Can Coffee Make You Drunk, and Should Pour-Over Get Sugar or Milk?
There is no fixed rule that pour-over must be drunk black. Adding sugar or milk is a personal choice, and the drinker's own enjoyment is the main criterion. Coffee books disagree on the subject: some argue sugar covers the bean's original flavor, while others allow fresh cream but not milk. Either position is a preference, not a requirement.
Bitterness in coffee comes from roasting and extraction, while good coffee also carries a sweet aftertaste, so sugar and milk change the balance rather than fixing a flaw. Beans chosen for milk usually have heavier body and chocolate or nut notes. Questions like can coffee make you drunk or can coffee get you high are separate concerns; caffeine does not cause drunkenness.
Many people who are just getting into pour-over coffee struggle with the same questions: Can you add sugar? Can you add milk or cream? Is it better to drink it hot or let it cool a bit? Faced with these questions, coffee books on the market often give serious or even contradictory answers—some insist that adding sugar ruins the coffee's original flavor, while others only allow fresh cream. Front Street's attitude toward this is quite relaxed—drink it however you like—but we'll also add some notes on flavor. This article approaches the topic from two angles, sugar and milk, discussing the sources of coffee's bitterness, the sweet aftertaste of good coffee, and how to choose beans if you want to add milk, helping you respect your own taste while also understanding the reasoning behind coffee flavor.
How exactly should you drink pour-over coffee to be "correct"? This is a common confusion for many people who have just become interested in pour-over coffee . Sugar or no sugar? Can you pour in some milk or cream? Is it better to drink it hot or let it cool a bit? When members of our May Fourth Coffee Club first joined, they often asked me this question too. Coffee-related books on the market have varying opinions on this—some answers are quite strict, such as believing that pour-over coffee absolutely cannot have sugar, otherwise it will ruin the coffee's own flavor; or only allowing fresh cream but not milk... Similar statements abound. But the answer Front Street gives is quite casual: drink it however you want. Of course, Front Street will also add a few supplementary notes, which we'll explain in detail below.
Regarding coffee temperature—whether it's the brewing temperature or the temperature when you drink it—I plan to save that for later. Today let's first talk about adding sugar and milk. First, consider this: Who is the one drinking the coffee? It's you, experiencing the sensory pleasure brought by smell, taste, and so on. If you feel that a cup of sweet, creamy, rich coffee is what truly satisfies you, then what reason is there to give up the joy of adding sugar and milk just because of what someone else says? Looking at it another way, since so many coffee experts recommend a certain way of drinking it, that way must have its own merits. When you're in the right mood, why not give it a try? You might even find you genuinely like it.
Speaking of adding sugar, many coffee enthusiasts insist that "good coffee isn't bitter," but to say coffee has no bitterness at all would definitely be a lie. We should even acknowledge that "bitterness" is precisely an important part of what makes a good cup of coffee. If you removed the bitterness entirely, it would be like bitter melon without the bitterness—would you think that kind of coffee tastes good?
The thing is, the bitterness in coffee doesn't come from a single substance, but from the combined action of various bitter organic compounds, such as caffeine, chlorogenic acid, trigonelline, and others. Some of these bitter notes are quite elegant and, working together with the trace sugars naturally present in coffee, bring a pleasant "sweet aftertaste." But there are also less desirable bitter notes, with an astringent quality that clings to the back of your tongue and lingers—that experience isn't very pleasant. Generally speaking, higher-quality specialty coffee has lower levels of chlorogenic acid and caffeine, so its bitterness is very mild, while the sweet aftertaste lasts longer. Coffee of this quality is already enjoyable drunk plain, without sugar or milk.
If you like drinking coffee with milk, you should prioritize coffee beans with sufficiently rich flavor. Top choices include Front Street Queen's Estate, Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling, and Front Street Colombia Huila—beans with caramel, chocolate, and roasted nut flavors. Because they are medium-dark roasts, they have a full-bodied, low-acid profile that pairs very well with milk.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
