My Hate And Love For Coffee

I was never a big fan of coffee when growing up and occasionally have a cup whenever my mum makes one. With the boutique coffee chains opening and having an "ice-blended" or "frap" becoming a social status for younger generation, i of course has frequent the joints more out of curiosity of the products than actually having a cuppa just to show others that "i can afford it".
Things took a turn when i was working for a man that only takes coffee with hot water i.e. black without sugar or milk. It intrigues me as to how and why that could be even pleasant to start with.
Bitter, acidic and makes your urine smell like a cup of stale coffee.
Why even go that way for something that unpleasant? Coffee tasted best with MILK and SUGAR. It takes away the unpleasantness and make it more complete.
I started drinking coffee more when i was in Royal Military College where the last meal of the day usually consist of hot kopi-o or coffee with sugar, minus the milk. I remember filling up a whole 1.5liter bottles and drank it like water - as that was the closest one would get to "flavoured" drink. Furthermore, they are free from the mess hall. I have high resistance to caffeine and has no issue NOT sleeping after drinking it. I soon realise that my love for coffee was because of the sugar high (for Kopi-o) and the creamy (condensed or evaporated sweetened milk) aftertaste that many can relates to as a "cup of kopi kaw".

At the famous Kluang Rail Coffee with Ironman Barath. The Coffee there tasted really good. So are the toast, the nasi lemak, the meehoon siam and the kaya.

The only thing that can possibly beat a cup of ice coffee with milk (sweetened condensed, no less) was a cup of Cham-peng or a concoction of coffee and tea in sweetened condensed milk.

Cham-peng is Cham-pion in Ipoh Garden East.

Things took a turn when i decided to re-vamp my diet and change/remove all most, if not all, unhealthy items. So, naturally, the whole thing became boring. First to go was anything that has excessive sugar. Soda drinks was an easy exclusion due to the price when you eat out. I still could not comprehend how to take coffee minus the sugar and sweetened milk. Even at my very "unhealthy"eating habit, i have very much stopped taking anything with creamer as they are laden with hydrogenated fat.
I then started taking the instant coffee, those from the famous brand made by that Swiss company - and was pretty much happy with how they tasted, but i was never satisfied. The after taste is too strong and not smooth.
It all begin when i purchased the Coffee Bean single serve machine. Correctly proportioned and claimed to have the best beans available, sealed and ready to be made into eye-opening espresso or cafe latte, it was a winner.

Still is the most economical and flavourful cup

I told myself that there got to be a more complete and less processed way to consume these drinks. So, why not try other options? Instant coffee does not lock in all the smell and flavour and will go rancid if not kept properly. How about trying freeze-dried coffee? A check on the market shelf at a more upmarket supermarket (that carries items not usually sold in other shops) brought me to try Davidoff's coffee. Standing there for 30 minutes reading through complete marketing BS, i decided to try the Espresso 57.

Take it from me, don't waste time with the other two. 57 Espresso is the only way to go. RM28.99 selling price for 100grams. Image from GBA.com

Freeze-dried coffee retains their flavour better and they are closest you would get to the single-serve. At the moment, i am at the junction of buying freshly roasted coffee bean, grind them and brew them. But before i go that path, i am sticking to the ready grounded coffee bean and extracting the coffee using a French press. I believe i have perfected the usage of French press and shall write a small short entry on this to share.
I will also share a few things i know about Coffee Bean and possible review of some of the coffee powder available out there in the market in my blog soon. Meanwhile, consider taking your coffee black and without sugar. Black Coffee without milk and/or sugar is ZERO Calories. But this is only applicable for COFFEE made from 100% coffee bean. Flavoured coffee and local coffee has a lot of other items put in. Sweetness in the coffee will have to come from warmed or frothed milk, nothing more. Drink responsibly. Here to a cuppa latte!

Cafe Latte or Coffee with Milk, frothed for full creaminess!