Black? With two creams? Cream and sugar? I wish I was bold enough for black coffee. I like just a dab of milk and about a teaspoon of sugar. I also am a fan of real cheap coffee that everybody else finds disgusting. Starbucks is too strong for me. I'm more of a 7-11 coffee drinker. Lately, it's bee. Daily Chef's French Roast K Cups.
I buy my supermarket's "own brand" ground coffee which is of passable quality.I make it in a small cafetiere.No sugar,with a generous splash of milk.
It's not "real coffee"? Oh do we have an elitist hippy? Say it isn't so! I won't buy coffee that outright advertises fair trade. I just don't give a shit about that.
I also don't like specialized kinds of coffee. You just need good beans and grind them well. No senseo or other brands with their retarded coffeepads etc. needed. This is no elitist behaviour, this is just valuing the coffee for the coffee and nothing else. Of course I do care about fair trade but they didn't taste as good to me as I'd like so I just stay with my good ol fav brand. I like my coffee with a little milk and no sugar. I also prefer to drink my tea without sugar.
What's the difference? Isn't it just the price payed not the quality of the bean? Me, I drink it any way it comes - but I TRY not to add too many sugars.
I only know the taste was different and I couldn't/wouldn't get used to that difference. But I think the brands I tried were from specific plantations and perhaps because of the labour intensified methods by smaller farmers it may impact the quality and taste of the beans. I'm just speculating though. I am sure the coffee was not from the same plantations as non fair trade brands and just relabeled fair trade for the price.
There are obviously different qualities and varieties of beans. It would be interesting to know which brands you were comparing. That (plantation/blend/variety) might have made the difference. Being 'fair trade' wouldn't.
I'm not saying that it being fair trade made the difference in taste, just that there was a difference in taste I did not like I admit I did not dive into it as to why that was the case, I just felt like going to my usual brand since that's how I enjoy my coffee the most.