# Black or Cream? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 29, 2001, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782 "2001-08-29T19:41:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/1 "2001-08-29T19:41:14Z")
For all you coffee drinkers out there. A new Starbucks opened across the street and I went there for my first _grande_. After paying for it and walking out I noticed the heft in my hand felt kind of lightweight. When I took my first sip I realized the gal had’t filled it up all the way. Then I remembered that eternal question from all the other Starbuckses: “Room for cream?” I always answer, “No, I drink it black, fill 'er up all the way.” At this new place, they don’t ask—they just assume everybody’s going to add cream! So I wound up with less coffee than I’d bargained for. Today I had to give them specific instructions to maximize the coffee. Is cream in coffee so prevalent as to be universally assumed? Am I in a tiny minority? Let’s take a little unscientific poll here. Do you drink —Black? —Cream? —Sometimes one, sometimes the other? I’m totally a black. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/2 "2001-08-29T19:53:22Z")
Ideally, I take my coffee like [Winston Wolf](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0110912): lots of cream, lots of sugar. To paraphrase an old joke, I like my coffee like I like my women, sweet and pale. Since I’m trying to lose weight still, it’s usually black with artificial sweetener. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/3 "2001-08-29T19:55:39Z")
That’s funny–whenever I forget to tell them to leave room for cream, they fill it right to the top. Guess they all hate us. ---
**Author:** ![Kamandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5daacb/32.png) [@Kamandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamandi)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/4 "2001-08-29T20:00:46Z")
I take it black, unless the coffee is terrible. How much room is needed for cream, anyway - a couple ounces? That’s not much in a twelve or sixteen ounce cup. But I see your point. If you bought a twelve ounce cup of coffee, you expect to have twelve ounces of coffee, cream or no. The staff should definitely ask if you need room. If they don’t, they should fill it to the rim and provide some sort of spitoon at the cream counter for you to dump out a little coffee to make room for cream. 'Nother question: White sugar, brown sugar, low-cal sweetener or none? I take no sweetener, because I’m sweet enoug- _ow!_ Who threw that? ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/5 "2001-08-29T20:01:15Z")
If I’m waking up or maintaining consciousness, black. If I’m unwinding, cream. ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/6 "2001-08-29T22:24:12Z")
99 percent of the time, I like it as black and bitter as my heart. Other times, I like au lait with brown sugar or (yummy) with condensed milk. If you haven’t tried it that way (which I discovered in a Viet restaurant) you’re in for a treat if you’re a cream or occasional cream user. ---
**Author:** ![pezpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@pezpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezpunk)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/7 "2001-08-29T22:29:19Z")
I drink mine with lots of sugar and lots of cream. ---
**Author:** ![WEW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@WEW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WEW)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/8 "2001-08-29T22:36:54Z")
Half & Half and one blue sweetner (sugar makes me crazy). ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/9 "2001-08-29T22:45:10Z")
Black, with sugar. Cream if after dinner or south of the Rio Grande where the coffee is often served so thick they would serve it with hot water to thin it down. And the cream they give you is incredible, just brimming with milkfat, triple-by-pass-surgery-in-the-making kind of goodness. Mmmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/10 "2001-08-29T22:47:50Z")
So the waitress said, “Cream in your coffee?” I told her, “Not lately!” 😃 Regular coffee: Black Espresso: Some sugar (and I drink it 14 oz. at a time) > [@](#): > > (which I discovered in a Viet restaurant) I have two [Vietnamese coffee makers](http://www.quickspice.com/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/scstore/cookwarecoffeemaker.shtml?E+scstore) at home. For those who haven’t tried it, you put the sweetened condensed milk in a cup. Put the maker with the coffee in it over the cup. Fill the maker with boiling water. In about 10-15 minutes the water will have filtered through the coffee. Remove the top and place the maker on it. Stir the coffee and sweetened condensed milk. Pour over ice. Yowza! (Oh, when you say “brown sugar” do you mean brown sugar, or do you mean the unrefined sugar?) ---
**Author:** ![caircair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@caircair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caircair)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/11 "2001-08-29T22:54:09Z")
NEVER Black. NEVER!! Non-dairy Creamer (flavored is preferable) and sweetener. In other words, all the fake stuff you can add. I’ve been experimenting with nonfat mochas at home (coffee, hot milk and Hershey’s syrup. I find even then I need to add sweetener or it’s too bitter.) I didn’t even TOUCH coffee until I was in my 30’s. In our family, everyone was taught to drink in black. Period. It wasn’t until I was grown I realized I could drink it any way I wanted! ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/12 "2001-08-29T22:56:50Z")
Another lots-of-cream-and-sugar fan here. I want a cup of warm cream and sugar with a few drops of coffee spilled in! 😃 Actually I use the blue sweetener and whole milk at home. At Starbuck’s, I usually get a mocha latte with whipped cream. Nothing like melted whipped cream in coffee! ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/13 "2001-08-29T22:59:09Z")
Regular. Cream and 2 sugars, the only way that any real Bostonian would order a Dunkin Donuts coffee, the best coffee on earth. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/14 "2001-08-29T23:09:10Z")
I used to drink nothing but black coffee. This came from a traumatic experience in college with spoiled milk, but I shant elucidate. Then I discovered hazel-nut coffee, which just screams for cream. So now, even though I hardly ever drink hazel-nut coffee anymore, I always take cream.\* BUT - at Starbucks, when they ask, “Room for cream?” - I say, “No.” That way I can dump out just the right amount to make room for my cream. If you leave it to them, they give you half a cup o’ coffee. That will not do. \*Once I polish off my Vente Starbucks coffee, I fill 'er up again with the office free coffee. Here I am sometimes presented with a dilemma. If there is cream in the fridge - cool. If not - it’s either black or with Cremora[sup]TM[/sup]. I go black. Cremora[sup]TM[/sup] is sawdust. And **never** sugar. That ruins good coffee! ---
**Author:** ![Geobabe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/geobabe/32/3908_2.png) [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/15 "2001-08-29T23:48:20Z")
Lots and lots of cream. No sugar. ---
**Author:** ![robinh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b77776/32.png) [@robinh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robinh)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/16 "2001-08-30T01:12:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Flymaster \* > \*\*Regular. > > Cream and 2 sugars, the only way that any real Bostonian would order a Dunkin Donuts coffee, the best coffee on earth. \*\* I worked in a sandwich shop during my college days in Boston. One day a gentleman came in with his father and ordered two coffees, “regular,” which I prepared. He returned them, horrified, explaining that his father was diabetic and couldn’t have the sugar. I happily replaced his coffees and explained that, around here, if he ordered regular he was going to get cream and sugar. My own preference is for skim milk, no sweetener. And my Starbucks never leaves quite enough room, even when asked. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/17 "2001-08-30T04:14:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FallenAngel \* > \*\*… I like it as black and bitter as my heart. > \*\* Crap. You’ve stolen my line. 😛 99.9% of the time black. When I’m _drinking_ there’ll be irish cream or whiskey in it, but never whipped cream. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/18 "2001-08-30T04:50:22Z")
Well, I’ve been been drinking coffee since I was two and it has always been the same way. Coffee, cream, and at least seven spoonfuls of sugar. I always get funny looks from people when I put in seven spoons of sugar, and then say it is still not sweet enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![mdf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@mdf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mdf)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/19 "2001-08-30T05:06:33Z")
If I make it myself, black. Also black from a very few small town cafes that I used to get to regularly. When my in-laws were alive, black with a pair of scissors. (Those of you who remember Green Acres will know what I mean). However, I now only have time for a quick dive through Burger King on my way to work, where I take one sugar, one half&half in a large coffee. It’s instant, and therefore not _really_ coffee, but it’s actually pretty good. -mdf ---
**Author:** ![waxteeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@waxteeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waxteeth)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782/20 "2001-08-30T13:08:36Z")
I drink Winston Wolf coffee. I go to Starbucks at least once a day and order “a venti coffee with room for cream”. Half of the time they take my order, get a cup and then ask if I want room for cream. The three steps between the register and coffee seem to erase memory. After thousands of cups I would say they left me enough room two times. I don’t measure the sugar. I just pick up the jar, not the one on the counter but the one hidden in that little nook because it’s not all gunked up yet. I pour a big fat stream of sugar into my coffee. I watch in disbelief as people come and go pouring one or two packages of sugar into their coffee. After that I pour half&half in there until the color is right. I think you should just say “no room” at the end of your order. Wait about 5 seconds for them to ask if you want room and say no. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-or-cream/78782.md?page=2)