# Coffee Survey **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** coffee\ **Created:** [September 20, 2025, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234 "2025-09-20T18:14:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2025, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234/41 "2025-09-21T17:05:30Z")
1. Yes. Default is a latte macchiato, made at home, no sugar. At work, double ristretto, straight up. If I’m at home during the day, decaf latte macciato after lunch. Out and about? Iced. Cold Brew. On Nitro. If I’m in a Perkins, give me my own carafe. 2. Daily is at home. But I’ll buy coffee when I’m out and about. Coffee in the office is free. 3. Not as much as hubby, so he chooses. 4. I’m from Seattle, so Starbucks has been around all my life. I tend toward the beverages with more coffee and milk (and nitro), and less syrup and additions. Drink what you want. 5. I think I started with lattes in 1984. I introduced my husband to mochas in 1989. 6. Every day. I have to be pretty ill to not have coffee. 7. Not intentially. For the past few weeks I have limited myself to just my morning latte macchiato in the morning, due to planned surgery. Now I’m recovering, and I’m sticking to the restricted caffeine plan. So decaf latte macchiato in the afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2025, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234/42 "2025-09-21T21:57:29Z")
- How do i drink my coffee? Hot. If it’s good coffee, i like it black. If it’s mediocre coffee, i like it with some milk or cream. If it’s bad coffee, i like it with lots of cream, it at a pinch, whole milk. No sweetener. - Do you make it at home or do you buy it on your way to work or out in public? I mostly drink tea at home. I drink coffee when I’m traveling, or at a conference. For whatever reason, I’m much pocket about the quality of my tea than my coffee. But sometimes, when i need a dose of caffeine at home, and don’t have time to properly brew tea, I’ll make a cup of Cometeer coffee, which is a high-quality (and high priced) coffee concentrate i keep in the freezer. And sometimes, in the afternoon, when it’s too late in the day for me to drink much caffeine, I’ll have one of their decaf coffees, which are some of best decaf coffee I’ve had. (Full disclosure, my nephew works for Cometeer. But i really do enjoy it.) - What are your opinions on overpriced coffee shops? Like Starbucks and local shops? What are your opinions on drinks that look like milkshakes/lattes? I don’t care for Starbucks, all of their coffee is over-roasted. But I’ll drink it with milk if it’s easiest. I like coffee from Peet’s and Cafe Nero and similar smaller chains, and I’ve been to some excellent independent coffee shops. I also love a good espresso, and i have a weakness for a hot cappuccino. I had a Starbucks cold frappaccino once, and it was about 1500 calories and i couldn’t finish it. I haven’t tried that since. - What got you into coffee? Your first time trying it? My parents drank coffee, and I’ve always lived the smell. I think i first drank it when i was in high school, at some student-teacher council. And then i had summer jobs where everyone drank coffee. - Are you an everyday drinker or whenever you feel like it? - Have you ever taken a break from coffee? I am not an everyday drinker, but I’ve never “taken a break”, either. Except that from time to time, i go off caffeine. I have to carefully taper down, or i get horrible headaches and feel tired. I’ve tapered down many years so i can fast on Yom Kippur. Sometimes, i pick it up again the next day, and other times I’ve done a few months without caffeine. But i really enjoy my morning ritual, and as best as i can tell, it’s mildly healthful. So I usually don’t try to stay off it. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234/43 "2025-09-22T03:43:57Z")
and then there’s Alton Brown taking 1/2 hour to make one cup of coffee (don’t forget the scales) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234/44 "2025-09-22T06:51:31Z")
- How do you drink your coffee? Hot, Cold, Iced, Black, Creamer, Sugar/Sweetner? **Flat White.** - Do you make it at home or do you buy it on your way to work or out in public? **Neither.** I make it at work, which has a decent machine - Are you particular about the brand of coffee and where you get it from? **Not at all** - What are your opinions on overpriced coffee shops? Like Starbucks and local shops? **They’re … fine.** I buy from them when I feel like it. - What are your opinions on drinks that look like milkshakes/lattes? Food snobbery is bad. **Burned bean hot water snobbery is worse.** - What got you into coffee? Your first time trying it? **I grew up drinking the stuff** - Are you an everyday drinker or whenever you feel like it? **When I feel like it.** I do drink some whenever I’m in the office, but that’s only a couple times a week - Have you ever taken a break from coffee? **Sure**. I’m primarily a tea drinker anyway. ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234/45 "2025-09-22T08:00:49Z")
1. How do you drink your coffee? Hot, Cold, Iced, Black, Creamer, Sugar/Sweetner? I usually drink my coffee hot with a bit of sugar, without milk or cream. In the summer season, I drink ice coffee, that is black coffee poured over ice cubes. 2. Do you make it at home or do you buy it on your way to work or out in public? I never buy coffee on my way to work. I always have breakfast at home. I drink home-made coffee and the one I find in coffee shops. 3. Are you particular about the brand of coffee and where you get it from? My wife and I buy coffee from the supermarket, such as Carrefour or Lidl. Sometimes we buy coffee when we travel abroad. Our favorite brands are the “good” ones. My own favorite type of instant coffee is Amigo. 4. What are your opinions on overpriced coffee shops? Like Starbucks and local shops? What are your opinions on drinks that look like milkshakes/lattes? Overpriced coffee shops are usually okay. Ten minutes away from my home (walking distance) there’s a mall with many of them. Starbucks and Gloria Jeans are the most popular—I prefer the latter. I tend to eat and drink simplified versions of very simple things. But I don’t mind other people enjoying their fancy stuff. 5. What got you into coffee? Your first time trying it? I have always been an energetic individual and refused to drink coffee when I was young. I started drinking it during my post-graduate studies in the hope I would be able to stay awake longer. The effect was negligible. 6. Are you an everyday drinker or whenever you feel like it? I am an everyday drinker, but I consume decaf. When I go out or on vacation, I drink regular coffee too. 7. Have you ever taken a break from coffee? I think coffee is healthy if you drink a cup or two a day. I will probably never take a break from coffee. My wife has to drink coffee daily due to her low blood pressure, which can cause frequent headaches. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234/46 "2025-09-22T10:25:40Z")
> [@sta3535](#): > > - How do you drink your coffee? Hot, Cold, Iced, Black, Creamer, Sugar/Sweetner? **No sweetener, but a lot of half and half.** > - Do you make it at home or do you buy it on your way to work or out in public? **Make it at home.** > - Are you particular about the brand of coffee and where you get it from? **Absolutely. We buy Harry & David coffee and get it shipped from the west coast to the east coast, so we have to monitor when we’re getting low since it takes over a week to reach us. We also grind the beans ourselves.** > - What are your opinions on overpriced coffee shops? Like Starbucks and local shops? **I like them. Seasonal lattes are very different from cheap coffee. And I like how they give you a puppiccinno at the drive-thru if you come with your dog.** > - What are your opinions on drinks that look like milkshakes/lattes? **Well those are two very different categories, but I like them. My only complaint is with frappuccinnos, the syrup and ice separate and I don’t like having a whole bunch of drink at the end that’s not drinkable because it’s just ice chunks.** > - What got you into coffee? Your first time trying it? **First time trying it was in high school when there was a Starbucks near it. What got me into it** … **my** **former husband used to drink coffee every morning, and I didn’t want a whole cup but I wanted a sip from his because it smelled good, and he would get annoyed and tell me to make my own cup. When I first started making my own cup I’d just drink a few sips, but eventually I started drinking the whole cup.** > - Are you an everyday drinker or whenever you feel like it? **Everyday, but only my one cup in the morning because I don’t want to consume too much caffeine.** > - Have you ever taken a break from coffee? **Yeah.** Responses in bold above. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234/47 "2025-09-22T14:23:45Z")
I started a [pour-over coffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/share-your-pour-over-coffee-technique/1011508) thread a while back. I was a Keurig user more than a decade but recently switched to pour-overs for my morning hot coffee. My kids just bought me a fancy grinder, and I quite like it. I rarely buy hot prepared coffee, it feels expensive, and I dislike the cups, recyclable as they might (or might not) be. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234/48 "2025-09-22T23:49:16Z")
I’ve never considered buying a particular brand of beans but am willing to give them a shot. My parents grew up drinking instant so I thought that was always completely normal. I usually forego caffeine since the smallest cup of coffee I drink before dawn tends to keep me awake all the way through the night of the next day. Maybe they call that intolerance of caffeine. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234/49 "2025-09-23T13:59:24Z")
**How do you drink your coffee? Hot, Cold, Iced, Black, Creamer, Sugar/Sweetner?** Black. Hot or iced/cold brew. I’ll have a cappuccino occasionally as dessert when dining out, or at a cafe if I’m hungry. **Do you make it at home or do you buy it on your way to work or out in public?** All of the above. The past few years I’ve taken to preparing a week’s worth of cold brew at a time (64oz) in the warmer months, which makes it easy to have at home. 5-10 minutes on a Sunday, and I have all the coffee I want at a moment’s notice. **Are you particular about the brand of coffee and where you get it from?** Maybe? I am pretty relaxed about it, as long as some minimum requirements are met. For at-home coffee, I buy beans from any number of local roasters, with an eye towards price. There’s one company that roasts beans and has a house blend at $12.29 for 12oz that I’m pretty happy with and it stays consistent. Most other local roasters come in at 50% more in price at a minimum. For fast food coffee, I generally get Dunkin, which I like more than Starbucks. That said, on a cold morning with brisk fresh air, even a generic bitter dark roast made piping hot can be the perfect thing. **What are your opinions on overpriced coffee shops? Like Starbucks and local shops? What are your opinions on drinks that look like milkshakes/lattes?** I’m definitely a person who grumbles about the price of things these days. I go out for coffee pretty frequently, because $10-15 dollars a week is not nothing, but it’s not much, and I’m not going to solve financial challenges on coffee austerity alone. That said, I think a lot of places (at least around here) really push what is reasonable for coffee. If a 10-12oz black coffee plus $1 tip costs me somewhere approaching $6, it doesn’t feel good. Drinks that look like milkshakes/lattes? Not for me, but go nuts. I do bristle at calling them “coffee drinks” in the same way that I would bristle at calling Neapolitan ice cream a “strawberry dish”. **What got you into coffee? Your first time trying it?** I don’t recall. My dad would make a cup of coffee in the morning before work, and I’m sure I tried it. As a teen and in my early 20s, I only drank coffee rarely on special occasions, as an after-dinner drink. I probably started drinking it regularly at my first office job (free on-site. Not particularly good, but I was struggling with mornings). **Are you an everyday drinker or whenever you feel like it?** I go back and forth. I probably have coffee 1/3-1/2 of the days of the year. **Have you ever taken a break from coffee?** Not as in “explicitly deny myself coffee even if I want it.” … I’ve been getting into tea lately, and while it hasn’t replaced coffee, I’m interested in drinking more tea and less coffee. Tea is quicker, less messy, easier to keep fresh for long periods, and there are a lot of really delicious flavor/texture profiles. And, it feels gentler on my body/digestive system. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234/50 "2025-09-23T14:21:07Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Are you an everyday drinker? > Oh, God, yes. And I saw an ADHD doctor who said I can skip the drugs if I get two cups a day. Question for you, or anyone else on here with ADHD: Have you noticed that coffee seems to affect you differently than – I forget the word for people who aren’t neurodivergent … neuronormative? I was intrigued by this when a friend with ADHD said that coffee doesn’t have much effect on her, and that her doctor said was probably due to her ADHD. > [@Eonwe](#): > > For fast food coffee, I generally get Dunkin, which I like more than Starbucks. 100% agree. If I’m ever seeking out a cup of basic coffee, that’s the best place for it. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2025, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234/51 "2025-09-23T14:38:34Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > they used to have signs on some of the bins saying “just roasted today” Where I buy coffee they mark the date of each roast on the bins of beans, along with a sign advising that the beans are at their best a few days after roasting. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234/52 "2025-09-23T14:43:33Z")
I greatly prefer tea to coffee. If I drink coffee, I drink it with a lot of milk (no sweeteners). ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234/53 "2025-09-23T14:47:19Z")
> [@sta3535](#): > > 1. How do you drink your coffee? Hot, Cold, Iced, Black, Creamer, Sugar/Sweetner? > 2. Do you make it at home or do you buy it on your way to work or out in public? > 3. Are you particular about the brand of coffee and where you get it from? > 4. What are your opinions on overpriced coffee shops? Like Starbucks and local shops? What are your opinions on drinks that look like milkshakes/lattes? > 5. What got you into coffee? Your first time trying it? > 6. Are you an everyday drinker or whenever you feel like it? > 7. Have you ever taken a break from coffee? 1. I do not drink coffee. 2. Not applicable. 3. Not applicable. 4. It’s often not clear what beverages have coffee or caffeine in them, which limits what I buy. The hot chocolates are usually tolerable, but very over-sweetened. And sometimes weak on the cocoa. 5. Over the years from high school to present, I’ve tried coffee many different ways, and I’ve found it’s the flavor I dislike. I have a high tolerance for bitterness (I drink baking cocoa straight, unsweetened) and even the milkiest, sweetest coffee still has that coffee flavor. 6. Not applicable. 7. I retry coffee about once a year or so. The coffee culture is pervasive, but not persuasive. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234/54 "2025-09-23T14:47:44Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > - What got you into coffee? Your first time trying it? > Stopped at a fast-food place (Dog n Suds, I think) one cold snowy day – and discovered that they didn’t serve hot chocolate. Ordered coffee, as a poor substitute, and loaded it with cream and sugar (“blonde and sweet” in Navy terms) to make it palatable. A few years later I yielded to comments by my hippie-type health-food-junkie friends and stopped adding sugar ("blonde and bitter). Stopped adding milk/cream after a waitress brought me my coffee but after two or three reminders she still hadn’t brought the milk and the coffee was no longer hot, so I gave up and drank it “black and bitter” from then on. First time I tried it was when I was a kid, and I thought it was horrible. I was fairly desperate for a hot drink on the occasion mentioned above.. On the other hand, I’ve been drinking tea (black tea with milk and sugar) since I was in the single-digit age group. > [@solost](#): > > No coffee-flavored milkshakes for me, thanks. Coffee flavoured ice cream is fine, but I don’t think a shake with coffee added sounds very good. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2025, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234/55 "2025-09-23T15:25:10Z")
> [@sta3535](#): > > - How do you drink your coffee? Hot, Cold, Iced, Black, Creamer, Sugar/Sweetner? > - Do you make it at home or do you buy it on your way to work or out in public? > - Are you particular about the brand of coffee and where you get it from? > - What are your opinions on overpriced coffee shops? Like Starbucks and local shops? What are your opinions on drinks that look like milkshakes/lattes? > - What got you into coffee? Your first time trying it? > - Are you an everyday drinker or whenever you feel like it? > - Have you ever taken a break from coffee? 1. Hot and black. 2. I make it at home. 3. I buy Community Coffee from Louisiana. It’s inexpensive when you use their frequent %-off sales and free shipping, and I got hooked on it in New Orleans. 4. I don’t go to coffee shops, overpriced or otherwise. Drinks that look like milkshakes are coffee-flavoured dessert, not coffee. Lattes, cappuccino, etc. are very Continental; but I’d rather have a quadruple espresso with nothing in it. 5. Dad was career Navy. 6. Two pots per day (my wife has two or three cups), except commuting days; then it’s only 30 ounces on the drive to the office. 7. No. ---
**Author:** ![SlipperyPete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@SlipperyPete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlipperyPete)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234/56 "2025-09-23T15:49:41Z")
> [@sta3535](#): > > - How do you drink your coffee? Hot, Cold, Iced, Black, Creamer, Sugar/Sweetner? > - Do you make it at home or do you buy it on your way to work or out in public? > - Are you particular about the brand of coffee and where you get it from? > - What are your opinions on overpriced coffee shops? Like Starbucks and local shops? What are your opinions on drinks that look like milkshakes/lattes? > - What got you into coffee? Your first time trying it? > - Are you an everyday drinker or whenever you feel like it? > - Have you ever taken a break from coffee? 1. Hot, with sweetened creamer. Just enough to balance the bitterness, I don’t want the coffee to taste sweet. 2. Make at home mostly 3. Not really, I prefer a medium or light roast. My wife drinks it black, and is thus more particular than me, so she normally gets Starbucks or Pete’s 4. Overpriced coffee from shops is fine for an occasional treat, or for convenience while out. (if you just order regular coffee, its not SO overpriced) The super sweet drinks ARE like milkshakes and should not be consumed regularly if you want to stay healthy. 5. It wasn’t until I was working full time and needed a quick start that I got into coffee, also at my wife’s convincing 6. Every day 7. A break? Not officially, but I skip occasionally and it doesn’t bother me. Typically I drink 1-2 cups per day. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2025, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234/57 "2025-09-23T16:08:07Z")
1. _How do you drink your coffee? Hot, Cold, Iced, Black, Creamer, Sugar/Sweetner?_ **Strong and hot with cream and sugar.** 1. _Do you make it at home or do you buy it on your way to work or out in public?_ **I grind beans at home.** 1. _Are you particular about the brand of coffee and where you get it from?_ **I buy green beans online and roast them myself.** 1. _What are your opinions on overpriced coffee shops? Like Starbucks and local shops? What are your opinions on drinks that look like milkshakes/lattes?_ **I never go to a shop.** 1. _What got you into coffee? Your first time trying it?_ **Too long ago to remember.** 1. _Are you an everyday drinker or whenever you feel like it?_ **Every day without fail in the morning.** 1. _Have you ever taken a break from coffee?_ **No.** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coffee-survey/1023234.md?page=2)