Some people prefer their coffee hot. Some enjoy it black. When it comes to coffee, hot is not always the best option, but black is, without a doubt, preferable. It’s the ultimate treat for true coffee connoisseurs.
You may not find it on a restaurant menu, but baristas everywhere will inquire whether you want your coffee black. You could hear other people talk about how they only enjoy their coffee black.
It turns out that black coffee is both simple and a milestone for every coffee drinker. Brown coffee is no longer just a burned dark liquid. It’s a chance for an experience that brightens the senses and mind – it’s there for you if you’re ready. This ultimate guide of black coffee is meant to help you experience this.
What is Black Coffee Anyway?
Black coffee is simply a cup of coffee with nothing else. It is made from roasted coffee beans. Beans are grounded and soaked in water to extract their flavor, color, caffeine content, and nutrients. Black coffee may be served hot or cold, depending on the preferences of the customer.
All brewed coffee, no matter the brewing method, is black coffee as long as they all have two things in common: no milk and no sugar. Most likely, your grandpa has been drinking this no-fuss sort of coffee for as long as you can remember.
It’s the purest form of brewed coffee, with the most robust flavor. Black coffee is recognized for its bitterness and boldness, making it the most effective means to determine the quality of the coffee you’re using. After you’ve gotten used to it, there’s no turning back.
How To Make Black Coffee?
Black coffee is relatively easier to prepare than an Americano since it doesn’t require any fancy espresso machine to make it. One of the most convenient ways to make it is using a pod-style machine such as Keurig or Nespresso. These are simple, inexpensive devices that are extremely easy to use. However, due to the low cost of most brew methods, it isn’t uncommon for individuals to own several brewers and switch between them one after one.
Before you start brewing, keep in mind that the only two ingredients you’ll want to have for making black coffee are grounded beans and hot water.
You can either grind your beans with a grinder, or you may opt for pre-ground coffee. Since there are so many types of coffee to choose from, it can be hard to examine which one is best suited for you. Newcomers, however, should start with light or medium roasts as it’ll make their transition into black coffee brewing easier.
Once you’ve picked your preferred bean type, it’s time to brew your coffee. There are several methods to brew Black Coffee. Some of them are as follows:
– Pour Over: This is such a quick and straightforward way to make Black coffee. With this, you won’t need a lot of equipment nor much time. All you’ll need is a separate kettle to boil water. Meanwhile, place the coffee filter in the pour-over brewer and add grounds over the filter. Then slowly pour hot water over the ground beans stopping when the coffee starts to drip into the pot. Simply add more water until you’ve reached your desired amount of finished coffee.
– French Press: The second approach is through using a French Press brewer. To get started, fill the canister with grounded coffee and water and then wait a bit. After a couple of seconds of wait, slowly start pressing the plunger down, leaving only ready-to-drink brews behind. You may make the coffee stronger or milder depending on how long you wait before plunging the coffee and water together.
– Drip Coffee: According to Statista, nearly 40% of Americans use Drip Coffee as their preferred brewing technique. For this, any brand’s automatic drip coffee maker will do. To start preparing, fill the reservoir with clean water and place the filter basket full of grinds into its residing compartment. Once everything is in place, push the button to get fresh coffee in less than 5 minutes.
– Coffee Pods: As described above, Coffee pods may be used in automatic coffee makers like Keurig and Nespresso. For a more ecologically friendly choice, consider purchasing a reusable coffee pod and filling it with your coffee.
– Instant Coffee: Instant Coffee is a great way to enjoy your morning cup of Joe without having the hassle and mess that comes with brewing fresh. Instant coffee refers to coffee made from a dried coffee extract that can be mixed into water. Most people agree that it isn’t the most delicious way to enjoy black coffee, but it is convenient.
– Iced Coffee: For this, any brewing method will do. Simply prepare coffee with any of the above-suggested methods and then drop some ice cubes to your final brew, and that’s it.
– Cold Brew: Cold Brew and iced coffee are both different from each other. In the cold brew process, grounded coffee beans in a stainless steel mesh are left to steep in the water for a long time (usually overnight) in a cold brew maker. Cold-brew tastes smooth and has higher caffeine content, thanks to the long-brewing time. However, Iced coffee is simply Black Coffee served with ice.
How To Drink Black Coffee?
If you’re ready to make a move from creamy lattes to black coffee, these suggestions can help you get started right away.
Try Different Coffee
There are a variety of blends and roasts that you can choose from, and interestingly each one tastes entirely different from the other. Some are smooth and creamy, while others taste bold and bitter. For starters, Single-origin coffee is an excellent place to start when it comes to experimenting with black coffees.
Depending on the flavor profiles of each coffee type, the taste of your final brew will vary significantly.
Try Changing Your Brewing Technique
If you don’t enjoy coffee made from a traditional drip brewer, why not try a Pour-Over? Each brewing technique imparts distinct tastes, resulting in unique flavor profiles for your coffee. It’s all about finding the brewing approach that works best for you.
Reduce Sugar Gradually
It’s not as difficult as it sounds to consume Black Coffee without sugar. If you start paying attention to how much sugar you put in your coffee every day, you can reduce it by a little bit each week until you aren’t using any sugar at all. The same idea may be applied to milk or cream. Just be sure to measure everything out carefully.
Is it Tasting Bitter? Add Salt!
While this may sound ridiculous, a little sprinkling of salt can effectively eliminate the bitter flavor. In case it didn’t work? Try adding another pinch.
Nutritional Facts About Black Coffee
A cup (240g) of black coffee, devoid of cream or sugar, has 2.4 calories, 0.3 grams of protein, 0 grams of carbohydrates, and 0 g fat. Coffee is high in potassium and magnesium. The USDA offers the following nutritional information.
- Calories: 2.4
- Fat: 0g
- Sodium: 4.8mg
- Carbohydrates: 0g
- Fiber: 0g
- Sugars: 0g
- Protein: 0.3g
- Potassium: 118mg
- Magnesium: 7.2mg
Carbs
Zero carbohydrates are present in plain black coffee without any additives, such as milk or sweeteners.
Fats
Although black coffee does not contain any fats, adding any milk—or saturated fat, such as in bulletproof coffee—will alter the fat profile of a cup of coffee.
Protein
A single cup of black coffee has a minimal amount of protein. You may also add milk or milk alternatives to boost its protein content.
Vitamins and Minerals
A cup of regular coffee has a small dose of micronutrients, such as vitamins and minerals. The potassium content is 118 mg in a single serving, with 7.2mg magnesium, 7.1mg phosphorus, 0.1 mg manganese, 4.7mcg folate, 6.2mg choline, and 4.8 mg sodium .
Calories
Black coffee is nearly calorie-free (about 2.4 calories) and has minimal protein and carbohydrate content.
When milk, flavorings, syrups, sugar, and whipped cream are added to a single coffee beverage, it can resemble a rich dessert. One 16-ounce Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino drink includes 440 calories, 12 grams of saturated fat, and 63 grams of net carbohydrates.
Health Benefits of Black Coffee
With all of the health benefits of coffee and caffeine, drinking your coffee black is certainly the best option you can opt for a healthier lifestyle. Here are a few more reasons why you should drink coffee ‘Black.’
Low Calories
Although sweets are quite tempting to include in your coffee, they may all add up in the long run. Milk, sugar, whipped cream, chocolate, or caramel syrup can significantly raise the calorie count of your daily cup of coffee. For example, a Grande Iced Salted Caramel Mocha from a coffee shop with 2% milk and whipped cream has approximately 450 calories and 55 grams of sugar. That is already 30 grams above the suggested daily sugar intake for women and 17 grams above the recommended amount for men.
On the other hand, Black coffee contains only 5 calories and 0 grams of sugar per 8 oz. When compared to sweet coffee drinks, this certainly seems like a far better option.
Prevents Alzheimer’s Disease
Black coffee drinking may help to lower your chance of getting Alzheimer’s disease. Almost one in every eight individuals over the age of 65 has Alzheimer’s disease. However, Researchers assume that regular coffee drinkers had a 16% decreased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, but still, more research has to be done in order to confirm this relationship.
Can Help Burn Fat
Drinking Coffee Black might help you shed pounds and fat by boosting your metabolic rate. This may assist you in losing weight and burning fat. Coffee has also been shown to have an appetite-suppressing effect. In short, Black Coffee is safe for all dietary needs.
Antioxidant-rich
Coffee is an excellent drink for those looking to increase their intake of antioxidants. Some of the essential nutrients it includes are vitamin B2, B5, magnesium potassium, and manganese. Drinking coffee black can help you get all these necessary vitamins into your body every day.
Can Lower Heart Diseases
Caffeine in coffee is a stimulant, which means it can increase your heart rate. Drinking an 8-ounce cup could have similar effects as going for a long walk, thus keeping you healthier. Studies have also found that the regular caffeinated drinkers seem to have lower rates of heart disease plus 20% less risk for a stroke too.
It Helps Your Liver
Caffeinated drinks like coffee can really help your liver live long. Black caffeinated coffees have been shown to reduce the risk of developing liver defects such as Cirrhosis.
Enhances Energy Levels
Coffee is an energizing beverage that can give you the boost of energy to keep you going throughout the day. A study detected that caffeine offered some performance benefits during physical activities such as running or weightlifting, especially when taken before exercise begins.
Reduces Chances of Cancer
Before we move on, listen carefully, I’m not saying you’ll never get cancer if you drink coffee once a day. However, coffee does reduce the chances of getting cancer. Thanks to the antioxidants present in coffee, the brew has an anti-inflammatory effect that blocks tumor development in the first place.
A Word On Cost
Black coffee may be cheap, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth drinking. Along with other health and nutritional benefits, Black Coffee can save you money because plain coffees don’t have all of those extra ingredients like cream and sugar, which add unnecessary costs to your daily intake.
Drinking Instant coffee is even more cost-efficient (no machines, no- frills – just plain coffee).
Downsides of Black Coffee
We’ve talked about the benefits of black coffee and how it may assist you with weight loss and other problems, but you might be thinking, is it all that wonderful? Isn’t there a disadvantage? Like every caffeinated beverage, whether be sodas or energy drinks, excess intake of black coffee does also come with potential downsides, where some of them include;
- First of all, It isn’t healthy to drink too much black coffee. When you drink too much Black Coffee, high amounts of stress hormones are released in your body, which only leads to anxiety and tension. When you consume a lot of caffeine, it’s easy to become jittery.
- The second disadvantage I’m about to tell you is that excess coffee consumption has the potential to disrupt your sleeping pattern. If you want to get a long night’s sleep, it is advised to avoid coffee for a few hours before bedtime.
- The third noticeable downside with Black coffee is that excess intake of this particular beverage can drastically increase acidity in your stomach. You’re likely to get colic and abdominal spasms.
- Finally, If you consume Black Coffee too much, your body will have trouble absorbing minerals from your typical diets, such as iron, calcium, and zinc, and that’s undoubtedly not a good thing.
Final Notes
You know what they say: Your Coffee, Your Way. Meaning, if you like taking your coffee loaded with cream and sugar, then go ahead! Drinking coffee is truly a matter of one’s own choice. However, what I’m trying to encourage you is to try something new and different. Black coffee is a gateway to a whole new world of experiences. The possibilities are endless when it comes to black coffee.
Happy drinking (black coffee), y’all.
Taimoor followed his passion to become a coffee connoisseur and now travels the world to visit the most popular coffee shops. His cupboard is also stocked with a collection of brewing gadgets. He loves to drink Death Wish Coffee’s dark roast and highly caffeinated coffee grounds when he needs a boost of energy.
