# Who hates coffee? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 6, 2006, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624 "2006-06-06T15:56:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/61 "2006-06-07T03:10:40Z")
LOVE it. Black. But I agree it’s an acquired taste. I used to not like red wine, IPA, dark chocolate, and a bunch of other stuff. Now I love 'em all. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/62 "2006-06-07T03:38:21Z")
Love coffee, hate stealth coffee. There’s no substitute for a cup of coffee (hot, sweet and milky), but I dislike it in cakes, candies and desserts. Go figure. Oh - and even though I adore coffee, I consider myself more of a tea drinker. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/63 "2006-06-07T10:47:09Z")
> [@Emerald Hawk](#): > > But that’s only because no one ever eats chocolate without a ton of sugar and milk or milk solids in it. Plain cocoa powder and baker’s\* chocolate are very bitter, almost as bad as coffee. On the other hand, coffee loaded down with cream and sugar, or (better yet) coffee ice cream are things I find quite tasty. A teacher I had in high school said that coffee with sugar is a monstrosity. Coffee is bitter by nature. If you add sugar you neutralize it and make it tame. I’ve since followed his way and only drink coffee and tea natural, unless I feel fancy and order a cappuccino or a tiramisu. Dark chocolate though, is a culinarity in its own. I wouldn’t want to live in a country where dark chocolate isn’t appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/64 "2006-06-07T11:23:34Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > Sweet doesn’t have a smell? :dubious: > I can smell sweet–think of a carnival with cotton candy–100% spun sugar. It sure has a smell…it smells sweet. > I agree that bitter is a taste, not a smell, though. Coffee smells so robust and rich and filling in an odd way, but then the taste is not rich at all, just harsh and bitter and almost sour. It’s watery, too–the smell leads me (at least) to think that a thick drink is coming to my tongue. Instead it’s foul tasting water. It’s not bitter like aspirin, but it is not neutral, for sure. > > I’ll stick with tea. No, sweet does not have a smell. As wikipedia says about cotton candy. . . > [@](#): > > It does not have much of an aroma although the machine itself has a cooked sugar smell when in operation. Cotton candy is soft when dry, but when it mingles with saliva it becomes sticky. Not that you need wikipedia to tell you that. Smell sugar. Then smell cotton candy. If cotton candy were just “spun sugar” it wouldn’t have a smell. Clearly, there’s something else going on: they’re HEATING IT. Caramel has a smell, but caramel is caramelized sugar. It’s the heating and caramelization of sugar that has a smell. Coffee is a challenging drink. Yes, when you first try it, it’s just harsh and bitter (I don’t think there’s “sour” in coffee, though). But, like wine, whisky, and beer once you’re able to “taste through” that strong initial impression, it unlocks its charms. I know people say, “but why would I try it again?” The only answer I can give is: because a billion people can’t be wrong. A partial list of things I love now that didn’t like the first few times I tried them: coffee beer wine garlic onions fish tomatoes asparagus mangos ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/65 "2006-06-07T11:33:08Z")
The smell of coffee brings back memories of my youth and home and mom’s breakfasts - especially around the holidays. So I like the smell. But I never learned to like the taste. So yes, I hate coffee ---
**Author:** ![Walkabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walkabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walkabout)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/66 "2006-06-07T12:58:53Z")
When I was in college, I decided that I had to be like everyone else and pull all-nighters, so I had to learn how to like coffee. I put lots of cream and sugar in it and joined the coffee drinking crowd, eventually deciding that it wasn’t so bad after all, as long as it was sweet, diluted, and hot. Years passed and I got married and got pregnant, and had to go through the agony of caffiene withdrawal in order to have a “healthy pregancy”. Afterwards, I started drinking it again, and I realized just what a hassle that stupid habit was. I had enjoyed nine months of not having to set up the coffee maker, mess with the sugar bowl, and worry about keeping it warm, and I realized that I really didn’t like the taste all that much. It just wasn’t worth it. I got pregnant again just a few months later, and when I quit then, I quit for good. I really haven’t missed it at all. The thing that bothers me is when they’re handing out the coffee at a restaurant or what-have-you they look at me like I’m nuts when I tell them none for me. It’s like I’ve broken some rule or something. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/67 "2006-06-07T15:34:16Z")
Don’t like it. I grew up in a family that mostly doesn’t drink it. I remember when I was a kid someone razzing my uncle because he didn’t drink coffee. He said, “Coffee’s okay, except for the taste”, which perfectly sums up my feelings about it. The idea of a versatile bevearge that can be enjoyed hot or cold, personalized with additional flavors, and that can be the center of a social ritual appeals to me. How coffee got elected to that position escapes my understanding. Not long after 9/11/2001 I was travelling with S/O and my son. S/O was juggling said son, a car seat, and a bag. In return for that generosity all I had to do was carry a bag or two and S/O’s large black coffee (no sugar). S/O and junior were safely through security when the agent told me I could not carry the coffee through with me unless I took a drink of it in front of him. From my reaction I’m amazed they didn’t think I had just taken a swig of battery acid. Bleah!! I can, infact vividly recall the taste all theseyears later. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/68 "2006-06-07T15:52:20Z")
I like coffee drinks with generous additions of sweeteners, creamers, and other flavourings, such as chocolate. I like coffee-flavoured ice cream, candies, and other desserts. I don’t like black coffee. Every time I’ve tried to drink black coffee, it has tasted like a cup full of ashes dissolved in water. I have no problem with any of this. It seems perfectly normal that something that is distasteful on its own can be pleasant when mixed with other flavours. That’s what the history of cooking and food preparation is all about – optimizing the pleasurable aspects of available comestibles. After all, I wouldn’t be inclined to crunch down on a bulb of garlic or a whole onion, or a handful of red pepper flakes, but all those things can be used to enhance food. Gulping down a cupful of salt would probably kill me, but still salt is a perfectly good ingredient in improving the flavour of food. What does bug me are those people who go on and on about how coffee is meant to be taken black and if you like it any other way, you might as well leave out the coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/69 "2006-06-07T15:53:57Z")
Oh, and I also like chocolate-covered coffee beans. Not that I have them very often, but still. Yum. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/70 "2006-06-07T21:14:00Z")
I think coffee is a lot like smoking. I took my first swig of it as a kid and absolutely hated it. It was similar to my first, and last, puff on a cigarette. I decided on the spot that the crap wasn’t for me. I suspect most people don’t actually like coffee at first, but once the caffeine gets to work on you it creates a strong craving and the stuff starts to taste better. So here I am without a caffeine addiction and I spend $0 per year on coffee. The only downside is the looks of disbelief when I tell people I don’t drink coffee. People act there’s something wrong with me when they hear that. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/71 "2006-06-07T21:19:38Z")
Don’t like the stuff. Although I have been known to quaff and occasional Kahlua and cream, but that doesn’t count. I’ve never ventured into a Starbucks and I don’t think I’m missing a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/72 "2006-06-07T21:45:01Z")
Another coffee smell lover here who can’t stand the taste of the stuff. On the rare occasion I feel the urge for a hot drink, I go with an Earl Gray or English Breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![Bertie\_Wooster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/58f4c7/32.png) [@Bertie\_Wooster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bertie_Wooster)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/73 "2006-06-08T14:17:45Z")
I dislike the taste of coffee. I dislike the aroma of coffee. I dislike coffee ice cream, tiramisu, and other coffee-added foods. I dislike some dark beers because they have a definate coffee-like taste. There are bitter foods I enjoy, but not coffee. There are many foods I previously expressed dislike fore that I have learned to enjoy: mushrooms; tomatoes; asparagus; liver sausage, to name but a few. I do not think I’ll have the same experience of coffee. But I don’t hate coffee. Hate is for people I feel are actively malevolent. Coffee isn’t actively anything, it’s just a liquid. But no thanks, I don’t like coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/74 "2006-06-08T21:59:05Z")
A couple of my fellow people have mentioned that coffee is an acquired taste, but I don’t know - I’m surprised at all the people here who don’t like the smell of coffee or don’t like it in desserts. Coffee itself _was_ an acquired taste for me, but I’ve always loved the taste of coffee ice cream and tiramisù. I’m thinking you guys must just have an extra chromosome or something. Seriously, you people can’t even stand coffee ice cream with chocolate in it? Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I mean . . . 🙂 I’m just surprised at how many people don’t like coffee in sweets. I never realized - me, I’ve always thought it was sort of strange that there aren’t more coffee-flavored desserts. > [@Freudian\_Slip](#): > > I’ve never understood the fascination for Starbuck’s coffee. Must be all the brainwashing, er, marketing. Who’s fascinated by Starbucks coffee? I can’t recall ever meeting a single person who I would describe that way. I know a _lot_ of people who don’t like their coffee, which is appropriate, since their coffee is bad. And other people who resent their omnipresence. But I can’t recall ever meeting anyone who was particularly a partisan of the Starbucks brand as opposed to any other café. > [@Buckler of Swashing](#): > > Hate coffee. > > Hate the smell. Hate the taste. Hate the ubiquitousness. Have the over-zealous fans it has. Hate the marketing. Hate the atmosphere of the shops. Hate the flavour when given to to other products. Hate the concept that it’s enjoyment makes you a better and more culturally educated person. Hate people who have 8 cups a day including two after dark and become distressed at ther lack of sleep. Hate caffeine freaks who think it’s hilarious to eat 6 packets of chocolate covered coffee beans and go insane. Hate the stupid people who must, MUST, have it a a temperature that no real human tongue can handle. Hate people who have perversely detailed coffee orders. Hate the live-the-meme morons who order ‘A small cappucino but not too hot, in fact just warm really. With chocolate syrup. And extra milk, I like it quite milky. An extra sugar too. Can you put some more chocolate sprinkle on the top as well? Great.’. Hate them because they don’t seem to realise that what they actually want is a chocolate milkshake. Hate them because they just think they want coffe because the world tells them to want it. Hate the world telling people to want, nay NEED, coffee. > > Hate coffee. Um, yeah. Normally I’d tell you to switch to decaf, but that doesn’t seem to be the problem here . . . 🙂 > [@Kiros](#): > > Coffee can’t hold the jockstrap of chocolate or vanilla. Seriously, you guys are weird. And coffee kicks vanilla’s wussy ass hands down. Now coffee and chocolate together, there’s a team! ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/75 "2006-06-08T22:17:20Z")
I loathe coffee. I can’t stand the taste, can’t stand the smell, and really can’t stand coffee breath. > [@](#): > > Coffee is the perfect best friend for cigarettes No, that would be beer. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/76 "2006-06-09T00:21:39Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > I’ve only tasted it once. I took my brother to the doctor’s office after school one day, probably in 1973. I was dying for a drink. The only thing they had was an industrial coffee maker in the waiting room. So I made a cup and took a sip. It was so gross and disgusting I couldn’t even swallow it. I had to run outside and spit it out. That’s my coffee drinking experience. Eww! That’s like making up your mind on whether you like pizza based on a moldy piece you found in a dumpster! Give it another shot, from somewhere reputable. Also keep in mind that black coffee vs coffee with cream and sugar are two completely different and almost totally unrelated drinks. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/77 "2006-06-09T00:58:08Z")
> [@Emerald Hawk](#): > > The conclusion I draw from all this is that we are using coffee beans all wrong. Only coffee ice cream and coffee flavored cakes (like tiramisu) are good, and drinking black coffee is like making hot cocoa without the sugar. EXACTLY! Perfect analogy and I’m going to use it in the future. I typically put 6 splenda in my coffee, btw. Those of you who say you “want to like coffee” might want to try it like I do. My boyfriend doesn’t like coffee, but when he tasted my latte once, he liked it. Because he likes what I put in it. Now when he comes over I make lattes for both of us, at his request. One time he put four splenda in his and told me it didn’t taste very good. I asked how much splenda he put in it, and he said four. He thought that is how much I used. I said “aha! Put in six” so he added two more, tasted it, and said “hey! that’s good!” (My favorite bought coffee drinks are from Seattle’s Best, but I really prefer to make my own at home. I will rarely order coffee at a restaurant since it almost always sucks.) Beer, I cannot drink. It’s just…nasty. Like licking out a toilet. I feel the same way about _black_ coffee, by the way. Gross. And Starbucks coffee often tastes like something scraped off my stove burner. I don’t have coffee that often. It goes in spurts. I’ll drink it a bunch for a while, then go a year without any. For me it’s strictly a flavor thing, since I am apparently naturally immune to caffeine. _Originally Posted by Kiros Coffee can’t hold the jockstrap of chocolate or vanilla._ Chocolate is superior to coffee a lot of the time, but only barely. Vanilla is an ingredient. It is not a finished product. Plain vanilla ice cream is nearly inedible to me. It’s like eating frozen milk. And I hate milk. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/78 "2006-06-09T01:04:00Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > And Starbucks coffee often tastes like something scraped off my stove burner. It’s because they roast the beans too hot. Some claim they do it to disguise the taste of coffee beans that are lower quality than what consumers expect from other cafés. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/79 "2006-06-09T01:08:34Z")
I never thought I’d get to do this, but Hi, Opal! Granted, that coffee at the doctor’s was likely there all day, and I _did_ put a bunch of sugar and whatever they had for milk in it, but it was still gross. I think I’ve been getting by since then on tea pretty well. I don’t think I’d like to have coffee breath, or the aftertaste of coffee in my mouth, or any of that stuff… or be awake at 4 AM because I had too much coffee during the day. Come to think of it, I don’t know anybody who says they _love_ coffee. They just drink it. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624/80 "2006-06-09T01:14:50Z")
Well I’ll say it. I love coffee. I wouldn’t drink it otherwise, it’s too much hassle and as I said before, the caffeine doesn’t do anything for me. (And before anyone suggests it, no, it isn’t a built-up tolerance thing). But I only love it when it’s doctored up the way I like it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-hates-coffee/359624.md?page=5)