All this coffee talk makes me want to take it up. Where do I start?

[toey]

I often wish I drank coffee purely for the caffine and warmness of it in the winter.

Here's my problem, I hate the taste. I know its an acquired taste and I've acquired the taste for beer so I know I can do it.

Someone please tell me where to begin. Are there any coffees that don't taste like shit to a beginner?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. OK, my dear toey....

Many years ago, when I first started drinking coffee, I too did not like the taste of it.....

So what I did was to add milk and sugar to each cup...and then I gradually lessened those as I got used to the taste.

After a short time...weeks IIRC, I was OK with the taste of plain coffee, and I went forward from there...

I've been drinking it black for over 40 years now.....

Good luck! It does give me quite a nice boost in the AM..since I drink it with breakfast.

[spinbaby]

2. Get thee to a Starbucks...

....and order a Frappuccino®. It's very good, although it has only a little to do with coffee. Then work up to the fancier Cappuccino drinks.

[toey]

3. what happens when i spend $4 for a cup at starbucks and i don't like it?

i'll feel like i've wasted that $$

[spinbaby]

5. No pain, no gain

;-)

[Left Is Write]

7. Caution for a beginner...

DO NOT drink the regular drip coffee at Starbucks. It WILL turn you off of coffee.

I like Starbucks lattes, but their brewed coffee is always overdone and bitter.

[cally]

4. My grandparents served my coffee milk

Warm milk, a little coffee, and sugar. It tastes similar to hot chocolate. Needless to say, my entire family learned to love coffee early.

[Taverner]

6. As much as I hate 'em, Starbucks is a great place to start

Start with Sugar and Creme...then use less until you're a bitter coffee person...

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

8. I'd go with heroin first, doesn't take as long to acquire the taste.

:o

[billyskank]

9. Less hassle to brew up, too

:hide:

[ldf]

10. the key ingredient in a good cup of coffee is......

SUGAR!!!

black coffee DOES taste awful.

another good beverage is a tall mug of heated MILK (nuke for 2 min) instead of water, three heaping teaspoons of INSTANT coffee, and three spoons of sugar.

mmmmmmmmm.

:-)

[Xithras]

11. DON'T DO IT!!!

Noooooo! We coffee-free spirits are already too few in numbers! We can't afford to lose more to the latte side!

On the flip side, caffeine is a habit forming substance that impairs your bodies natural ability to govern its own alertness levels. You hear about coffee addicts who can't start their day until they've had their first coffee, but in reality it's the coffee itself that causes that. If you start drinking it regularly, you'll soon find that you're tired whenever you DON'T drink it.

Here's why: The human brain naturally releases a neurotransmitter when it's time for you to get tired. Neurotransmitters are kind of like keys, and each one fits a particular lock. Caffeine works because it fits into the same lock as the "sleep" neurotransmitter, but it doesn't turn it. It stops the "sleep" chemicals from plugging in, which helps you to stay awake longer.

The problem is that the body wants to govern its own alertness levels. When caffeine regularly blocks those "locks", the body compensates by increasing its production of those neurotransmitters to try and overpower it...and it MAINTAINS those higher levels for longer periods of time. This does two things: 1) It means that you constantly need more caffeine to stay awake. And 2) It means that you're flooded with sleep neurotransmitters whenever you don't have coffee in you. You'll feel tired even when your body doesn't actually need any rest because the caffeine has thrown your brains chemistry off so badly.

To be honest, coffee is about as addictive as cigarette smoking. We don't have a public campaign against it because it doesn't carry the health risks of smoking and it's far cheaper, but it's still a habit forming, semi-addictive substance. Personally, I have no interest in being an addict. I'll enjoy a cappuccino every once in a great while, and a nice tea once or twice a week, but I look at it as what it really is...a drug. Our bodies are built to work in a balance, and most drugs function by throwing that balance off. Personally, I prefer to keep my body in a well balanced, healthy shape.