# Black Coffee Drinkers



## blhowes (Jan 15, 2010)

In other threads in recent months, people have commented on their coffee preferences. It amazes me how some people can drink coffee black. 

I use to drink coffee with cream and a bunch of sugar. I went on a diet a few years back, and decided to eliminate unnecessary sweets, and sugar in coffee was one place I eliminated it. It didn't take long before I started enjoying my coffee with just cream. Now, I can't stand having coffee if it has sugar in it.

But I've never gotten the point where I could drink the coffee black. I might as well be drinking kerosene. 

Any of you tough-as-nails black coffee drinkers start out like I did, using cream and sugar, and actually got to the point where preferred it black now?

Did most of you who drink black coffee now always drink it that way?


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## KMK (Jan 15, 2010)

Why drink coffee at all if you do not like the taste of coffee?


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## N. Eshelman (Jan 15, 2010)

I drink coffee black that is good black coffee. Many cheap coffees are horrible black and must be adulterated to cover up the taste of sludge.


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## Tripel (Jan 15, 2010)

I drink it black. Always have, always will. I don't understand why people would want to cover up the taste of coffee. 

FYI, I drink my Coke black too. No cream or sugar added.


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## etexas (Jan 15, 2010)

For me it depends. I like a good straight black expresso at times, sometimes I have coffee after a meal and sort of a dessert I like a teaspoon of sugar...and a splash or two of cream. I Love Coffee!


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## jambo (Jan 15, 2010)

I have taken black coffee for quite a while. I used to take milky creamy coffee but found myself not really enjoying it. I found getting rid of cream helped a bit but it still wasn't quite right. Then I tried it without milk and eureka! Whether its black coffee is a bit like neat whisky it should be drunk with no added impurities.


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## coramdeo (Jan 15, 2010)

I have been told that when I was a baby, my mom put strong south Louisiana coffee in my bottle! I have liked it that way ever since.....except when Bailey's
is available!


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## George Bailey (Jan 15, 2010)

I converted, from an old PB thread several years ago...

I had taken cream & sugar from when I started drinking it daily at the age of 12 (yes!) to my late 30's...then, on a PB thread, someone suggested that if you drink 10 cups of GOOD black coffee in a sequence, without C/S, then you'll never go back...
I tried this, and it worked. When I tried to go back to adding C/S, it tasted horrible! 

I've been drinking my coffee just like I enjoy my theology, since...strong, and pure!

P.S. that didn't mean all ten cups at one sitting...


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## toddpedlar (Jan 15, 2010)

It's already been said - coffee black is only good if it's excellent coffee. Major market mass produced brown-dyed sawdust that isn't coffee is enough to send you into apoplexy if you drink it black. If the coffee is well roasted and is of good quality, then it can be quite heavenly.


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## au5t1n (Jan 15, 2010)

I drink it black. I tried it with creamer a couple days ago for the first time in a long time, and I hated it. If you don't like your coffee black, you are probably drinking bad coffee that requires creamer to be made drinkable. That's a sign you need to buy different coffee.


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## Wayne (Jan 15, 2010)

Always espresso, with or without cream and never any sugar.


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## DMcFadden (Jan 15, 2010)

I have always taken my coffee black and strong. On a couple of instances, I picked up a creamed/sugared coffee by mistake and nearly gagged.

Why would you want to adulterate a good bitter drink? If God had intended for people to drink their coffee with cream he would have created Starbucks.


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## Ivan (Jan 15, 2010)

Joshua said:


> If I drink it at all, I drink it white. I've always been white, well... sometimes red.


 
See, I shouldn't have read through this thread. Josh beat me to it. 

That aside, I believe I drink my coffee black because my parents drank it black.


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## LawrenceU (Jan 15, 2010)

My first cup of coffee was cooked over a campfire in an enameled steel pot - Black. I've never looked back.


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## tommyb (Jan 15, 2010)

I drink it black because I love good coffee. Buy my own beans and blend them. Peruvian dark roast and Kona mild - 60/40 mix respectively. Grind them fresh for each pot. Momma, that's some goooood coffee. But that's just me...........
(first post on PB - Howdy everybody!)


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## Curt (Jan 15, 2010)

I have always drunk it black, having started that way in the Navy (in the 1960s). It does need to be good coffee, though. For me, it's like beer. It should be bitter and tasty.


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## etexas (Jan 15, 2010)

Using c/s in "good coffee" there is a great site I have not been in a while, I THINK it is simply called Coffee Review (I will run it down), in any event in reviewing coffee and they review good coffee, they talk about certain selections, and roasts, they sometimes recommend a splash of cream an a cube of sugar, usually it is speaking about stout coffees and the ones in this "class" are great beans! They are able to "take" c/s without a diminishing of flavor. There are no "hard and fast rules" it depends on, region, season, roast length, notes and a host of other things. In short, great coffee is complex, some may be better black some are bold coffees that handle some cream or milk and sometimes sugar with no great loss of flavor. That was a good site....I will try to find it again for my fellow coffee hounds here.


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## Curt (Jan 15, 2010)

Did I forget to say, "I can quit any time I want"?


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## TeachingTulip (Jan 15, 2010)

I take some coffee with my cream, but working in a tea shop, I sample all the tea blends without sugar, cream, or lemon in order to be able to recommend various types to the customers.

Tea-drinkers are stricter purists than coffee drinkers, in my opinion . . .


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## blhowes (Jan 15, 2010)

KMK said:


> Why drink coffee at all if you do not like the taste of coffee?


Wow, brother, you sound a bit testy there! Did you just have a cup of...black...coffee?


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## blhowes (Jan 15, 2010)

coramdeo said:


> I have been told that when I was a baby, my mom put strong south Louisiana coffee in my bottle! I have liked it that way ever since.....except when Bailey's
> is available!


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## tt1106 (Jan 15, 2010)

Black for me. I never touched a drop, until I worked in the missile field in Montana. Started drinking it one night. Now I'm a two cup a drinker, although I mix in some espresso now and again.


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## blhowes (Jan 15, 2010)

DMcFadden said:


> If God had intended for people to drink their coffee with cream he would have created Starbucks.


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## gene_mingo (Jan 15, 2010)

good coffee , bad coffee, it don't matter to me. I usually drink it black. On thursday nights I add some hot cocoa mix to it as a treat, but only on thursday.


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## blhowes (Jan 15, 2010)

Tonight we went out to our favorite Chinese Restaurant. I usually finish the meal with a cup of coffee. I thought about this thread, and decided to take a couple sips of the coffee black. It actually wasn't as bad as the last time I tried black coffee. I ended up polluting it...I mean...adding cream so I could enjoy the rest of the cup. But sipping the coffee black, and it not being THAT bad, I could almost see myself getting use to it that way.


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## au5t1n (Jan 15, 2010)

blhowes said:


> Tonight we went out to our favorite Chinese Restaurant. I usually finish the meal with a cup of coffee. I thought about this thread, and decided to take a couple sips of the coffee black. It actually wasn't as bad as the last time I tried black coffee. I ended up polluting it...I mean...adding cream so I could enjoy the rest of the cup. But sipping the coffee black, and it not being that bad, I could almost see myself getting use to it that way.


 
If you really want a fair test, order some Oren's Daily Roast (Oren's special blend) online, make it strong, and drink it black. You won't want any cream in that stuff, I promise.


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## Jesus is my friend (Jan 15, 2010)

I really enjoy good black coffee Iced not hot if possible and it's got to be a cheap bean,we are always looking for the best cheap bean and grind it fresh,percolated coffee if possible from a nice Pyrex glass percolator

Green Tea the rest of the day usually nice and hot plain no sugar


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## Claudiu (Jan 15, 2010)

gene_mingo said:


> good coffee , bad coffee, it don't matter to me. I usually drink it black. On thursday nights I add some hot cocoa mix to it as a treat, but only on thursday.


 
Why only on Thursday?


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## Claudiu (Jan 15, 2010)

blhowes said:


> Tonight we went out to our favorite Chinese Restaurant. I usually finish the meal with a cup of coffee. I thought about this thread, and decided to take a couple sips of the coffee black. It actually wasn't as bad as the last time I tried black coffee. I ended up polluting it...I mean...adding cream so I could enjoy the rest of the cup. But sipping the coffee black, and it not being THAT bad, I could almost see myself getting use to it that way.



Don't you stay up from having coffee at night? or it doesn't have any effect on you?


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## blhowes (Jan 15, 2010)

cecat90 said:


> Don't you stay up from having coffee at night? or it doesn't have any effect on you?


No, it doesn't affect me that way.


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## DMcFadden (Jan 16, 2010)

blhowes said:


> cecat90 said:
> 
> 
> > Don't you stay up from having coffee at night? or it doesn't have any effect on you?
> ...


 
It is 9:17 p.m. and I just asked my dear wife to brew up a pot of strong coffee. A very cheap extravagance worth savoring.


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## Bald_Brother (Jan 16, 2010)

Black, always black. It is nearly an abomination to pervert coffee with anything. The only time that it is acceptable to treat coffee with anything (other than coffee) is when 2 shots of Jameson Irish whiskey and a single teaspoon of sugar is added then the concoction is topped with a swirl of heavy whipped cream. 



> "Coffee is the lifeblood that fuels the dreams of champions" - Ditka


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## Beoga (Jan 16, 2010)

My daddy told me that the only masculine way to drink coffee was black. So I grew to be addicted to it. Fortunately I live in Portland so there are a lot of excellent coffee shops.


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## Andres (Jan 16, 2010)

Based upon the thread title, I thought the thread was about African-Americans who drink coffee.


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## LawrenceU (Jan 16, 2010)

It pleases me to see so many taking a strong stand against adultery.


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## Herald (Jan 16, 2010)

Why are all you Caucasians responding to the OP? The OP was addressed to Black coffee drinkers, not people who drink black coffee. I mean, really, haven't any of you studied the English language? It takes someone from New Joisey to correct you?


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## blhowes (Jan 16, 2010)

Bald_Brother said:


> Black, always black. It is nearly an abomination to pervert coffee with anything. The only time that it is acceptable to treat coffee with anything (other than coffee) is when 2 shots of Jameson Irish whiskey and a single teaspoon of sugar is added then the concoction is topped with a swirl of heavy whipped cream.
> 
> 
> 
> > "Coffee is the lifeblood that fuels the dreams of champions" - Ditka


Thanks. I think I'm beginning to understand now. Adding sugar to coffee is an abomination (oh, I can't imagine the depths of darkness we'd be talking about if we added sugar AND cream!)...unless the coffee is mixed with whiskey. In that situation, the abominable practice of adding sugar is ok. Sounds like situation ethics to me. Are there no absolutes in this day and time that we live in?


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## blhowes (Jan 16, 2010)

Herald said:


> Why are all you Caucasians responding to the OP. The OP was addressed to Black coffee drinkers, not people who drink black coffee. I mean, really, haven't any of you studied the English language? It takes someone from New Joisey to correct you?


I hope none of my New Joisey grammar school, junior high, or high school english teachers are viewing this thread. They'd be so disappointed in me.

Just in case any of you teachers are looking in on this thread, I just wanted to let you know that I really was paying attention in class and I just did it that way to see if anybody'd catch it. Normally, of course, I would have written "Coffee Black, Drinkers".


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## Bald_Brother (Jan 16, 2010)

blhowes said:


> Bald_Brother said:
> 
> 
> > Black, always black. It is nearly an abomination to pervert coffee with anything. The only time that it is acceptable to treat coffee with anything (other than coffee) is when 2 shots of Jameson Irish whiskey and a single teaspoon of sugar is added then the concoction is topped with a swirl of heavy whipped cream.
> ...


Well, I did say _nearly an abomination_. And yes, that is correct.


> Sounds like situation ethics to me. Are there no absolutes in this day and time that we live in?


Not situation ethics at all. I am _absolutely positive_ that one must temper coffee-sugar usage with whiskey, lest one be found guilty of drinking coffee incorrectly.

See?


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## Archlute (Jan 16, 2010)

KMK said:


> Why drink coffee at all if you do not like the taste of coffee?


 
For the same reason that I don't eat only raw eggs when I want a cookie 

I will always remain an unapologetic "candy" coffeehouse drinker. However, if I come across a bag of Peet's Coffee, or pass by their coffeehouse on Hawthorne in Portland, I will drink that black. I have a bag of it in my room right now, in fact.


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## Rich Koster (Jan 16, 2010)

I'm sitting here sipping some Luzianne New Orleans coffee. Black and thick, mmmmmmmm 

I like coffee stronger than most people make it. 2 cups per day equals about 1 pot of the dishwater most places serve.

BTW, Starbucks has some good beans...... they just cater to the palate of the sweet lover or creamy lover to keep the cash register stuffed full.


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## DMcFadden (Jan 16, 2010)

Herald said:


> Why are all you Caucasians responding to the OP? The OP was addressed to Black coffee drinkers, not people who drink black coffee. I mean, really, haven't any of you studied the English language? It takes someone from New Joisey to correct you?


 
I'm so white, I'm clear. But, I was born a poor black child. Does that count?


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## Berean (Jan 16, 2010)

DMcFadden said:


> Herald said:
> 
> 
> > Why are all you Caucasians responding to the OP? The OP was addressed to Black coffee drinkers, not people who drink black coffee. I mean, really, haven't any of you studied the English language? It takes someone from New Joisey to correct you?
> ...



It counts. If Bill Clinton can be black then so can you, Dennis.


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## blhowes (Jan 16, 2010)

Bald_Brother said:


> Not situation ethics at all. I am _absolutely positive_ that one must temper coffee-sugar usage with whiskey, lest one be found guilty of drinking coffee incorrectly.
> 
> See?


 and 
Now I see.


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## Webservant (Jan 16, 2010)

Black. Black as night. Why would you pollute it with anything?


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## Berean (Jan 16, 2010)

Webservant said:


> Black. Black as night. Why would you pollute it with anything?


 
 Columbian. Always strong and black.


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## Ivan (Jan 16, 2010)

What is considered 'strong' coffee? How many scoops or beans per cup (say 5 oz.)?


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## PresbyDane (Jan 16, 2010)

I drink my coffee black! 
I have tried with cream and sugar and I can drink that to, but I prefer it black.


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## DMcFadden (Jan 16, 2010)

Ivan said:


> What is considered 'strong' coffee? How many scoops or beans per cup (say 5 oz.)?


 
Oft hand, I know of several tests of strong coffee.

1. Place a spoon in the cup. If it stands up straight, then the coffee is strong enough.
2. Find a VERY bad asphalt driveway. Pour a cup of coffee on it. If it works as good as asphalt dressing, then it is strong enough.
3. Carefully fold a towel six times. Pour a cup of black coffee on it. If it eats all of the way through in 30 minutes, then it is strong enough.
4. Go without sleep for two days. Drink a cup of black coffee. If you can't go to sleep for two more days, then it is strong enough.


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## Ivan (Jan 16, 2010)

DMcFadden said:


> Ivan said:
> 
> 
> > What is considered 'strong' coffee? How many scoops or beans per cup (say 5 oz.)?
> ...



Okay...so how many scoops or beans per cup?


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## Rich Koster (Jan 16, 2010)

DMcFadden said:


> Ivan said:
> 
> 
> > What is considered 'strong' coffee? How many scoops or beans per cup (say 5 oz.)?
> ...


 
Dennis, I must be a wimp. In regards to #1, I only require my coffee to keep the spoon from falling over for 5 seconds.


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## LawrenceU (Jan 17, 2010)

DMcFadden said:


> Ivan said:
> 
> 
> > What is considered 'strong' coffee? How many scoops or beans per cup (say 5 oz.)?
> ...



Dennis, I may be cut off from my family's vast fortune for doing so, but in your honour I will divulge a long standing family recipe for the best coffee in the world. 

Ingredients:
Very Dark Roasted ground coffee beans ground finer than percolated yet not so fine as espresso grind. 
COLD Water, preferably this will be fresh spring water. If not that then cold well water. If you must use tap water I feel for you.

VERY IMPORTANT: This coffee is made in an enameled steel coffee pot. They work best with a few decades of soot and ash adhering to the bottom. If you don't have one like that use a new one and start a family tradition. Mine holds one gallon of water. I also have a couple of smaller ones that are not heirlooms, yet.

This recipe works best on an open fire. It can be made on a stove top, a gas stove top. Electric will do, but believe it or not the boil action is not the same.

Making the coffee: 
1. Fill the pot with water. 
2. Full in a pot like this is to the bottom of the spout, not the top rim of the pot. 
3. Place the pot on the fire. 
4. When the water is at a full boil remove the pot from the heat. Add a pinch of salt. (Seriously) Let the roiling settle and using a long spoon quickly stir in the coffee grounds. (If you do this when the water is roiling you will most likely be burnt from a 'burp'.) 
5. Return the pot to the water and allow it to boil for five minutes. At this point remove the pot from the fire.
6. Open the pot and drop in a clean horse shoe. If it sinks repeat steps 4 and 5 until it floats to the top. 





The real step six is: Remove the pot from the heat and and a bit of cold water to settle the grounds. Pour and enjoy. 

It takes some experience to know the proportions of water and coffee. Start with a tablespoon for every cup. I make mine stronger than that. Also, remember that coffee like this extracts much more from the grounds than either drip coffee or percolated coffee.


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## VilnaGaon (Jan 17, 2010)

I drink black coffee everyday at 4.00 am just before I go to work. I find it keeps me awake and focused better than coffee with milk and sugar.


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## tmckinney (Jan 17, 2010)

I'm a social drinker--about 0.33 cups a year.


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## Grimmson (Jan 17, 2010)

I started drinking coffee with 1 cream and 2 sugar, but now I primarly drink it black and I do like the taste of it black as long as my coffee isnt burned.


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## blhowes (Jan 17, 2010)

Looks so far like nobody's successfully made the transition from drinking coffee with cream and sugar to just drinking it black (and actually then preferring it black).


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## raekwon (Jan 17, 2010)

I'm a "black coffee drinker" in at least two different senses of the phrase. (And yes, I went from cream & sugar to black. Once you go black, you never go back.)


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## Bald_Brother (Jan 17, 2010)

blhowes said:


> Looks so far like nobody's successfully made the transition from drinking coffee with cream and sugar to just drinking it black (and actually then preferring it black).


 
I should say then, my wife started drinking coffee with cream and sugar. On a diet, cutting out sweets and fats, she first lost the cream then later the sugar. She drinks her coffee black almost exclusively now (the only exception being a finely concocted Irish Coffee).


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## Curt (Jan 17, 2010)

raekwon said:


> I'm a "black coffee drinker" in at least two different senses of the phrase. (And yes, I went from cream & sugar to black. Once you go black, you never go back.)


 
"At least two?" What are the third - and possibly subsequent senses?


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## raekwon (Jan 17, 2010)

Curt said:


> raekwon said:
> 
> 
> > I'm a "black coffee drinker" in at least two different senses of the phrase. (And yes, I went from cream & sugar to black. Once you go black, you never go back.)
> ...


 
I don't know yet, but I didn't want to limit myself.


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## ZackF (Jan 18, 2010)

blhowes said:


> In other threads in recent months, people have commented on their coffee preferences. It amazes me how some people can drink coffee black.
> 
> I use to drink coffee with cream and a bunch of sugar. I went on a diet a few years back, and decided to eliminate unnecessary sweets, and sugar in coffee was one place I eliminated it. It didn't take long before I started enjoying my coffee with just cream. Now, I can't stand having coffee if it has sugar in it.
> 
> ...



Black since I was eight years old. On rare occasions I'll take it with cream when I am eating late at night at a restaurant. The same goes with hot tea.


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## BertMulder (Jan 18, 2010)

started drinking coffee with much sugar and much cream...

over the years migrated to the ultimate way of drinking coffee...

strong, freshly ground and brewed and unadulterated black


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## johnbugay (Jan 19, 2010)

Growing up, I'd always drink coffee with milk and sugar in it. At one point, I got a job that required me to drive nights, and I'd drink coffee to stay awake. But I found that I didn't like the sensation in my mouth from all the milk and sugar. So I started drinking black coffee, which solved that problem. I've been drinking coffee black ever since.


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## Christopher88 (Jan 19, 2010)

I drink my Coffey black. Use to drink it with sugar and cream but this thread made me want to try it black, and I found out it taste great. Had two cups of it today. It was good.


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## jogri17 (Jan 20, 2010)

I used to be a double-double kinda guy now I just take it black.


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## blhowes (Jan 21, 2010)

BertMulder said:


> started drinking coffee with much sugar and much cream...
> 
> over the years migrated to the ultimate way of drinking coffee...
> 
> strong, freshly ground and brewed and unadulterated black





johnbugay said:


> Growing up, I'd always drink coffee with milk and sugar in it. At one point, I got a job that required me to drive nights, and I'd drink coffee to stay awake. But I found that I didn't like the sensation in my mouth from all the milk and sugar. So I started drinking black coffee, which solved that problem. I've been drinking coffee black ever since.





Sonny said:


> I drink my Coffey black. Use to drink it with sugar and cream but this thread made me want to try it black, and I found out it taste great. Had two cups of it today. It was good.





jogri17 said:


> I used to be a double-double kinda guy now I just take it black.



 I see now that its possible to make the change.

I'm trying a little experiment myself, just out of curiosity. I'm going to see if I can get myself accustomed to drinking black coffee. Not all at once, but in stages. Usually I pour the cream into coffee until I see the cloud of milk come to the top. I'm pouring in a little less until I get use to that, then I'll back off a little more. I'll see after a while if I can actually get use to drinking it black.


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