How did you transition to black coffee?

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Replies

  • CPayz84
    CPayz84 Posts: 6 Member
    Ive wanted to be able to drink it black for awhile but just can't bring myself to. Currently mix in pure maple syrup and whole milk... One 12 oz cup is approx 155 calories. So good though! Haha
  • thelastnightingale
    thelastnightingale Posts: 725 Member
    Truthfully... I transitioned to black coffee (and black tea) when I was a student because someone kept drinking my milk.

    I was so fed up that it was easier to just learn to do without than to keep buying something for someone else to secretly steal!

    As for sugar/sweetener, I can't give any advice because I didn't grow up putting it in my hot drinks. I think a lot of people's go-to beverage choices depend on what was normal for their parents when they were little.

    If I see my folks, I do drink milk in my coffee/tea, but only because that's how they drink it and they forget I typically take it black these days. I don't mind either way, but it's such an easy way to save on calories.
  • shawnfxp
    shawnfxp Posts: 39 Member
    edited February 2021
    So, no one's going to take me up on switching to tea, then?

    Coffee is ground-up burnt beans. Oddly, the more burnt kind (French roast) is the popular one these days. Tastes terrible, is messy, and gives you bad breath. For me, it also caused cramping. And, there's so much amazing tea out there, caffinated and not.

    I can happily switch between coffee (black) and tea. Though I'm probably a total heathen since I take my tea without sugar. Just give me my lapsang suchong straight and I'm good.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    JustaNoob wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    eater_78 wrote: »
    Why don't you just use 2% milk instead of creamer? Or start with 3.2% and then get lower right down to 0%.

    This, maybe try switching creamer to milk and then reduce the amount of milk (or try lower cal milk like skim). That seems way easier to me than going cold turkey. But yes, also try getting better coffee vs whatever your work stuff is, if it's not good.

    Not saying you can't spent cals on creamer if you like, just throwing out ideas if you want to reduce the cals.

    I may have to go this way... like tapering down first rather than a cold turkey. I've done sugarfree creamers and got it down to 60 per cup, but I haven't been loving it as much lately. In December, I let myself go crazy with the holiday flavors so I've been trying to slowly get it back down.

    If you do decide to try this, consider one of the ultra filtered milks. I use Fairlife. They have a slightly creamier consistency than the same fat percentage standard milk imo, but are a little lower in cals. I put a quarter cup in my travel mug to bring to work and then use that for the office keurig. I cannot stand the powdered creamer at work, so if I need more caffeine I'll make black tea or get a diet soda.

    And I do notice when I use meh coffee I need that full quarter cup, when I get better coffee I can get away with just a splash!
  • MsCzar
    MsCzar Posts: 1,071 Member
    edited February 2021

    shawnfxp wrote: »
    So, no one's going to take me up on switching to tea, then?

    Coffee is ground-up burnt beans. Oddly, the more burnt kind (French roast) is the popular one these days. Tastes terrible, is messy, and gives you bad breath. For me, it also caused cramping. And, there's so much amazing tea out there, caffinated and not.

    I can happily switch between coffee (black) and tea. Though I'm probably a total heathen since I take my tea without sugar. Just give me my lapsang suchong straight and I'm good.

    I take my tea without cream or sugar as well. In my experience, I get stranger looks about that in the UK than in America.

    As for replacing coffee with tea? To me that is likening apples to oranges, and a case where that is not just an idiom.


  • JustaNoob
    JustaNoob Posts: 147 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    JustaNoob wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    eater_78 wrote: »
    Why don't you just use 2% milk instead of creamer? Or start with 3.2% and then get lower right down to 0%.

    This, maybe try switching creamer to milk and then reduce the amount of milk (or try lower cal milk like skim). That seems way easier to me than going cold turkey. But yes, also try getting better coffee vs whatever your work stuff is, if it's not good.

    Not saying you can't spent cals on creamer if you like, just throwing out ideas if you want to reduce the cals.

    I may have to go this way... like tapering down first rather than a cold turkey. I've done sugarfree creamers and got it down to 60 per cup, but I haven't been loving it as much lately. In December, I let myself go crazy with the holiday flavors so I've been trying to slowly get it back down.

    If you do decide to try this, consider one of the ultra filtered milks. I use Fairlife. They have a slightly creamier consistency than the same fat percentage standard milk imo, but are a little lower in cals. I put a quarter cup in my travel mug to bring to work and then use that for the office keurig. I cannot stand the powdered creamer at work, so if I need more caffeine I'll make black tea or get a diet soda.

    And I do notice when I use meh coffee I need that full quarter cup, when I get better coffee I can get away with just a splash!

    I do really like Fairlife! I could try that. I got an almond milk creamer this weekend and I wasn't super in love with it. But love for me would be allllll the creamer and the sugar lol so something has to give. Maybe fairlife is the ticket.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,610 Member
    When I was in my early teens, and my parents would let me have the occasional small cup of coffee, for whatever reason I thought it was cooler to drink coffee black.

    I've been drinking it black ever since.
  • scarlett_k
    scarlett_k Posts: 812 Member
    It doesn't have to be (excuse the pun) so black and white. I have one cup of coffee a day with steamed oat milk (about 70 kcal) and then if I want more coffee I have it black. I like it either way. Black coffee is great when paired with something really sweet like a brownie or other sweet cakes or biscuits that would be a bit sickly on their own.
  • scarlett_k
    scarlett_k Posts: 812 Member
    Also you might want to give cold brew a try - brewing coffee cold takes away a lot of the harshness.
  • tbilly20
    tbilly20 Posts: 154 Member
    I sometimes question if folks who add cream, sugar, milk etc to their coffee actually enjoy coffee? Let me say that it is ok not to like coffee! It is a bitter, acquired taste. I have always liked the nuances of different coffees and the way they are brewed. On that same note, I was a fan or craft beers and single malt scotches. “Adding” flavor to certain coffees might not be a cardinal sin. Foldgers could probably use a little (or a lot of) something to make it tolerable. I would suggest changing to a better brand.

    For me, the enjoyment of coffee was always the act of grinding beans, pressing, and waiting for the perfect timing to drink it. The brewing was as satisfying for me as the imbibing. I can’t drink caffeine right now, but I will still turn to a cup of decaf from time to time because I miss the taste.
  • carakirkey
    carakirkey Posts: 199 Member
    I've typically just drank coffee with milk (rather than cream) so already that makes it easier to transition to black coffee, and you could try that to transition. But honestly get a good coffee, fresh ground, and brew it right. I like a good medium roast, Costa Rica source is often good, and we use an cone filter with poured over boiling water, makes a cup at a time.
  • mpkpbk2015
    mpkpbk2015 Posts: 766 Member
    One day I was out of creamer so I just drank it Black. When I realized how many calories and fat is in creamer - When I restocked I started by using 3/4 of the original amount I put in. And from there I just kept putting less and less until I didn't need any creamer at all. And that was about 7 years ago. Then I did the same thing with sweetener. So now I drink it totally black with nothing but the coffee. It does help if you have good, fresh ground coffee to start with. Once it gets stale or old I have to put something in it.
  • gaylebar1
    gaylebar1 Posts: 1 Member
    I started with coconut milk (from can), then started with better coffee. A darker coffee is typically less acidic. Now I moved into black, but add collagen to it, Vanilla Collagen is super yummy in it.
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    I wish I could love black coffee! I allocate around 200 calories for skim milk in my coffee daily. I generally prefer eating my calories to drinking them but I just don't enjoy black coffee as much. I did drink it black for a few years but went back to adding milk because I just enjoyed it more that way.

    I was just thinking about how I need to tighten up my logging and that my generous milk in coffee habit probably accounts for some creep in uncounted calories, so these comments are helpful!

    Why not use almond or cashew milks that are 25-30 cal per cup?
  • JustaNoob
    JustaNoob Posts: 147 Member
    I wish I could love black coffee! I allocate around 200 calories for skim milk in my coffee daily. I generally prefer eating my calories to drinking them but I just don't enjoy black coffee as much. I did drink it black for a few years but went back to adding milk because I just enjoyed it more that way.

    I was just thinking about how I need to tighten up my logging and that my generous milk in coffee habit probably accounts for some creep in uncounted calories, so these comments are helpful!

    Why not use almond or cashew milks that are 25-30 cal per cup?

    I tried both of these and just wasn't in love. However, since posting this thread, I have been able to just do 2TBSP of half-n-half in my coffee with some splenda and still really enjoy it for only 40 calories. If I drink 3 in a day it is only 120-- a far cry from my original amount!
  • natgurl95
    natgurl95 Posts: 17 Member
    I make a big pitcher of cold brew each weekend and keep it in the fridge, then take it to work in a tumbler over ice with almond milk and sugar free flavored syrups. Cold brew is so much less acrid in my opinion, easier to drink. You can even heat cold brew up, and it stays less acidic than traditional brewing.