An Expert Explains Why You Should Never Sweeten Your Coffee and Drink It Bitter
We all have deeply ingrained coffee habits. An automatic spoonful of sugar, without even tasting it. And then there’s always that one person who insists: “Real coffee is drunk bitter.” Enough to make you roll your eyes… and yet. What if, for once, this little phrase concealed a genuine sensory truth? There’s no moralizing about sugar here: we’re only talking about pleasure, aromas, and the taste experience of coffee without sugar.
Sugar, That False Friend That Masks Everything
According to Vincenzo Sansone, owner of a café and micro-roastery in Naples, adding sugar to coffee often masks a problem with the taste. A well-made coffee, he explains, already possesses a natural sweetness. Not sugary, but rounded, balanced, almost silky on the palate.
When the first instinct is to add sugar, it’s often because the coffee is too bitter. However, this excessive bitterness isn’t inevitable; it’s generally a sign of over-roasting or poorly controlled extraction. Sugar simply conceals a flaw instead of revealing the richness of the beverage.
Good Coffee Isn’t Supposed to Be Aggressive
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