Black coffee

2

Replies

  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited September 2015
    I've always had my coffee black, well, almost always.

    As a teen I had my coffee with creamer and sugar, then I started smoking, and to look and feel "cool" I switched to black coffee. After all, serious smokers only drink it black with no sugar. That was my perception of the cool smoker image back then (don't blame me, it was the 90s and the tired "*kitten* it" look was considered cool). It felt bitter and unpalatable but as a stubborn teenager I stuck with it. I was a "grown up" after all and fussing about coffee is not a "grown up" thing to do. The admiration looks on my friends' faces when we would get together to play video games and I would ask for "black no sugar" was worth the adjustment period.

    I don't know when it happened, but I know I now can't take it any other way. Even the fancy expensive coffee drink concoctions taste odd to me. They taste watered down even if it's the heaviest coffee you can find. Sweetened coffee now feels like dumping loads of sugar into your soup - it just doesn't feel "normal".

    You will probably get used to it after a while. I can't tell you when, but it could happen. Maybe because I was still a teen back then and had a lifetime to get used to it, but who knows.

    Alternatively do this: if you drink coffee daily, set your calories to be however much is your current target minus your coffee calories. This way you won't need to log it. Keep in mind you may need to re-adjust your calories every 5-10 pounds lost since it will not re-adjust automatically like automated targets do.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited September 2015
    No way, I like my coffee dark and rich and sweet and creamy. It's a real pleasure to start my day with that exact 170-190 calorie beverage (it's 2 cups). No intentions of changing that ever and haven't had to. My one concession is sometimes cutting the 10% cream I usually have with a bit of unsweetened almond milk, but that's as far as I'll go.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    Black. One good thing is that you're inhaling the coffee that much quicker if you don't add stuff to it :tongue:

    I don't remember how long it took to adjust. I used to do two cream plus either sweet n' low or Splenda, and the creams were adding up with multiple cups per day. I do mostly drink the flavored stuff, though. At work I take the hazelnut coffee, and at home I'm currently trying out those $1 packs from Walmart and my favorite is their butternut crunch. Every so often I still stop by to buy my mcdonalds coffee and I take that one with two cream and Splenda still. With the coffee already flavored, it almost kind of defeats the purpose to then cover up the taste with added flavors, and I carry that attitude with me to situations when I have to do straight black as well

    Oh wow, in the interest of full disclosure, a lot of times I'm having this with a pastry LOL. The pastry is plenty sweet and the contrast of the unsweetened coffee is actually quite heavenly.
  • sakurablush
    sakurablush Posts: 104 Member
    My tastes have changed dramatically in the past months. I used to hate black coffee but now I like it, I don't ever really crave the doughnuts or whatever my OH enjoys and am satiated with fruit. When I first tasted green tea I felt I was going to gag (no, I did...I drank the stuff on an empty stomach >.>), and now as long as there's lemon in it I'm fine.

    Even more bizarre to me is the fact I actually *like* dark chocolate now. For years I've just written it off as bitter and unpleasant, but now it seems very palatable.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    edited September 2015
    I've been drinking a lot more coffee lately, and I don't care about the calories, but for simplicity in logging and whatnot I've been considering switching to just black coffee.
    Question is, do most people aquire the taste relatively quickly? If not I'll probably stick with 1creamer/1splenda per.

    I used to drink my coffee with milk and sugar, because this was how my mother used to drink hers, and honestly, it never crossed my mind as a teenager to try it in a different way. Then once I tried black no sugar and never turned back. So yeah, for me it was really quickly, it took one try :) Have tried as an experiment to add sugar a few times the last 20 years, but I really have to throw it away and get a new coffee and I wonder how I used to drink that, it ruins the taste of coffee for me. And it is not about limiting sugar intake, a slice of chocolate cake or some cookies with my coffee are perfect. I still add some milk in my first mornign cup occasioanlly, but it is mostly to cool the hot coffee down so I can take it with me in the car and start drinking without waiting for it to cool down. But sugar, no way
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    The only coffee I can drink black is fancy schmancy $15/10oz lightly roasted single origin honeydew nectar of the hipster gods.

    All the rest gets at least sugar or splenda.

    If you want a new low-cal rabbit hole to dive into, tea comes in infinite varieties (may I suggest a higher-end tieguanyin) and I'm sure you can find a bunch you like without sweetener and/or cream.
  • AspenDan
    AspenDan Posts: 703 Member
    Some really great suggestions...I think I'm gonna give black coffee a solid week of trying, and if I still prefer my old ways, I'll go back =) thanks all!
  • mrs_dyer_07
    mrs_dyer_07 Posts: 10 Member
    I've been drinking a lot more coffee lately, and I don't care about the calories, but for simplicity in logging and whatnot I've been considering switching to just black coffee.
    Question is, do most people aquire the taste relatively quickly? If not I'll probably stick with 1creamer/1splenda per.

    I drink black coffee ALL the time, didnt like it to start that much, but that is all I can drink now. Try making it slightly weaker at first with abit of sweetener in, then gradually increase the coffee and reduce the sweetener, your tastebuds will adjust, Also black coffee is great for keeping hunger at bay! Good luck

    Black coffee is my downfall!!!! I love it and sometimes put two spoons coffee in, and then I'm buzzing off the caffeine and also killed my hunger, so now I'm trying herbal teas instead.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,681 Member
    Some really great suggestions...I think I'm gonna give black coffee a solid week of trying, and if I still prefer my old ways, I'll go back =) thanks all!

    A tip ...

    Adjust the strength of the coffee if you can.

    I've discovered that weak coffee tastes the worst (the Super 8 free breakfast coffee I mentioned above springs to mind). <<shudder>>

    Coffee that is too strong is next worst (for example, Australian bakery coffee, that is designed to restart hearts, cars, and things)

    And then there's a happy medium somewhere in between. But that happy medium varies by person.

    So if you take a swig of coffee and it just tastes really bad ... maybe try adding more grounds next time you make it to make it stronger. Then you might have to add a splash of hot water to make it slightly weaker. But play with the strength a bit until you find one that suits you.


  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
    I think it's an acquired taste that comes with age... When I was a teen my parents always drank black coffee--I thought it was disgusting, but now that I'm older I can tolerate it. IMO it's related to the acquired taste for flavored unsweetened seltzer water!
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    I'm surprised I didn't see anyone suggest to slowly cut back on the cream and Splenda gradually. Your taste will adjust. I got my teenage daughter to cut back from 6 packets of sugar in iced tea to either unsweet tea or maybe half a packet of Splenda.
    I suggested she start by using only 5 the next few times. Then once having 5 tasted "normal" to cut it to 4 and so on. She didn't have any trouble switching to Splenda eventually, but I made the transition years ago to Splenda from sugar by replacing part of the sugar with it little by little to get used to the taste. Then I cut out the sugar completely and cut down on the Splenda exactly I mentioned above. This is how many parents transition their babies from breast milk/formula to cows milk (or whatever milk you use). They often don't like the new milk at first so introducing the change little by little, they don't even notice it.
    I currently don't drink coffee black, but have been using sugar free coffee syrups and am in the process of cutting that back right now because I was getting too used to it and noticed I was needing more to feel like the coffee was just sweet enough.
    I definitely think we can "train" our taste preferences and I personally find it easiest to do it little by little.
  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
    I've been drinking a lot more coffee lately, and I don't care about the calories, but for simplicity in logging and whatnot I've been considering switching to just black coffee.
    Question is, do most people aquire the taste relatively quickly? If not I'll probably stick with 1creamer/1splenda per.

    Horrible way of thinking... probably why you make similar posts as to why you're not losing weight... Anyways on to the Coffee question.

    It takes some time, maybe a week max to adjust to the taste however you'll never want it another way after you switch.
  • AspenDan
    AspenDan Posts: 703 Member
    I've been drinking a lot more coffee lately, and I don't care about the calories, but for simplicity in logging and whatnot I've been considering switching to just black coffee.
    Question is, do most people aquire the taste relatively quickly? If not I'll probably stick with 1creamer/1splenda per.

    Horrible way of thinking... probably why you make similar posts as to why you're not losing weight... Anyways on to the Coffee question.

    Two things, you must have the wrong person because I AM losing weight at about 2.5lbs per week, and also this is a pretty immature thing to say to someone who simply asked how people like their coffee, lol...tbh, I'm betting you're a troll so I probably shouldn't even respond.
  • Russandol
    Russandol Posts: 71 Member
    IMHO, if you're going to drink your coffee black, invest in good coffee. :smile: A good blend that's been roasted right will taste lovely on its own. The best coffee I've ever had was a Peruvian blend that was soft and very slightly sweet on its own.

    I'll also echo the suggestions upthread: scale down on sweetener/sugar slowly if going straight to black is too abrupt a transition. I used to sweeten my coffee (with artificial sweetener, because it was easier to portion out) and put milk in it, then I quit using sweetener but kept the milk (which softens the taste), and now I'm 60/40 milk/no milk. Also, if there's no milk, only creamer or full-fat cream, then I'll drink my coffee black since I can't stand the greasy aftertaste. It's also the reason I'll never ever try bulletproof coffee! :p I also never use syrups (I don't drink Starbucks/specialty coffees either) because I find them too sickly for my taste.
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    I'm surprised I didn't see anyone suggest to slowly cut back on the cream and Splenda gradually. Your taste will adjust. I got my teenage daughter to cut back from 6 packets of sugar in iced tea to either unsweet tea or maybe half a packet of Splenda.
    I suggested she start by using only 5 the next few times. Then once having 5 tasted "normal" to cut it to 4 and so on. She didn't have any trouble switching to Splenda eventually, but I made the transition years ago to Splenda from sugar by replacing part of the sugar with it little by little to get used to the taste. Then I cut out the sugar completely and cut down on the Splenda exactly I mentioned above. This is how many parents transition their babies from breast milk/formula to cows milk (or whatever milk you use). They often don't like the new milk at first so introducing the change little by little, they don't even notice it.
    I currently don't drink coffee black, but have been using sugar free coffee syrups and am in the process of cutting that back right now because I was getting too used to it and noticed I was needing more to feel like the coffee was just sweet enough.
    I definitely think we can "train" our taste preferences and I personally find it easiest to do it little by little.

    It probably wasn't suggested because there isn't much you can cut down to when you're already at 1 cream and 1 splenda.

    1/2 a creamer and 1/2 a Splenda? Splenda is highly sweet, a half packet still provides a good deal of sweetness. There's no reason anyone has to dump the whole packet in or whole little creamer cup...
  • AspenDan
    AspenDan Posts: 703 Member
    Russandol wrote: »
    IMHO, if you're going to drink your coffee black, invest in good coffee. :smile: A good blend that's been roasted right will taste lovely on its own. The best coffee I've ever had was a Peruvian blend that was soft and very slightly sweet on its own.

    I'll also echo the suggestions upthread: scale down on sweetener/sugar slowly if going straight to black is too abrupt a transition. I used to sweeten my coffee (with artificial sweetener, because it was easier to portion out) and put milk in it, then I quit using sweetener but kept the milk (which softens the taste), and now I'm 60/40 milk/no milk. Also, if there's no milk, only creamer or full-fat cream, then I'll drink my coffee black since I can't stand the greasy aftertaste. It's also the reason I'll never ever try bulletproof coffee! :p I also never use syrups (I don't drink Starbucks/specialty coffees either) because I find them too sickly for my taste.

    Yeah, I'm pretty excited to buy some high quality coffee online =)
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    I'm surprised I didn't see anyone suggest to slowly cut back on the cream and Splenda gradually. Your taste will adjust. I got my teenage daughter to cut back from 6 packets of sugar in iced tea to either unsweet tea or maybe half a packet of Splenda.
    I suggested she start by using only 5 the next few times. Then once having 5 tasted "normal" to cut it to 4 and so on. She didn't have any trouble switching to Splenda eventually, but I made the transition years ago to Splenda from sugar by replacing part of the sugar with it little by little to get used to the taste. Then I cut out the sugar completely and cut down on the Splenda exactly I mentioned above. This is how many parents transition their babies from breast milk/formula to cows milk (or whatever milk you use). They often don't like the new milk at first so introducing the change little by little, they don't even notice it.
    I currently don't drink coffee black, but have been using sugar free coffee syrups and am in the process of cutting that back right now because I was getting too used to it and noticed I was needing more to feel like the coffee was just sweet enough.
    I definitely think we can "train" our taste preferences and I personally find it easiest to do it little by little.

    It probably wasn't suggested because there isn't much you can cut down to when you're already at 1 cream and 1 splenda.

    1/2 a creamer and 1/2 a Splenda? Splenda is highly sweet, a half packet still provides a good deal of sweetness. There's no reason anyone has to dump the whole packet in or whole little creamer cup...

    Personal preference? That seems like a good enough reason.

    Sorry, I actually thought OP was looking for ideas on how to transition to drinking the black coffee he currently doesn't have a taste for. My bad
  • AspenDan
    AspenDan Posts: 703 Member
    I'm surprised I didn't see anyone suggest to slowly cut back on the cream and Splenda gradually. Your taste will adjust. I got my teenage daughter to cut back from 6 packets of sugar in iced tea to either unsweet tea or maybe half a packet of Splenda.
    I suggested she start by using only 5 the next few times. Then once having 5 tasted "normal" to cut it to 4 and so on. She didn't have any trouble switching to Splenda eventually, but I made the transition years ago to Splenda from sugar by replacing part of the sugar with it little by little to get used to the taste. Then I cut out the sugar completely and cut down on the Splenda exactly I mentioned above. This is how many parents transition their babies from breast milk/formula to cows milk (or whatever milk you use). They often don't like the new milk at first so introducing the change little by little, they don't even notice it.
    I currently don't drink coffee black, but have been using sugar free coffee syrups and am in the process of cutting that back right now because I was getting too used to it and noticed I was needing more to feel like the coffee was just sweet enough.
    I definitely think we can "train" our taste preferences and I personally find it easiest to do it little by little.

    It probably wasn't suggested because there isn't much you can cut down to when you're already at 1 cream and 1 splenda.

    1/2 a creamer and 1/2 a Splenda? Splenda is highly sweet, a half packet still provides a good deal of sweetness. There's no reason anyone has to dump the whole packet in or whole little creamer cup...

    Personal preference? That seems like a good enough reason.

    Sorry, I actually thought OP was looking for ideas on how to transition to drinking the black coffee he currently doesn't have a taste for. My bad

    You're actually correct but...ya know how threads evolve haha..today I'm drinking coffee black, gonna try to stick it out for a week.
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    I'm surprised I didn't see anyone suggest to slowly cut back on the cream and Splenda gradually. Your taste will adjust. I got my teenage daughter to cut back from 6 packets of sugar in iced tea to either unsweet tea or maybe half a packet of Splenda.
    I suggested she start by using only 5 the next few times. Then once having 5 tasted "normal" to cut it to 4 and so on. She didn't have any trouble switching to Splenda eventually, but I made the transition years ago to Splenda from sugar by replacing part of the sugar with it little by little to get used to the taste. Then I cut out the sugar completely and cut down on the Splenda exactly I mentioned above. This is how many parents transition their babies from breast milk/formula to cows milk (or whatever milk you use). They often don't like the new milk at first so introducing the change little by little, they don't even notice it.
    I currently don't drink coffee black, but have been using sugar free coffee syrups and am in the process of cutting that back right now because I was getting too used to it and noticed I was needing more to feel like the coffee was just sweet enough.
    I definitely think we can "train" our taste preferences and I personally find it easiest to do it little by little.

    It probably wasn't suggested because there isn't much you can cut down to when you're already at 1 cream and 1 splenda.

    1/2 a creamer and 1/2 a Splenda? Splenda is highly sweet, a half packet still provides a good deal of sweetness. There's no reason anyone has to dump the whole packet in or whole little creamer cup...

    Personal preference? That seems like a good enough reason.

    Sorry, I actually thought OP was looking for ideas on how to transition to drinking the black coffee he currently doesn't have a taste for. My bad

    You're actually correct but...ya know how threads evolve haha..today I'm drinking coffee black, gonna try to stick it out for a week.

    Yeah, I knew what your question was. ;)

    You may be very successful with the "cold turkey" method. That's great because you get to what you want that much faster. Best of luck with it. Sounds like you are totally committed to it which is the most important part anyway. :)
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    Good coffee makes it easier to go black. Starbucks I cannot do black. Peets I can. Caribou no. Gevalia no.
    Local roasters or small batch roasters blacker the black the better :) You can also get flavored ground coffee. I have a caramel brownie light roast waiting for me after we finish the gevalia
  • AspenDan
    AspenDan Posts: 703 Member
    I'm surprised I didn't see anyone suggest to slowly cut back on the cream and Splenda gradually. Your taste will adjust. I got my teenage daughter to cut back from 6 packets of sugar in iced tea to either unsweet tea or maybe half a packet of Splenda.
    I suggested she start by using only 5 the next few times. Then once having 5 tasted "normal" to cut it to 4 and so on. She didn't have any trouble switching to Splenda eventually, but I made the transition years ago to Splenda from sugar by replacing part of the sugar with it little by little to get used to the taste. Then I cut out the sugar completely and cut down on the Splenda exactly I mentioned above. This is how many parents transition their babies from breast milk/formula to cows milk (or whatever milk you use). They often don't like the new milk at first so introducing the change little by little, they don't even notice it.
    I currently don't drink coffee black, but have been using sugar free coffee syrups and am in the process of cutting that back right now because I was getting too used to it and noticed I was needing more to feel like the coffee was just sweet enough.
    I definitely think we can "train" our taste preferences and I personally find it easiest to do it little by little.

    It probably wasn't suggested because there isn't much you can cut down to when you're already at 1 cream and 1 splenda.

    1/2 a creamer and 1/2 a Splenda? Splenda is highly sweet, a half packet still provides a good deal of sweetness. There's no reason anyone has to dump the whole packet in or whole little creamer cup...

    Personal preference? That seems like a good enough reason.

    Sorry, I actually thought OP was looking for ideas on how to transition to drinking the black coffee he currently doesn't have a taste for. My bad

    You're actually correct but...ya know how threads evolve haha..today I'm drinking coffee black, gonna try to stick it out for a week.

    More than anything your threads turn out a certain way, want to guess why?

    Because troll post negative things like "that's why you're not losing weight" when I am losing weight no worries, and the topic is about coffee anyway..but that's the internet for ya, can't let that sillyness get to you =)
  • AspenDan
    AspenDan Posts: 703 Member
    edited September 2015
    If you think my posts are the only ones that eventually degrade into negativity, you clearly only read mine.
    Yesterday someone wrote a post about how they felt too heavy to work out and someone else told them to suck it up and stop being so out of shape
    ...basically, trolls take good, productive threads and personally offend people till it turns toxic, like you're obviously doing.
  • AspenDan
    AspenDan Posts: 703 Member
    But we've all gotten/shared some really great, helpful information from this thread so if you want to push this till it gets closed, I guess that's your perogative.
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
    I learned to drink coffee black at a very early age. My Grandpa always took his coffee black, and when I asked him why he didn't add milk and sugar like my mom did, he told me that if you learn to drink your coffee black, nobody could ever mess it up trying to fix you a cup, and when you get somewhere that is out of milk/creamer and/or sugar, you don't have anything to worry about.
  • Funship
    Funship Posts: 86 Member
    I used to take cream and sugar. Switched to black about 25 years ago, it's an acquired taste and must be fresh:)
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
    Ah the trolls. Imagine how sad a troll you have to be to hang about a fitness and weight loss site. I think you need to stop feeding this one @danieltsmoke - it seems like a hangry one ;)

    Anyhoo... coffee.

    I went cold turkey on quitting sugar and I suspect, if I allowed myself, I could start adding it again tomorrow and be happy about it. I enjoy coffee without sugar, but I really loved it with sugar. I made the choice to give it up, but even though it has been years, I think sugar is still nicer.

    Adding milk seems to be a mental thing to me. The dark depths of that coffee mug freak me out without it.

    Good luck!
  • AspenDan
    AspenDan Posts: 703 Member
    , he told me that if you learn to drink your coffee black, nobody could ever mess it up trying to fix you a cup, and when you get somewhere that is out of milk/creamer and/or sugar, you don't have anything to worry about.

    That's actually some awesome info hahaha
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    But we've all gotten/shared some really great, helpful information from this thread so if you want to push this till it gets closed, I guess that's your perogative.

    It's the feeding the troll that I think leads to threads closing. It's hard to resist.

    I hope no one jumps on board more than we already fell for. I won't be saying another word about it.

    Resist! Stick to the topic.
  • ashleesaid
    ashleesaid Posts: 50 Member
    I love black coffee and prefer it depending on the brand! I recommend getting a bean grinder and getting yourself some good quality coffee. Then youll be able to appreciate the ritual of making a really good cup of coffee and you'll find that the better quality stuff is tastier and doesn't require sugar!
  • PinkyPan1
    PinkyPan1 Posts: 3,018 Member
    I switched to black coffee after joining this site. I had no idea my 6-7 cups of coffee per day were approximately 200 calories each. What a wake up call. I did not think I could could go black but after two cups I was sold. It has been over 2 years now.
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