So I’m looking to cut down my sugar and cream intake while still retaining the wonderful qualities of coffee. Yet, most no-sugar, no-honey, no-cream coffee I’ve tasted wasn’t that good.
With the understanding that it’s a question of taste, can you tell me types/brands of no carb black coffee you like?
(Isn’t all coffee no-carb unless you add something to it?)
As far as nationally distributed coffee, I am partial to Pete’s.
All of them. That is, all coffees taste better without carbs.
Just experiment around-- see who roasts their own in your town, or try Peets or Starbucks or SBC, Kaladi, Caribou, or what other reputable chain (where do you live, approximately?), and see what you can tolerate. If you’re financially limited to the canned awfulnesses there might not be a lot of hope for anything that tastes good without adding things.
If you have a Keurig (or similiar) coffee maker, dial it to espresso (coffee syrup mode), and add 1 packet of Splenda and (optionally) a twist of lemon.
You won’t miss the cream…
When I first started drinking coffee I couldn’t imagine enjoying it without cream & sugar. Then after some time, like you decided I was better off without-esp. the sugar. So I weaned off gradually. Didn’t take long to develop a preference for black.
Now, if I accidentally sip Mrs. Call’s cuppa I find it near revolting sweet. I can’t imagine enjoying coffee any way other than black.
You can add coconut milk or almond milk to your coffee. Low cal, low carb.
What your brewing method?
I find that coffee is best (most robust and flavorful) in the French press. I buy whole bean and grind at home right before brewing.
Eight O’Clock is a very good, cheap(ish) brand that I like.
It really is a question of personal taste, so trial and error is the way to go. It’s too bad you can’t buy name brand coffee in smaller quantities, although you can if you are using whatever they sell by weight in your local supermarket.
I like my coffee very strong (my rommates called it “al dente”) but not bitter, and I don’t use cream or sugar.
I think what you are askng for is a very smooth coffee? If so, the top of that line that I’ve found is the Gevalia Kona. It’s quite spendy though. The second best is Peet’s Major Dickason’s blend, which is what I normally drink.
In your case though, this is why God gave us flavored coffees! Try some caramel or mocha flavors - it shouldn’t take long to wean off the sweet and back onto black coffee.
You need to re-educate your taste buds.
When we lived in Germany, I got SPOILED with cream–REAL CREAM, in my coffee. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to drink coffee again without the good stuff in it.
Back Stateside, the dreck in the market isn’t anywhere near the quality of German cream. I also needed to curtail my calories, and spiking your coffee with cream adds an easy 10,000 calories a day.
So I just stopped, cold turkey.
I prefer black coffee now. I’ll try flavored creamers once in a while, and I’ll treat myself to a glug of half-and-half every so often.
But OH! German cream…
sigh
~VOW
Right now it’s walking over to Tim Horton’s. I won’t be buying a sophisticated coffee machine now but I would appreciate suggestions for the future when that will be a worthwhile purchase.
I weaned myself off mocha because they have so much sugar. A large mocha at TH has about 300 calories; the same as a McDonald’s sundae.
Smooth could be good but I’ve found that there are different types of bitter. Some I enjoy and others I don’t. It’s rather difficult to describe.
Right, you want a full flavor without the bitter. Try the Peet’s.
And I’m not talking about buying a Mocha at Starbuck’s with a ton of milk and sugar and whipped cream on top- I’m talkinn about mocha flavored coffee that you brew and drink straight. Many of the flavored ones are very sweet-tasting wihtout the calories.
People love to hate Starbucks, but a big part of their original success IS that their coffee is very drinkable. Their Pike Place Blend is a great starting point.
Buy from a busy Starbucks retail store, though, NOT from a grocery store. The beans tend to be much fresher, and that makes a huge difference.
If you’re drinking black coffee, fresh, well-ground beans make a huge difference, because you don’t have cream and sugar to mask the stale / off flavors. You may also want to try adding a tiny amount of sugar (1/4 tsp or less). It’s less than five calories but can really make a difference.
I really recommend getting a decent grinder; you don’t need anything too fancy, but the good ones are grinders where you put whole beans in the top and grounds come out the bottom. The kind with spinning blades are a bit cheaper, but are much less consistent.
For brewing, I recommend avoiding cheap drip brewers. Some are great, but most reasonably priced ones are awful. You can get better results for much cheaper with a pourover brewer like a Chemex or Melitta.
I agree with any statement that encourages the use of a french press, the coffee is just smoother.
I also find that coffee from Guatemala is strong but no bitter or acidic, I could maybe drink it without sugar.
You must be serious about low carbs if you’re worried about the carbs in coffee.
If you make the coffee yourself, try cold-brewing. I have the device in the picture. It is very simple, inexpensive, and is really just a plastic tub with a thick cloth-like filter. I brew a pound of coarse ground coffee at a time and it lasts a few weeks. You mix the brew with three or four parts hot water. The resultant brew is much less tannic than conventionally brewed coffee, obviating the need for cream and sugar.
Jamaican Blue Mountain is very flavorful but mild. Unfortunately, it’s also about the same price per pound as plutonium.
I recommend you try some Dunkin’ Donuts flavored coffee, either French Vanilla or Hazelnut. It’s mild and tasty, and doesn’t need either creamer or sweetener.
This is the machine I use to brew: http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Coffee-ECMP50-Espresso-Cappuccino/dp/B001EU9UTM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1350340498&sr=8-2&keywords=mr+coffee+espresso
It’s a pressure espresso machine (avoid steam machines!) easy to use, fairly economic price-wise, and produces a smooth and tasty brew with a nice layer of crema. You can drink it as-brewed or can add hot water to your individual preference if you don’t like it as strong.
For trying different coffees, www.coffeeAM.com has great flavored sample packs that let you try a rotating variety in half-pound packages.
I’m partial to Caribou and Badger Brothers. Caribou is local to the upper midwest, and I’ve only seen Badger at one coffee shop, so you’d probably have to order online.
:dubious:
One serving (one tablespoon) of most coffee creamers, or of most heavy creams, has somewhere between 30 and 60 calories.
Are you drinking a few hundred cups of coffee every day?
I’ll have to try that. I tried the cold-brewing method of just putting water and grounds into a container and letting it sit for a day, and it was great!
The only kind of coffee I personally might be able to stand black is…that kind where the bean pod produces only one instead of two?
Peaberry, that’s what it’s called. I think Tanzanian Peaberry is what I’ve had; just has a different, smoother but robust taste, just…different.