Sugar - Who uses it.

Divey · December 2011

I don't use sugar in any of my coffees, however, I have several friends who use quite a bit of sugar even in Cappuccinos.

Is it acceptable by coffee connoisseurs to use sugar in their coffee. :question:

Kelsey · December 2011

I don't see the point in drinking something you don't enjoy. If you need a touch of sugar to enjoy coffee, then that's up to you. Sugar's not for me, but I like the flavour of unsweetened coffee.

shape_shifter · December 2011

Depends on the bean, I'll always try everything without sugar first as the milk is sweet enough but sometimes I find the sugar just helps lift the taste (the only way I can explain it). Oh should add, it's hardly more than half a teaspoon. My OH on the other hand won't drink coffee without it, I keep trying him without though, one day he might stop asking

Brett H · December 2011

on 1323299180:

I don't see the point in drinking something you don't enjoy. If you need a touch of sugar to enjoy coffee, then that's up to you. Sugar's not for me, but I like the flavour of unsweetened coffee.

+1

I only drink sweetened coffee if it's Greek or one of the Asian stlye brews. These I enjoy as an 'evey now and again' treat. I think that due to their brew method producing a cup that is less subtle they lend themselves better to sweetening with sugar, condensed milk etc.

WotB · December 2011

AM, it really depends on what the stick was lying in.

beanflying · December 2011

Sugar and me is a mixed bag. Brewed nearly always straight and without milk. Occasionally some beans a spoon of Raw Sugar actually adds to the coffee experience. Milk base during the day, sampling no, but for a sugar hit up to 2 depending on if I feel like some. Espresso or LB generally not as I am sampling and or testing normally. So I am un fussed if people do or don't add sugar to coffees but like adding Salt to a cooked meal sample first then doctor to suit the drink or mood I guess.

Koffee_Kosmo · December 2011

on 1323299180:

I don't see the point in drinking something you don't enjoy. If you need a touch of sugar to enjoy coffee, then that's up to you. Sugar's not for me, but I like the flavour of unsweetened coffee.

I am pretty much in agreement on this It also depends on the coffee style that one consumes - as an example - Greek/Turkish coffee does use sugar KK

SniffCoffee · December 2011

I drink a latte each morning and have stopped using sugar for a long time, mainly I suspect because I use that Paul's smarter white milk which I believe has quite a bit of sugar already in it.

borat123 · December 2011

I usually drink a short mac, with about 1/3 teaspoon of raw sugar. Nice with most beans that work with milk.

Divey · December 2011

Very interesting, thanks for the comments. Looks as though I may have to get some raw sugar and see what that is like in some of the stronger.... more in your face coffees.

FreshCoffee2 · December 2011

This is an old thread and without going back through to refresh my memory, this may already have been stated before.....apologies if it has. Some sweeteners may well be neutral and add only an element of "sweetness" to the brew, while others will sweeten but also impart to the brew, an individual character that comes from the sweetener itself. I would say that raw sugar is one of these. And of course I am not saying there is anything wrong with that, just mentioning, that there is more to sugar and sweeteners than many might at first think. I drink coffee in a lot of different ways and also dont mind the odd one with raw sugar in!

Rgdz, Attilio very first Crema site sponsor

Rider · December 2011

I use sugar. Wife uses sugar. Don't really think too much about it. It is a little like hi-fi purists saying you shouldn't need a graphic equalizer... That would hold true if all our ears were the same. Same goes for our taste buds....

hiphipharar · December 2011

on 1323313811:

It is a little like hi-fi purists saying you shouldn't need a graphic equalizer... That would hold true if all our ears were the same. Same goes for our taste buds....

You put a graphic equalizer in your coffee? Is that because you liked a balanced brew or you didn't know "Equal" is a sweetener ;D On the serious side, I used to have sugar in my coffee but now I can't stand it. If others wish to, to improve their enjoyment, that's their privilege.

Lwowiak · December 2011

Depends on the brew. Latte = no sugar (same for wife and daughters). Plunger = sugar espresso = no sugar, but depends on the bean and my taste buds. I sometimes like to add a bit of Muscovado (dk brown) sugar to my coffee.

GaryatGala · December 2011

Interesting topic. It is true in the end, we can thumb our noses quietly at those who use sugar in their coffees, but they are the ones who enjoy their coffee. Same story as decaf. the quality of a well roasted decaf is good these days. There are purists who thumb their noses at decaf espresso drinkers, including myself, but in the past, some have always let their grounds and beans sit in the hopper for goodness how long due to the lower ratio of decaf drinkers versus caffeinated drinker, so the quality in the cup suffers from the evil effects of oxygen. :doh: I came from a background of condensed milk coffees. Some asians have naturally sweet palates (same story with durian, asians love them, westerners are disgusted with them), plus the coffee brewed is of robusta origin. Over time, my family including mum n dad have adapted to enjoy their better quality coffee with only a little sugar in this western society, much to my happiness because the spin off is less chance of diabetes and better health benefits.

Gary at G

hiphipharar · December 2011

on 1323317218:

(same story with durian, asians love them, westerners are disgusted with them

A little OT but my Singaporean b-i-l introduced me to top quality Malaysian durians which were absolutely delicious. Mind you, at S$30 a kilo, they would want to be. My wife is from Singapore but now drinks her coffee unsweetened (expertly prepared by yours truly, of course

) after growing up on the usual highly sweetened concoctions that she still enjoys occasionally. My m-i-l bought me a Malaysian coffee at one of teh hawker markets which is sweetened with condensed milk and it was surprisingly drinkable.

GaryatGala · December 2011

Wow! 30 bucks a kilo. Rating C24 type? I'm craving for one now. :P Just got a brainwave for a recipe consisting of coffee chendol with durian in it. Hmm. Gary at G

Koffee_Kosmo · December 2011

on 1323321450:

Wow! 30 bucks a kilo. Rating C24 type? I'm craving for one now. :P Just got a brainwave for a recipe consisting of coffee chendol with durian in it. Hmm. Gary at G

This could be a start of an amazing signature drink KK

Divey · December 2011

on 1323313670:

This is an old thread and without going back through to refresh my memory, this may already have been stated before.....apologies if it has. Rgdz, Attilio very first Crema site sponsor

I'm terribly sorry if I'm digging up and old thread, but I did have a 'quick' search before posting.

Intense Coffee · December 2011

on 1323313670:

just mentioning, that there is more to sugar and sweeteners than many might at first think

As per Attilio's quote above, I remember reading an article from, if I remember corectly, Dean Merlo, who mentioned he has little white sugar only in his coffee because it does not corrupt the taste of the coffee itself. Graham

UNM · December 2011

Anyone tried different sugars? Not just raw, palm, etc., but fructose, maltose, dextrose etc.? From home brewing beer, I know that regular granulated sugar (sucrose primarily), leaves a nasty taste. Dextrose is better - don't know how it would work in coffee though. I'm not one for adding sugar to coffee as a rule, but might try some light malt and dextrose just as an experiment (since I happen to have some handy).

RichardM · December 2011

Normally I don't have sugar in coffee. I will however sometimes add a bit of cocoa and sugar and vanilla, especially in cold brews. I only use raw sugar, because I prefer the taste over white (I guess that's because I'm not just sweetening, I'm adding flavour).

FreshCoffee2 · December 2011

ok if you dont mind trying a sugar that definitely adds its own character, try demarera sugar. (but dont quote me on the spelling of demarera ;D Rgdz A.

UNM · December 2011

on 1323331264:

ok if you dont mind trying a sugar that definitely adds its own character, try demarera sugar. (but dont quote me on the spelling of demarera ;D Rgdz A.

Consider yourself quoted! ;D [pedant mode] It is demerara. [/pedant mode]

FreshCoffee2 · December 2011

demerara ehhhhh ok thanks... :thumb: ! A.

Lwowiak · December 2011

I always found descriptions of sugar confusing, as each manufacturer likes to embelish. Muscovado sugar, or "Barbados sugar", is an unrefined, darker natural brown sugar that is produced without spinning in a centrifuge. Demerara sugar is usually referred to as brown sugar, and the above as dark brown sugar. But all this depends on the brand :-| All I know is that the darker the sugar, and the moister and softer it is, the better it tastes, especially in coffee.

Dry_bean. · December 2011

My drinks of choice are long black, espresso (shot), cappuccino, each with a coffee spoon of sugar (approx 3 grams) always have used sugar and always will. As for raw and demerara, palm etc, I find these choices a little odd, from the purist point of view we hear that sugar is an adulterant, that good coffee stands on it's own and needs no additives, then we have those that suggest the sugars to use are demerara etc, unlike white which adds only sweetness with little or no flavour, these sugars definitely impart a taste (not to my liking) and alter the taste of the coffee. The sugar question is often raised in coffee forums, seems there are always the hard core who would never allow sugar to pass their lips, those who admit the use of sugar and are immediately cast into the wilderness and of course the silent majority who simply won't show their hand for fear of being labelled one way or the other. Oh, I guess there are also a few who claim never to use sugar but secretly indulge. :stir

hiphipharar · December 2011

on 1323816211:

The sugar question is often raised in coffee forums, seems there are always the hard core who would never allow sugar to pass their lips, those who admit the use of sugar and are immediately cast into the wilderness and of course the silent majority who simply won't show their hand for fear of being labelled one way or the other. Oh, I guess there are also a few who claim never to use sugar but secretly indulge. :stir

There's another category: the ex-sugar user. I stopped adding sugar, partly because adding sugar to coffee arose from drinking instant and then my early attempts at plunger and espresso demanded it. The other part was that I wanted to learn to enjoy coffee unadulterated. I think any sugar changes the taste: 'sweetness" is a taste. But I don't begrudge anyone from enjoying their coffee however they like.

Koffee_Kosmo · December 2011

Apart from sugar In the past I have added natural maple syrup But in small amounts as not to sweeten but to enhance the coffee flavour KK

Lwowiak · December 2011

on 1323827142:

to enhance the coffee flavour

Exactly! Sugar is added to many foods and drinks. No need to be puritanical about. I try to limit my consumption, but sometimes it is added when my taste requires it. I always make sugar readily available for guests and never begrudge anyone for using it. Everyone's palate changes, and sometimes coffee warrants "enhancement". That said, my wife avoids it as much as possible, and sticks to low GI foods. Consequences of child birth.

askthecoffeeguy · December 2011

If I have to add sugar to coffee then its not worth drinking - I cut processed sugar from my diet maybe 12yrs ago - I still stray into wickedly super dark chocolate occasionally - but otherwise we are a mostly processed sugar-free household!

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