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.
