I’ve been vegan since January ‘24. I have cut out sugar, salty snacks and fried foods and potatoes.
Before that, I used to load up on a caramel macchiato or lots of sugar and half n half when I made coffee at home. My dunk’n order was an extra large coffee with ‘extra extra’ ( like 5 sugars and 5 pumps of cream).
My question is this - do any of you have a similar coffee history and how in the name of all that is holy do you enjoy your coffee now?? What do you put in it?
@nbabkina Sounds like you enjoy sugar and cream, not coffee.
I don't think I've ever enjoyed a coffee from dunkin or Starbucks.
Make sure you purchase good, freshly ground coffee from your local roaster. Use oatly for your latte or cappuccino, it has a creamy texture and sweet flavour.
That said, I enjoy steamed sproud milk with my flat white or i make a cup of black from my aeropress or filter.
@nbabkina Califia farms “cafe oat” or barista blend is really good, but I actually like the shelf stable Kirkland brand “oat organic beverage” from Costco. They’re similar. I like creamier coffees too.
@nbabkina Try getting better coffee. When I drink cheaper coffee, it needs more creamer and sugar to taste good. Maybe change your method of preparation too if you can. Pour over is so much smoother.
Also just try to slowly transition to having less cream and sugar. try it with 75% for a week. Then less. Etc.
@nbabkina First up since you haven't been vegan long, collagen powder is very unlikely to be vegan.
Honestly if it's the sugar you want and not the caffeine, you could try and work out the calorie cost and account for it in your weight loss. Calories in vs calories out has been pretty fool proof for me and anything within reason can be accounted for.
You could also just slowly decrease the extras you are adding over time. Instead of 5 pumps of everything add 4 for a couple of weeks, you'll probably not notice the difference really. Then every couple of weeks lower it down by one until you are at 1. You've grown accustomed to extreme sweetness and fattiness in the drink and a slow drop can help you get used to less.
Another way is to just go cold turkey on the extras and simply start drinking black coffee. I think it's probably the healthiest way to drink it and it's essentially calorie free. You won't have any caffeine withdrawal and in my experience you won't miss the sugar/milk after a week or two.
@joshfl The best strategy IMO is the slow decrease. Let your taste buds (and your gut microbiome) slowly adjust until no longer needing sugar and bad fats. And that will have larger benefits in the long run, because you'll appreciate so much more the natural sugars in fruit, and the healthy fats in nuts, seeds, avocados, etc.
@nbabkina I've been a black coffee drinker forever because I like coffee. Have never enjoyed with cream and sugar, but my gf is a sweets enjoyer and she switched to this stuff called "Dang That's Sweet" from Amazon. A little clear liquid; I believe it's stevia but tastes better? So that and oat milk now for her, very low caloric load.
@nbabkina I’d try switching to black coffee with quality grounds as others have mentioned. You may kind of hate it at first but you’ll quickly acquire a taste for it and then there’s no going back.
@nbabkina A little bit of barista oat milk, that's it. Mainly because my dentist complained.
I stopped adding sugar to hot beverages ages ago. Trust me, when you don't do it for a while it actually tastes gross when it is sweetened. Coffee is lovely without sugar.
@nbabkina You’re nearly describing my current coffee addiction, but maybe not the extra part. I just get whatever ground organic dark roast that’s cheapest, brew in the Mr coffee, and then add plant based creamer. My current ratio is about 1:4 creamer to coffee ratio.
@nbabkina I’m a black coffee enjoyer, I’ll get it sweetened with some oat milk on vacation, but at home I’m sure to wait to drink until an hour after I’ve woken up and then treat it like a ritual. You’re better able to appreciate any of the subtle flavor and it gets you in a good mindset regardless. It’s like having the first sip of a cold beer, you’ve gotta relish the moment when there’s no overt flavor
@nbabkina I suggest trying a matcha latte with soy/oat milk to replace your coffee. Milk+ coffee is such a specific flavor combo that changing the milk part of it can be jarring for some people. Trying a completely different drink that hits a lot of the same notes won’t cue your brain about the element that is lacking.
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