Non coffee drinker

[AeroObsessive]

I've tried Starbucks, Costa, Mcdonals and its all the same to me, I'm pretty sure gourmet italian coffee would be the same also.

One could state that you haven't tried coffee at all with those establishments Brown swill in a cup. It's like drinking a $2 bottle of red plonk and saying you don't like wine.

And I tired coffee everywhere I went in Italy...was very meh.

If you think you really need some caffeine (it is a proven performance enhancer I guess) then as others have suggested there is a raft of "energy drinks" which contain a range of a little to a LOT of caffeine.

If not a habitual user, proceed with caution. Try it out prior to race day for example to ensure it doesn't send you off the edge. Over caffeination is not pleasant (especially when mixed with pseudoephedrine!).

[joejack951]

If you want caffeine and less of 'bitter and burnt' try a high quality light/medium roast from a local roaster. I am sure someone can recommend something local.

I've tried stuff supplied by an ex colleague (who retired to set up his own, extremely successful, coffee importing/roasting/coffee house.)

Still tasted like shit.

I'm really not going to bother making the effort to acquire the taste!!

As with most acquired tastes in life, one needs to want to acquire the taste in the first place for it to happen. Most people in the world who drink coffee probably have no idea what coffee even tastes like anyway given all the crap they pour into it. So rather than in a minority of non-coffee drinkers, you likely are in the majority who have never developed a taste for actual coffee

Just curious, do you like olives?

[mattr]

So rather than in a minority of non-coffee drinkers, you likely are in the majority who have never developed a taste for actual coffee

Just curious, do you like olives?

I've "actual coffee". Or at least, i've been served it. Tasted horrific. Why would you want to acquire a taste for something that tastes that bad?
I mean, i guess you could try to acquire a taste for shit sandwiches.

I'll eat olives until they make me want to puke. (About half a kilo)


FWIW, a mate of mine can't distinguish between ANY whiskeys/whiskys. 2-300 euro a bottle, single malts, or 8 euro blended stuff.......... all taste exactly the same to him. Hates it.

[ryanw]

As others have suggested, you can't really say you "don't like coffee" until you've tried numerous types of beans from all over the world and variations of the drink.

I've only recently got into coffee since buying my own espresso machine and sourcing beans from various roasters / companies and honing in on my preferred taste.

There are copious amounts of variables with coffee beans, just as with wine. Ground conditions, weather, precipitation, altitude, processing methods, roasting times etc etc...

I strongly suggest you go to a few independent coffee bars (the small shops with cool looking hippies in them ) and try some proper coffee.

My preferred coffee is a 7oz flat white, full fat milk, with a light/medium roast, washed bean with nutty and chocolate notes with little acidity (quite sweet and smooth).

[AJS914]

It's not like he's going to find the highest quality coffee in the world and then magically start enjoying coffee.

I'd say HTFU. Put some sugar in a double espresso and gulp it down. The volume of liquid is very small. The sugar will also help you on a ride.

The thing is, you don't want to start drinking coffee every day if you want it for performance. Don't train with coffee. Use it for the last hour* of the race. It might be easiest to just use a caffeinated gel.


*Doesn't the exercise physiology say that you want to reserve the caffeine for the last 30 minutes of the race?

[joejack951]

So rather than in a minority of non-coffee drinkers, you likely are in the majority who have never developed a taste for actual coffee

Just curious, do you like olives?

I've "actual coffee". Or at least, i've been served it. Tasted horrific. Why would you want to acquire a taste for something that tastes that bad?
I mean, i guess you could try to acquire a taste for shit sandwiches.

I'll eat olives until they make me want to puke. (About half a kilo)


FWIW, a mate of mine can't distinguish between ANY whiskeys/whiskys. 2-300 euro a bottle, single malts, or 8 euro blended stuff.......... all taste exactly the same to him. Hates it.

To some people including my wife and father-in-law, olives are as shitty tasting as coffee and whiskey. It took me more than a few tries of whiskey before I acquired a taste for that, too. I wouldn't put money on me being able to distinguish something really good from something cheap, either, even though I've had decent quantities of both (including 27 year old Blair Athol Rare Malt).

Cycling related, I did a ~65km ride this morning with >900m of climbing in 'the massive heat wave of the northeast US' to get a cup of coffee at the Little Goat in Newark (iced, of course). It was good.

[iheartbianchi]

If not a habitual user, proceed with caution. Try it out prior to race day for example to ensure it doesn't send you off the edge. Over caffeination is not pleasant (especially when mixed with pseudoephedrine!).

Man that's bringing back some bad memories. I experimented with ephedrine for maybe 3 months in the late 90s and I developed heart palpitations that took a month or so to resolve afterwards. The FDA then banned it a few years after that.

[DurianGrey]

As others have suggested, you can't really say you "don't like coffee" until you've tried numerous types of beans from all over the world and variations of the drink.

Well, it took years of kissing many different kinds of men from all over the world, but I'm finally sure I'm not gay

[DurianGrey]

I'm 43 and I dont drink coffee, I've tried it a few times and it tastes bitter and burnt.
Looking for a a better way than fake red bull drinks to get caffeine before and on rides.

Should I MTFU and keep drinking coffee until it's palatable? Is there any particular coffee that has a good caffeine hit without the charcoal taste?

I've tried Starbucks, Costa, Mcdonals and its all the same to me, I'm pretty sure gourmet italian coffee would be the same also.

I need a kick before CX races this winter..... Help me!

Try five-hour energy, or the costco equivalent if you want to save $$. It's 215mg of caffeine which will be a decent kick for someone that doesn't dose a lot of caffeine regularly as a coffee drinker would. Available almost everywhere, and you can take it as a shot or mix it in to your water bottle; I like the taste

[ryanw]

As others have suggested, you can't really say you "don't like coffee" until you've tried numerous types of beans from all over the world and variations of the drink.

Well, it took years of kissing many different kinds of men from all over the world, but I'm finally sure I'm not gay

You’ve not kissed me...

[Calnago]

Ok, when @DurienGrey posted that I just about spit up my coffee laughing. Now with Ryanw’s comment it’s just weird. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
I need another coffee.

[spartacus]

Drink espresso and down it like a shot instead of sipping on 20oz of watered down charred muck from the nearest gas station (or starbucks, McDonalds). Eventually the caffeine stimulus you get from the espresso will make you like the taste just from the stimulation, kind of like how cigarettes actually taste like shit but they're amazing (to the brain) because of the nicotene rush - if there was no nicotene nobody would smoke. Caffeine is another drug basically and crap coffee is like second hand vape smoke whereas espresso is three cigarrettes at once straight to the lungs.

[robeambro]

I've tried Starbucks, Costa, Mcdonals and its all the same to me, I'm pretty sure gourmet italian coffee would be the same also.

One could state that you haven't tried coffee at all with those establishments Brown swill in a cup. It's like drinking a $2 bottle of red plonk and saying you don't like wine. .

I was gonna wholeheartedly agree, but then

And I tired coffee everywhere I went in Italy...was very meh.

Agreement revoked. I guess you've not gone to Naples, which is probably the only place in Italy where "good espresso" is nearly obiquitous - doesn't mean good coffee cannot be had elsewhere. But it's a huge hit or miss. I've tried it in many cities in Italy and other countries (be it "americano" or "espresso") but it just tastes like dirty water in comparison.

That said, I agree with the first part. But I also agree with others to that it's very much of an acquired taste. When I was a kid, I hated even the smell (!) of it. Then, as every Italian little kid who wants to feel like an adult, I started drinking some, with sugar, cause oh-my-god-how-can-people-drink-this-vile-liquid-otherwise. I started enjoying it (but during university, it's more of a survival tool; energy drinks weren't as big back then). Then after my mid-twenties I started experimenting with no sugar, but having moved abroad, got accustomed to drinking "americanos". Now I could never ever stand sipping coffee with sugar. And I'm slowly getting annoyed at how watered down the taste in "foreign" coffee is.

Maybe my taste is evolving, or maybe my taste buds are slowly dying and need me to constantly up the game to actually feel something.

Damn gotta buy an espresso machine now.

[AeroObsessive]

If not a habitual user, proceed with caution. Try it out prior to race day for example to ensure it doesn't send you off the edge. Over caffeination is not pleasant (especially when mixed with pseudoephedrine!).

Man that's bringing back some bad memories. I experimented with ephedrine for maybe 3 months in the late 90s and I developed heart palpitations that took a month or so to resolve afterwards. The FDA then banned it a few years after that.

Ya, it was part of a study, 4 groups taking, placebo, caffeine, pseudo, or pseudo and caffeine. And then seeing how it effected 40km TT times.

I didn't sleep for nearly 36 hour after the pseudo and caffeine dose. Hideous. And then pseudo was banned in competition about a year later IIRC. Not keen to repeat the experience.

[Mr.Gib]

I can hardly believe this is an actual thread on a bike forum - the struggle to learn to like coffee? WTF. Man up princess.

OK, here's my simple advice. Start with a lot of cream and sugar in drip coffee and work your way toward esspresso. And don't discount a coffee enema if you really need the caffeine. You'll get the kick and you won't have to deal with the taste. For the drip coffee the roast doesn't matter that much if you are adding cream and sugar. For the enema, go with a medium roast.