02849: Coffee, Black


For the longest time my coffee experience has been framed with sugar. This is not to say I only think of the sweetness factor but I had long come to appreciate the bitterness of coffee particularly in contrast with sugar. I never really felt the need for cream since it didn't do that much to change the flavor profile except in much larger quantities.

My shift to keto means a life without sugar or at least with very limited quantities of it. And thus my coffee had also had to lose that particular counter point of flavor. Initially I relied on sugar substitutes like Splenda and Stevia for that "full" coffee experience. But the longer I've stuck with keto, the less I've needed that sweetness.

So now I'm totally good with having my coffee black, but in other cases I still add butter, MCT oil or heavy cream more for keto purposes and not necessarily for the flavor. And that's an interesting shift in my coffee experience.

To be fair, taking coffee black does let you focus on the actual flavors of the coffee more. Thus I've been experimenting more with different coffee brands, especially with the Dripo cold brew kit. I must concede that getting coffee beans at Starbucks actually pays off more than some of the brands on grocery shelves with not too much difference in price.

And just this weekend I better appreciated the differences between the UCC blend versus their Sumiyaki coffee. While not necessarily smokier (as one would assume with something promoted as charcoal roasted) but it did have a nicely more bitter flavor that I liked. I do like my coffee strong and that's all the more true these days without sugar getting in the way of things.

Funny life.

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