I don't. A lot of things with caffeine in them taste yummy, and the bitterness of coffee appeals to folks (just look at the popularity of bitter cocktails and other foods to see it in play in other areas). Not to mention that a fair amount of folks begin drinking coffee with milk and/or sugar in it - this is especially true if you start drinking coffee by drinking lattes.

Plus, there is definitely a social component to drinking it if you are in the right area of the world (tea has some of the same social connections).

I mainly drink black coffee no sugar.

As do I - but I started with cream and sugar. I quit using cream and sugar both because black coffee is easier and because I try to drink mostly unsweetened beverages.

But not everyone follows our example, and that's really the point. (I'd probably edit to make it more clear, but that time has passed)

I wonder if black coffee, which is objectively worse tasting and harder to drink, has something to do with the drinker accepting that it's no longer a social thing but now just feeding an addiction/self-medicating. So taking the 'pill' straight becomes a practical choice.

I object to the word "objectively" there. Subjectively to you it is worse. I can't stand coffee with sugar. It's just a sugary drink, not coffee. I drink coffee either black or with a bit of milk - not coffee cream. Coffee does not taste bitter to me. Grapefruit on the other hand I cannot stand. I'll spit that out right away. I would say grapefruit is objectively the worst thing you can eat, yet I have to accept that it's definitely subjective as some people eat it without blinking an eye.

Same goes with sour. I love sour stuff and things I drink and eat that are perfect, you might find "objectively too sour", while it's really subjective.

I don’t think so. There’s different types of coffee. More bitter, more acidic. I do drip coffee at home. I tend to lean to the bitter more than the acidic.

If I go to a cafe and it’s done by an expresso machine then I get it with milk. As sometimes I can taste when they haven’t cleaned the machine in a while and it bothers me. Milk masks the bad beans or unclean machine.

Be honest - milk does a lot more than that. Changes the drink entirely.

Sure. But doesn’t change the fact that for me, when you have good beans, black coffee is much nicer without any added milk or sugar.

When you use cheapo beans from Starbucks or the super market, it’s difficult to make good tasting black coffee. So making it with milk makes it drinkable.

Sure it does. But perhaps you underestimate the serious variety in coffee (and that folks still drink decaf). I've purchased a coffee advent calendar the last 3 years from a specialty coffee roaster here in Norway. 24 different coffees to try.

And let me tell you, they aren't all bitter. If I did a blind taste test, I'd swear some of these were teas. Some are more of the taste I'd expect from black coffee either here or the US, sure. But wow, is there variety.

> I wonder if black coffee, which is objectively worse tasting and harder to drink

This is quite literally a matter of personal taste. There's nothing "objective" about it.

Quite literally a matter of chemistry and digestion.

Bitter or acid are univerally recognized as objectionable. Sure as spice in another dish they can do something. But that's not how they work in coffee?

> Bitter or acid are univerally recognized as objectionable

That isn't remotely true. If it were no one would eat dark chocolate or sour candy.

> But that's not how they work in coffee?

Also not true. While you might not personally appreciate it, coffee is far more complex than just "sour" and "bitter".

I find I often crave a taste sensation, any will do. Doesn't even have to be a taste I find pleasurable. Kinda to stave off boredom really. Tea (even herbal), coffee, soda or alcohol all scratch that itch.

I think there are people who genuinely don't mind the taste, or at least acquire a palette for it. I for instance cannot handle the taste of many German beers. A Pils, sure; an IPA, if I have to; an English Ale fermented in a basement bartub, no problem. But a standard Helles, forget it - I've tried many times, it just doesn't take.

I loved the smell of coffee before I started drinking it. The taste takes some getting used to but I liked it the first time anyway. I drink one cup a day with small effects but don't seem to get worse when I stop.

It's very different from tobacco, where people seem to hate the first time and start liking it as the addiction sets up.

I absolutely love the smell of coffee.

However, I don't enjoy drinking it in particular. I like it with a lot of milk and I find the taste of some coffee varieties quite interesting, enjoyable even. But not enough for daily drinking.

I add cream and sugar if I'm getting coffee out. At home, I'm drinking it black.

Most places, especially ones that don't specialize in coffee, do not properly clean their equipment and prep the brew.

If I was just a junkie, I would use cream and sugar at home too.

> I can't imagine many 15-year olds trying coffee for the first time, thinking "this tastes awesome."

If that's your litmus test then no one would eat (warning: polarizing list approaching) durian or Vegemite or lutefisk.

Acquired tastes are a thing. I personally used to hate olives and now I love them, and they don't, to my knowledge, induce positive psychoactive effects that would create a Pavlovian response.

I hated pumpkin as a kid. Now I love it. Especially pumpkin soup.

>I suspect liking the taste is somewhat of a Pavlovian response to the effects caffeine

Yup. Let's not forget added sugar however