Sugar in coffee!

[simonsk8r]

Let us discuss the debate: sugar..... in coffee!

What are peoples opinions on using sugar in coffee? There are differing views on it, one being that A beautifully made coffee doesnt need sugar. When i started out in the coffee world, my thought was that sugar brings out the flavour of the coffee (but NOTE, i certainly do NOT hold that view anymore!).

I believe that sugar makes anything tastes better than it was, hence sugar making a crap coffee taste better (or at least okay), and if i have made a not-great quality coffee (or are served one), i will use sugar.

SO! does anyone here drink their coffee with sugar? And what are our thoughts? Im sure the in cupping comps there is no sugar added ...

I believe that adding sugar doesnt allow for the true flavours of the coffee to be experienced, and it just plain makes it sweeter. However i will add sugar if it just tastes like hot water... (hrrhhhmm... stale pre-ground coffee... ). Brewing the espresso beautifully, and skilfully steaming and sweetening the milk through aerating it will suffice... (even though it is never a perfect process..)

Thoughts?

[jmcclumpha]

Re: Sugar in coffee!

As a latte drinker (yeah yeah I know... although I do tend toward piccolo lattes at home) it really depends on the ability of the barista making the cup

A great coffee then Ill not have any sugar - theres no need the flavour is good

A not so great coffee and Ill throw 1/2 a sugar in to ease the pain

A terrible coffee and Ill throw at least 1 sugar in to keep it down

[melicious]

Re: Sugar in coffee!

A beautifully made coffee doesnt need sugar.

Tend to agree with that sort of view. At home I never use sugar, when Im out I tend to go a couple of spoonfuls.

I would have said its outright unnecessary but I remember (long ago) having some mexican s.o. just as a standard shot. Smelling the beans in the roasting tubs there was such an overwhelming caramel smell that I was well keened for a sweet, dark drop, but what I was smelling in bean form didnt quite come out in the cup (much more muted) and a quarter teaspoon of sugar just gave it this lift and fit my expectations from the scent of it.

So maybe with some sorts of coffee if you are aiming for a particular taste you may need to adjust, like a chef using their seasonings.

[trentski]

Re: Sugar in coffee!

If the coffee is any good then it shouldnt need sugar. When getting take away coffee I have answered the question of whether or not I want sugar with the answer "good coffee wont need sugar, Ill leave it up to you "

Properly steamed milk is sweet anyway and I find that even friends that say they have sugar in their coffee go without when they have coffee at my house 8-)

[dannyh]

Re: Sugar in coffee!

I always enjoy asking friends and guests to try my coffee first before adding sugar explaining that well steamed milk is sweet. I love watching the reaction as they take that first hesitant sip. More often than not they forget about the sugar

[Dennis]

Re: Sugar in coffee!

This has been discussed soooo many times and I only use the following as an example of how we tend to justify our own particular brand of snobbery.

If the coffee is any good then it shouldnt need sugar.

So I guess that means you only drink good coffee black?

Properly steamed milk is sweet anyway

Nope, looks like you adulterate it with milk to mask and change the flavour.

Some will say an espresso is an adulteration, but I really dont fancy chewing crushed coffee rolled up in fat for my pick me up.

Thats all just a pretty long-winded way of saying, each to their own.

[jmcclumpha]

Re: Sugar in coffee!

Nope, looks like you adulterate it with milk to mask and change the flavour.

aahhh.... but is it from a freshly squeezed cow? ;D

[trentski]

Re: Sugar in coffee!

This has been discussed soooo many times and I only use the following as an example of how we tend to justify our own particular brand of snobbery.

If the coffee is any good then it shouldnt need sugar.

So I guess that means you only drink good coffee black?

No it means I only drink bad coffee with sugar

Properly steamed milk is sweet anyway

Nope, looks like you adulterate it with milk to mask and change the flavour.

Thats a leap if ever I saw one ;D

Just because I know steamed milk is sweet doesnt mean that I drink milk based drinks, I know arsenic is poisonous, never drank any myself

[Dennis]

Re: Sugar in coffee!

No it means I only drink bad coffee with sugar

Ah, ok. Personally, I just leave t.

Thats a leap if ever I saw one

Im quite good at that! But surely in this case, not so much of a leap...just a hop! ;D

[grendel]

Re: Sugar in coffee!

When tasting a new coffee I tend to try it on its own, then with a few drops of milk, then espresso with just a few grains of sugar then with a few drops of milk and grains of sugar. Each method seems to bring out different aspects of the coffee. For pleasure I add no sugar or milk but Mrs Grendel likes her coffee with a little added sweetness. I have long since learned that rolling my eyes at this is a bad idea.

As Dennis said - each to their own.

[dannyh]

Re: Sugar in coffee!

Sure to each his own, however I think it is fair to say that people are less likely to put in sugar once they have tried well made coffee (with or without milk). I try not to roll my eyes....even when the sugar droppers stir it in and ruin my latte art ...lol.

For me personally I try very hard to avoid aestablishments serving a coffee which I feel needs sugar...usually i would rather just pass. A few weeks ago I was desperate for one after a big night out in Bangkok....and regretted it as even with a couple of sugars it was hideous!

[luca]

Re: Sugar in coffee!

Like Dennis says, each to their own, but I suspect that a lot of people add sugar to their coffee because they feel that it is otherwise too bitter. Some of the most obvious hallmarks of decent coffee roasted well are that it is fairly sweet and low in bitterness. By "fairly sweet", I mean in the order of a 5 to 10 g/L sugar solution. Different people will have different sensitivities to bitterness and sweetness and will want to treat it differently, but I suspect many people decrease their sugar (and milk) consumption as their progression along their coffee journey leads them to drink better and better coffee.

Cheers,
Luca

[bassway]

Re: Sugar in coffee!

Have to agree with Dennis and Luca on this one.

I used to have sugar in coffee. Then as I got better at making/roasting I used less and less to the point I dont. Or as Luca has pointed out my palate has changed along my coffee journey.

And as Dennis has pointed out if the coffee is bad I leave it. I used to add sugar but now my palate has changed to the point that I cant drink it no matter how much sugar I put in.

[Yelta]

Re: Sugar in coffee!

Danny Luca and Bass, the assumption you are making is that people who add sugar or milk

A.... Are using poor quality beans.

B.... Dont know how to pull a decent shot

C....Dont appreciate quality coffee and would not know a good shot from a bulls roar.

You dont allow for or fail to appreciate the fact that palates vary, Ive been enjoying good espresso/cappuccino for 40 odd years, always have and always will add a few grams of sugar Im a bit of a sweet tooth, SWMBO on the other hand drinks cappuccino/long black and uses no sugar at all, neither of us are right or wrong, simply different preferences, you cant impose your taste/values on others, everyone sees/tastes things differently.
Danny, the sad thing about your latte art is that one way or another your art work is gonna finish up as milk scum at the bottom of the cup
Guess what Im saying is, crusade all you want, in the end people will drink their coffee exactly the way they want to.

[Shotgun]

Re: Sugar in coffee!

When it comes down to it, some people like Spinach but I cant stand it. Some prefer Espresso and others Late. Others prefer sugar but many dont.

I sometimes think we should all get a life and simply enjoy whatever it is we enjoy.

End of story.