Coffee without sugar: why you should drink it

Should you drink coffee with or without sugar? This is one of the recurring discussions when talking about this drink. Many people tend to add 'panela' because it is more natural or add a low-calorie sweetener to protect themselves.

Other people, especially those who are into specialty coffee , prefer their drink without any added sweetener. What is right?

Sweet coffee custom (coffee with sugar)

For a long time we got used to the idea that the perfect accompaniment to coffee was a little sugar cube. Nobody questioned adding a little sugarcane derivative to the most famous hot drink. The strange thing was not adding sugar, especially because the coffee we drank a few years ago had a bitter taste.

In my case, when I started drinking coffee, I had to taste its sweetness, this was the taste I was used to. Then, over time, I started to be careful with what I ingested and one of my decisions was to stop adding sugar to my coffee. Therefore, I started with small steps, drinking coffee without sugar, only when I combined it with milk. In this way, it was easier to get used to the new taste. Later, I ventured to drink black coffee without sugar and there I really embarked on a journey of no return . Since then, I enjoy coffee without sugar, with its original flavor, with its notes and accents.

Drinking coffee without sugar makes us drink better coffee

The first thing to say is that not all coffees taste good without sugar. There are coffees that are not easy to drink, because they are bitter or overly roasted. These coffees taste much better when combined with other elements that disguise these flavors.

But there are medium roast coffees, which were practically created to be enjoyed in a filtered preparation, with only water. A drink made with a medium roast coffee will have a lighter color than a high roast drink. However, this does not mean that the coffee will taste less 'strong', but rather that it will taste less like roasting and more like the natural flavors that coffee has.

And this is where it is necessary to delve deeper. There is no point in having a medium roast coffee if the raw material is not of quality. Medium roast highlights both the attributes and the defects of a bean. Defects can range from mold to the bite of an insect called the coffee borer. These defects can completely ruin the coffee drinking experience and make it unpleasant. Normally, high roast is used to camouflage these defects.

Many flavors in one coffee

Coffee doesn't just taste like coffee. Specialty coffees have something called notes or accents. These are flavors that the bean develops due to its genetics, planting conditions, rainfall, altitude, the minerals in the soil where it is grown, the processing, roasting and grinding. Its flavor can also change due to other elements of preparation such as the temperature of the water, the type of method used or the extraction time of the drink.

Sugar deprives you of enjoying the range of flavors that a coffee has

Sugar acts as a modifier of the natural flavours of coffee. In this way, whoever uses coffee in a special coffee drink is hiding the flavours that the drink may have. For example, a Gesha coffee, which may have a jasmine flavour, will be completely overshadowed by the sweet taste of sugar.

The benefits of sugar-free coffee

There are many myths about coffee, especially regarding the use of sugar. According to a New York Times article, a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology in 2015 concluded that there is no difference in the health benefits of drinking coffee with or without sugar, cream or milk. However, Dr. Loftfield, the author of the study, pointed out that the amounts of cream or milk taken into account were one tablespoon, while sugar was one teaspoon.

This is important because high consumption of fats and sugars, even in coffee, can negatively affect health. This is because it could increase the risk of suffering from diabetes and other related ailments.

Thus, you can consume more coffee without sugar without harming your health.

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