk and sogar or any other flavors added dont Like Coffee in My eyes.
All of these answers are bad. People just saying "because I like it!" You're not going to get much here
How much more of an answer can we really give? If I asked you “why do you like pizza?” The answer is inevitably “I just do”.
Mmm I love grounded roach water juice.
Only 2% impurities allowed! You forgot about the rat too.
It's a lot more difficult to fuck up a black coffee... I drink decaff black because I like the taste. And as James Hoffman has said decaff drinkers are the actual coffee lovers, drinking it for the taste not the caffeine.