. . . pale and weak.
Actually, I like good coffee, but I prefer good tea. Neither should need sugar or cream.
I’ve tried coffee three times (in the past 25 years) and can’t stand it at all. It’s just way too bitter for me. It may be an aquired taste but I’m not willing to choke it down for as long as it will take me to start to like it. I’m not real fond of the smell either. My wife drinks it though so I do make a pot most weekends when I get out of bed before she does.
My main AOL screen name is CoffeeJitters. That should tell you something right there.
I drink it black and medium-strong. Sugar + cream + coffee = dessert. Dunkin’ Donuts coffee is indeed one of the better widely available brands, but for home brewin’, I’m a Stewarts’ gal.
I cannot tolerate sweet flavors in the morning, nor can I tolerate anything difficult like texture. I want my breakfast robust and in liquid form, please.
It’s funny, I was thinking about it this afternoon…I started not drinking coffee when I was 1’5"…that was at birth. I’m now a university graduate (well, I am 42), and stuck at 6’2". Coincidence? Probably not. 
Frankly, I can’t stand the stuff. I don’t like the way it smells, I don’t like coffee ice cream, I don’t even like toffee. I’d rather drink warm pond scum than coffee. My wife, of course, is completely addicted and belongs to some mail-you-coffee-grind-your-own club. :rolleyes:
I wonder if there is a compound in coffee that some of us are sensitive to, and others aren’t? Perhaps people like RealityChuck and myself can not smell whatever other people find appealing in that bitter, burned taste. Or, perhaps the rest of you can’t smell what it really smells like.
I drink tea at work. Coke or Mountain Dew on long drives.
Heard somewhere if you eat or drink anything while plugging your nose, the taste is reduced dramatically. Try it sometime… Probably not an isolated coffee incident.
I like my coffee like I like my women…
Tied up in a burlap sack and slung over the back of a donkey…
I LOVE coffee. Always have. It is wonderful stuff. I believe that a lot of American coffee is made from the cheaper beans and therefore has a harsh flavor. Some of the best coffee I’ve had has been in the Caribbean. Also, surprisingly, A&P’s Eight O’Clock coffee is better than most brands. Starbucks, to me, always tastes burnt. And Maxwell House has a kind of oily off-taste.
I used to put milk (or cream) and sugar in it, but a few years ago my office started having only the powdered cr@p available, and I hate that, so I learned to drink it black.
Yes, it is addictive. So what? It is also legal. I don’t have high blood pressure or any other medical reason not to enjoy it, so I do, something like 5 cups a day. Rarely after 8 p.m., though, so it won’t keep me awake.
AND I don’t mind if it’s cold. Actually in the summer, I sometimes make a potful, sweeten it to taste and put it in the refrigerator. Yummers. When I was visiting Australia last fall I saw little juice-boxes of iced coffee for sale along with the soda and stuff. It had milk in it too, but that was o.k.
Quality espresso is a special treat.
MLS, there’s an idea. I once tried of those ice-a-cino things and although it still wasn’t really my bag, it was far preferable to hot coffee. Maybe if I really want to acquire the taste I should start with ices and work my way up.
Daerlyn, as others have said, the coffee you get out of the machine is crap. It may literally be crap for all I know, but it’s not coffee. Brown caffeinated sludge would be a generous description.
Basically, it’s like eating the caffeteria steak and wondering how anyone could enjoy filet mignon.
Well, I’d guess it to be a Turkish proverb, but it has many translations including “hot as hell, black as night, strong as death, and sweet as love.”
Iced coffee’s are good. I like going to Starbucks or Second cup for iced Caramel Frap’s or Mint whatchamacallits… been forever since I’ve done that though. Usually more towards the summer is when I drink iced because it’s too hot for regular.
I always wonder how people can drink the ice capp without the cream from work… I have been asked to serve it that way but ick!
I love coffee in all forms and flavors. I have a pin on my bag that says “Coffee Slut,” and I am. I’ve consumed coffee since high school, and was begging my parents for it for as long as I can remember. I usually drink it black, but it depends on my mood. And it always soothes me. I can also drink several pots a day, but rarely do.
It may well be a Turkish proverb, but I was referring to the old game Hero’s quest.
I guess I’m just a nerd sometimes.
I remember that game. It was given to me for Christmas about twelve years ago. I think I still have it somewhere.
Ah, the good old days . . .
My coffee drinking days started when I was in my late teens, and although there was the occasional excellent cup, and the heavenly aroma, it didn’t really become a ‘thing’ for me until I had some made by the cold-water method. I was in a small shop, and ordered a dish of ice cream, and wanted a coffee to go with it, and the only choices were, ‘French Roast’ and ‘American Roast’. I knew enough to know that I didn’t want the French, [I swear, the French can’t even roast coffee beans correctly] so I had the American roast, black. I took a sip and…boooing! I said to myself, ‘What the hell is THIS?’ It was so good, I went back for a second cup, and to see how they were making it. I noticed that they measured a small amount of coffee concentrate into a cup and added hot water. I’ve been making it that way for over 30 years now, and damn, it STILL tastes good. Since America’s discovery of the coffee filter, coffee brewed with hot water has improved 100%, but sometimes, just tastes like burned water. Cold water brewing can make even Folgers taste good–but there’s still no hope for French roast.
To further the quote game:
“I like my women like I like my coffee…in a paper cup.” – Eddie Izzard
He’s hysterical. Love that Eddie Izzard.
But coffee - not really. Don’t care for the stuff. When I have some - rarely - it’s fully doctored. Mr. Snicks usually makes a pot on weekends, though, and drinks whatever they’ve got at work for him.
Just thought I’d pop in to inject my Eddie Izzard quote.
Snicks
Sacrilege! Sacrilege, I say! French roast is quite nice, and de rigeur for something like a cafe au lait. It shouldn’t be much more bitter than normal coffee, but certainly it does have a smokier, more assertive flavor.
Also, while we’re on the subject, there really doesn’t seem to be any consensus on which is the darkest roast. Most places seem to qualify a French Roast as darker than an Italian Roast, but I’ve seen plenty of coffee roasters who do it the other way around. Also, remember that French Roast isn’t a type of bean itself, but rather refers to the roasting process. For example, you could get a Kenya AA French Roast, or a Sumatra French Roast. By roasting the beans longer, you bring more essential oils to the surface of the bean, and thus have a stronger coffee flavor.
However, what I’m really chiming in to say is that if your coffee tastes like burnt water, it’s probably because your coffee is, well, burnt. I’ve gone over this several times in threads before, but never, ever, ever allow your coffee water to boil over. (One exception: Turkish coffee.) You will have icky, rancid coffee. Also, always, always, always use filtered or bottled purified water. About 98% of your coffee is water, so any off-taste in your water will be apparent in your coffee.
Mmmm coffee, I’m on my third cup of the day as I type this. The deal with coffe, like so many of lifes little pleasures, is that when it’s made properly and from good ingredients it’s consumption becomes a sublimely wonderful experience. However when it’s made poorly and from cheap ingredients it’s consumption is profoundly dissapointing at best, filthy and disgusting at worst.
When made properly coffee isn’t very bitter and doesn’t require cream or sugar to be palatable, except of course for certian strong styles where cream and/or sugar are part of the “recipe” Turkish coffee and espresso being prime examples. Good coffee, however it’s made, has a complex aroma and flavour, and much like in wine tasting an experienced coffee drinker can recognize and appreciate the subtle differences between various bean families and roasts. My current favorite is Ethopian Yigrecheffe, French roasted. It’s very complex, a little spicey and has some winey flavours too and not at all bitter.
To get good, fresh coffee you have to buy your beans directly from the roaster and grind them yourself (whole beans stay fresher longer than ground coffee) if at all possible. Once ground you have to put some actual thought and effort into making the coffee - there are several acceptable methods for making coffee, drip makers and percolators are not among them. My personal preference is the French press. It’s simple, elegant and beautiful. Plus it’s easy to use and portable.
Always, always clean your equipment and cups after each use. The oils from coffee will build up very quickly and start to impart an unpleasantly bitter flavour to your coffee.
I can ramble on for a few hours more about coffee but I’ll stop now since I’ve just finished my last cup and need to fill up the press again for another three cups… : )