By Alicia Love,
Some coffee purists say that you should only drink coffee black. This is apparently in order to taste "the way it was naturally meant to taste". They don't want you to miss one flavor note.
I've worked in the specialty coffee industry for 12 years now, and have been fortunate enough to work with some of the finest coffee beans in this world. I should be one of these purists, but I'm not now and have never been.
My grandfather was the one who introduced coffee to me. He always had these coffee flavored candies in his pocket or some coffee ice cream in the freezer. I loved that flavor. Sweet and creamy, it was great! When I pursed a career in the coffee business, I didn't know there was this stigma against using milk or sugar. At first I would hide that I did it in order to avoid attention, but after a couple of years I just decided to just forget about it and do what I wanted.
The flavor has deep memories attached to it for me. Every time I have a sweet coffee drink or dessert I think of my grandfather. Why would I give something like that up just because other people say it's "wrong" somehow?
Over the years I have had coffees that should never have milk or sugar in them. they have a sweetness or a creaminess by themselves. Other coffees are highlighted by a touch of sugar or milk. It's really just a matter of personal preference, and you should never let anyone tell you what you do and do not like in your coffee!