Viewing 39 posts - 1 through 39 (of 39 total)
  • Espresso – Sugar ?
  • the_lecht_rocks
    Full Member

    i never take sugar in latte / cappucino, etc, but find sugar in Espresso a necessity. just a 1/4 teaspoon to offset any harshness.

    am i failing to realise the true bean flavour by adding sugar ?

    yunki
    Free Member

    you need to add sugar to take away the minging taste imo

    I find a couple of heaped teaspoons is usually sufficient

    chewkw
    Free Member

    What true bean flavour? What’s that?

    Drink as you like it.

    I add sugar to all of them …

    😀

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    deadlydarcy
    Free Member

    am i failing to realise the true bean flavour by adding sugar ?

    I find a little bit of sugar is nice in espresso – have you seen how much the Italians and French put in?

    TooTall
    Free Member

    I lived in Naples for 2 years. Never saw a local drink it without sugar. I like the sweet/bitter. They often have a glass of water with it too.

    deadlydarcy
    Free Member

    They often have a glass of water with it too.

    I like a glass of hot water with mine. Sometimes I mix them together. 🙂

    chewkw
    Free Member

    deadlydarcy – Member

    I like a glass of hot water with mine. Sometimes I mix them together.

    So you turn your espresso into Americano … no?

    I put about 2 to 3 teaspoon of sugar per small cup of Americano … probably 2 teaspoon for espresso.

    I love sugar in coffee and tea. If you try my sweet tea the tea I made from sweet condense milk you will be full of energy the whole day. (amended due to deadlydarcy …)

    deadlydarcy
    Free Member

    If you try my sweet tea

    😕

    😯

    🙂

    somafunk
    Full Member

    Nah, but i expect the espresso nazi’s will be along in a minute to realign your tastebuds and remove your machine till you can learn to appreciate it, FWIW i throw a small lump of brown sugar in my espresso depending on what bean i’m using and i’m a self obsessed espresso/foodie snob – if it tastes ok to you then what’s wrong wi taking sugar with it?, although if tastes unnecessarily harsh or bitter then perhaps the grind or the tamp needs adjusted.

    buck53
    Full Member

    ^^ This.

    Do what you like but might be an issue with the brew, shouldn’t be so bitter that you can’t possibly drink it without sugar, espresso can be quite fruity/sweet if brewed spot on.

    End of the day though, if it works for you it’s the right thing to do.

    hjghg5
    Free Member

    I like sugar, but not stirred in so well so it sinks to the bottom and then I scoop it out with a spoon to have some vaguely coffee flavoured sugar after I’ve finished the drunk 🙂

    When I’m out on a ride I fly up hills after that 🙂

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Even when I used to take sugar in everything, I didn’t like it in espresso. Made it into some kind of sickly syrup, took away all the dry sophistication.

    Some espresso is too bitter, but even then I would rather have a different espresso than add sugar.

    I find if an establishment has bitter espresso then an espresso macchiato – tiny bit of foamed milk – much more preferable to adding sugar. I love these in Costa, where I don’t care for their lattes.

    I lived in Naples for 2 years. Never saw a local drink it without sugar. I like the sweet/bitter. They often have a glass of water with it too.

    As if it makes any difference what people in Napoli do? Unless of course you are more concerned about pretending to be authentic Italian than how your coffee tastes..? 🙂

    bikebouy
    Free Member

    MrsBouy = 1 sugar
    Moi = 0 sugar.

    Who really cares?

    I mean really

    mefty
    Free Member

    According my friend who used to live in Milan, italians think espresso should be hot, strong and sweet.

    johndoh
    Free Member

    On a Sunday morning after a heavy night before, espresso with sugar is great.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Again – why should we care what Italians do?

    chewkw
    Free Member

    According to coffee drinkers in Papua there is no such thing as machine brewed coffee. 😆 So not sure why the Italians become the benchmark for drinking coffee …

    DougD
    Full Member

    Cafe bombon in Spain – Espresso and condensed milk – incredible

    _tom_
    Free Member

    dry sophistication

    😆

    It’s coffee for **** sake.

    johnny
    Full Member

    I’m properly middle class, and have lived and worked in Emilia-Romagna; (Italy is a concept that largely exists for those outsde of the country!) once you’re a regular, cafe owners will often drop a sugar lump in your espresso cup before the coffee brews. Especially if you prove a fan of ristretto.

    MrSmith
    Free Member

    offset any harshness.

    Harshness means poor quality beans/poor extraction technique or both.
    Napoli is a poor city, they use cheap over-roasted robusta beans instead of quality arabica so no wonder they have to add sugar.

    garage-dweller
    Full Member

    With or without is ok. Generally I like a bit of brown sugar in mine.

    deadlydarcy
    Free Member

    Again – why should we care what Italians do?

    Why shouldn’t we? They’ve been doing the whole espresso thing for a while now. I think that generally, folk are saying that, “Hey our continental cousins don’t seem to have any problem with it. So why should you?” Hang on, aren’t you one of the stove-top aficionados?

    johnny
    Full Member

    well either way it isn’t murder.

    I wonder if there are a bunch of Italians sat around somewhere making tea, debating whenever to put the milk or the sugar in the cup first?

    MrSmith
    Free Member

    They’ve been doing the whole espresso thing for a while now

    And they are very set in their ways it’s countries like the U.S, New Zealand, Australia and northern Europe that have been changing how coffee is roasted and consumed. Just because you invent something at the turn of the last century doesn’t mean you become an arbiter of quality in that product in 2013.

    Zulu-Eleven
    Free Member

    Even better with a splash of maple syrup in the cup before you put the coffee in 8)

    garage-dweller
    Full Member

    It isnt murder but putting milk in the cup after the tea should be a criminal offence unless brewing in the mug.

    Putting milk in while there is a tea bag in the cup is just as bad.

    TooTall
    Free Member

    Again – why should we care what Italians do?

    Why should I care that you don’t care?

    I tend to see ‘how the locals eat/drink’ something that is synonomous with their lifestyle or weather or other external influences. I tend to try it ‘their way’ and go from there. It works with beer, wine and most other things I’ve tried around the world .
    For example, mint 7Up. Sounds a bit grim, but in the desert it is a very refreshing drink.

    And they are very set in their ways it’s countries like the U.S, New Zealand, Australia and northern Europe that have been changing how coffee is roasted and consumed. Just because you invent something at the turn of the last century doesn’t mean you become an arbiter of quality in that product in 2013.

    Not espresso they haven’t. Italy is still the benchmark for that and the brewing equipment.

    deadlydarcy
    Free Member

    Zulu-Eleven – Member
    Even better with a splash of maple syrup in the cup before you put the coffee in

    I think I can see what you’re doing there.

    jimification
    Free Member

    I think if you prefer sugar in espresso, you should put sugar in it 🙂

    People on the telly are always on about how fish should only be cooked one way – just enough (“cuison” or something, I think it’s called) but I happen to like mine a bit burnt / barbequey…it tastes better to me like that, so that’s how I’m gonna eat it!

    Kamakazie
    Full Member

    Condensed milk + Espresso.
    Mmmmmmmm.

    Davesport
    Full Member

    I can 2nd the Cafe Bonbon 8) Double espresso & about a desert spoon of condensed milk. Better than EPO !

    loughor
    Free Member

    ‘Better than EPO’ … that made me snigger 😀

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Not espresso they haven’t. Italy is still the benchmark for that and the brewing equipment

    Why on earth would there be a benchmark in something that’s a matter of personal taste? It’s not like there’s one best way of drinking coffee.

    Hang on, aren’t you one of the stove-top aficionados?

    No, I use an espresso machine mostly, but I like coffee made with cafetiere, stove top, filter machine and even turkish coffee. I like espresso, dark roasts, light roasts, cappucinos, lattes, espresso, americano, African coffees, Indonesian coffees, Latin American coffees, and even Jamaican blue mountain 🙂

    I also like tea.

    deadlydarcy
    Free Member

    So what you’re trying to say is that you know lots about coffee, but really what’s true is you don’t drink enough of any one type to know that much about it.

    pitduck
    Free Member

    😯

    molgrips
    Free Member

    All I was trying to say is that there’s no one definitive PROPER way of drinking coffee that is superior to all others, so drink it how you like it and **** the snobs.

    deadlydarcy
    Free Member

    Couldn’t agree more mol. 🙂

    bikebouy
    Free Member

    ^^ agrees with MrMol ^^

Viewing 39 posts - 1 through 39 (of 39 total)

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