How did you cut back on sugar/sweetener in your coffee (or quit altogether)

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AriannaBier
AriannaBier Posts: 20 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I love my coffee sweet. I gave up on sugar and made the switch to sweetener, but now I want to ditch that too and just go black.

I’ve read things online on how to do it… things like gradually reduce the amount in my drink, switch to an alternative, or even add a pinch of salt…

But I want to hear personal success stories from people who did it and how they achieved it!

Replies

  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
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    I use Jordans skinny syrups or protein powder blended with a little milk. I found some coffee bombs on clearance that have only 2g sugar, coconut oil, cinnamon, and cocoa. They are 110 cal each, but I use 1/2 or 1/3. Just gradually cut back on what you use now or try some alternatives and see what you like.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,911 Member
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    For me it had to do with the bean I was using. It's more expensive but for me finding a bean that suits my tastes made sugar and a dairy easier to remove and now I find the taste of coffee that have those ingredients rather unpleasant. This is of course quite a journey but well worth it imo. Most of my coffee consumption is espresso now.
  • cparsons_60
    cparsons_60 Posts: 95 Member
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    I like two shakes of cinnamon in my cup. Some people find cinnamon to be bitter, but I find I don't want sugar if I have cinnamon in it. Unless it's bad coffee, of course! ;)
  • MsCzar
    MsCzar Posts: 1,042 Member
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    neanderthin wrote: »
    For me it had to do with the bean I was using. It's more expensive but for me finding a bean that suits my tastes made sugar and a dairy easier to remove....

    Same here. I grind good quality beans every morning. After drinking heavily sugared coffee all my life, I finally gave up added sugars back in 2020. Good quality beans made all the difference. I still take half & half but very rarely take sugar. It was much easier to simply stop than to incrementally step down.



  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 1,618 Member
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    If you like sweet coffee why go black?
  • DebbsSeattle
    DebbsSeattle Posts: 125 Member
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    We cut sugar all together. I drink my coffee with heavy whipping cream but 1 teaspoon vs. 1 tablespoon like I used to use. I still like to take my afternoon tea sweet and creamy…1/2 teaspoon cream and half a stevia packet or 1/4 teaspoon Miss Jones Bettersweet. I do take them totally naked, black, plain when I fast though.I just brew them more lightly.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
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    I would start with trying different coffees. I prefer black coffee, but I don't like all coffee black. Example, Starbucks espresso roast I love black. Full, rich and lots of flavor. Dunkin' Doughnuts I can't drink black... not full, not rich, no flavor.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    I used to put all kinds of stuff in my coffee until I started dating my wife and she introduced me to black coffee. This was some 23 odd years ago, but my issue was that I was drinking crappy coffee. It wasn't so much that she introduced me to black coffee as that she introduced me to quality coffee...quality beans, quality roast, and ground fresh daily. Even better is when we do French press, but that's usually a weekend thing.

    I prefer a medium roast from the Arabica family (most mass produced coffee is from the robusta species which is a far less temperamental plant so easier to produce in mass quantities). Most of the beans we get are from the Central American region or Colombia (Costa Rica and Colombia are our favorites). Colombia in particular only produces Arabica beans. Colombian and Central American Arabica also differs from Arabica from Ethiopia and other parts of Africa in that the climates give them a different taste and I prefer the flavor of that grown in the tropical climates...though I had some very good coffee when I was in Tanzania in 2017.

    Once in awhile my wife will pick up a dark roast and I will usually cut that with a bit of half and half or milk, but not much. I steer clear of certain coffee shops (Starbucks in particular) who seemingly over roast their beans.
  • notafatmommy
    notafatmommy Posts: 29 Member
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    When I decided to stop adding all the extra stuff I went cold turkey! It was a test of will power. I did find out I’m a little picky with the brands and flavors of coffee. In the beginning, I did have to add ice to my coffee because it was a lot hotter when I stopped adding all the extras(cream) stuff and I didn’t have time for it to cool off. I know love my black coffee and can’t imagine adding anything to my morning coffee.
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,365 Member
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    I have been drinking my coffee black for many years now and the secret is better coffee beans roasted correctly. I personally prefer dark roasts but my wife has stomach issues with most dark roasts so we compromised with better medium roasts where the beans are roasted correctly. We have a local roaster here in town who does arabica beans in many different roasts that are totally fantastic and better than anything I have found in stores.

    I don't understand how people drink Starbuck's... I have yet to find a dark roast where you couldn't taste the burned beans on the end of a sip... maybe the blondes don't have this issue but I haven't tried any of them.
  • midlomel1971
    midlomel1971 Posts: 1,283 Member
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    I just stopped using sugar and my taste buds adjusted. Now I just use half and half or skim milk.
  • benhmorris63
    benhmorris63 Posts: 42 Member
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    I love my coffee and want through that as well. I switched from sugar to honey and a little non-dairy creamer and found that I preferred it. Then I made honey a weekend treat. Nowadays, I use the creamer but only use the honey with select coffees (like pecan). I also upgraded my coffee game with quality beans, grinder, and coffeemaker. My coffee has never been better!
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 1,618 Member
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    Nothing beats a good cup of black coffee first thing in the morning. 😎
  • obrienmj
    obrienmj Posts: 9 Member
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    i used to use cream and sugar. Then, I went "cold turkey" and started to drink it black. There was an adjustment, but if you buy good coffee, it's not bad. I like black coffee.
  • Hiawassee88
    Hiawassee88 Posts: 35,754 Member
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    AriannaBier wrote: »
    I love my coffee sweet. I gave up on sugar and made the switch to sweetener, but now I want to ditch that too and just go black.

    Give yourself a sweetener holiday. Put a time limit on it, two weeks or thirty days. I like espresso, so that helps.
    It reminds me that my coffee pot is not a cup. I can drink the entire pot with HWC, heavy whipping cream. I no longer let HWC run the show. I took the reins back with espresso. Rein it in, rein it in. I moderate myself with all foods by reining it in. I say it, outloud. Rein that portion in.

  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,440 Member
    edited June 2023
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    Black coffee and cinnamon, brewed in aeropress, topped with .2 cup of foamed skim milk (ninja hand pump foamer $17 on Amazon) and a few drops of zero cal Jordan’s Skinny Caramel Sauce. (Their sauce is for toppings, their syrups are for blending. The caramel sauce is outstanding!)

    Appx 25 calories for an oversized 2-cup mug- 5 for the coffee and 20 for the skim milk.
  • dedeliebl
    dedeliebl Posts: 9 Member
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    Try using fairlife vanilla (or other flavored) protein shakes! I use that as my "creamer" with a bit of truvia and sugar free caramel syrup :) I've always been someone who made my coffee 50% super sweet creamer and 50% coffee, and I really do enjoy my little health hack. If anyone tries it let me know :)

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