Many of us love sugar in our morning cup. A nice hit of carbs and caffeine can give us a great boost so we're ready for the day ahead. The only problem is that aside from the obvious negative health effects of consuming too much, sugar really knows how to change a great cup of coffee.

Now don't get me wrong, this article isn't a bash on sugar, I actually have a sweet tooth myself that way too well developed! However when it comes to coffee, you could be missing out on a complex mix of flavours when you choose to sweeten it up.

Perhaps many of us began drinking coffee in our teens, when it seemed we just couldn’t get enough of the white stuff. Or maybe in the past we’ve used sugar to counteract the bitterness of bad coffees and we’ve never been able to break the habit.

For some of us, our penchant for refined sugar could even be linked to poor diet. Right now it may be hard to imagine how coffee could improve without sugar, but just remember that our taste buds are designed to develop and adapt. Many people find that after a period of drinking coffee without sugar, drinking it with sugar tastes all wrong!

These simple steps are all you need to get you on your way:

1) Make sure you’re eating a balanced diet.

An uncontrollable desire for sugar in coffee can be a sign that you’re not getting a range of satiating foods elsewhere in your diet. The type of sugar fruit contains is thought to be less harmful than refined sugar, so next time you wake up try swapping that teaspoon of sugar for a banana and see how you feel.

2) Slowly decrease the amount of sugar you put in.

Going cold turkey is rarely advised. Breaking any habit so abruptly only causes cravings to skyrocket, offering you little or no chance of beating them. The most popular method as advised by dietary specialists is slowly reducing the amount of sugar you consume in incremental amounts. This way, you give your body time to adapt to the changes.  

3) Try coffee roasts with 100% arabica beans.

If you think coffee’s too bitter without sugar, perhaps it’s because you’re used to drinking coffee with a high robusta content. Arabica beans tend to produce a sweeter coffee with less bitterness, so try sticking to 100% arabica roasts while you're making the transition.

4) If you’re still struggling, try jazzing up your coffee with healthy alternatives.

Cinnamon is a great sugar substitute. This sweet spice will certainly help to keep those sugar cravings at bay, and its anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties are believed to work wonders.

If you’re not a fan of cinnamon, we recommend experiment with things like nuts, peppermint oil, turmeric and ginger. Some of these can add real complexity to your daily cup, as well as bring out many of the subtleties in coffee that you might not have been able to pick up on before.

Follow these steps, be strong-willed and soon you’ll wonder how you ever put sugar in your coffee. Good luck!

First of all, what is speciality coffee? Well, there are actually many ways of defining speciality coffee. For example, The SCAA (Speciality Coffee Association of America) defines it as coffee that’s graded 80 or above on their 100 point scale. But generally speaking, when most people refer to speciality coffee, we’re referring to coffee that has been grown in specific regions of the world that offer the finest conditions for growing.

You may have heard of the coffee belt – an imaginary strip that stretches horizontally across the equator – containing within it the most prolific coffee growing countries. The reason coffee grows so well here comes down what coffee plants often require in order to flourish:

1 – Year round warmth

2 – Correct levels of moisture in the soil

3 – Elevation

Click here to find out more about how the type of bean, region and roast can change the flavour of your coffee.

Now let’s take a look at 3 of the world’s most sought after speciality blends:

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee

Grown in the prestigious plantations high up in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, this exquisite blend is often described as being the ‘champagne’ of coffees. Its supreme, consistent quality is the result of painstaking attention to detail in the way it’s nurtured from the moment it’s planted to the moment it’s harvested.

Once harvested, the beans are sorted by hand to ensure only the finest beans are selected for roast. Enjoying unusually volcanic soil, these delicate Arabica beans prove there really is complexity in simplicity, and the warm, welcoming aroma is reinforced with a flavour that’s beyond smooth.

The whole drinking experience is characterised by a unique subtleness that’s simply perfect.

Hawaiian Kona Coffee

This variety of Arabica beans, grown along the slopes of the Hualalai and Mauna Lo volcanoes, is regarded by some as the best coffee in the world. The ideal microclimate can claim much of the responsibility for this coffee’s sweet, full-bodied delivery that leaves you gasping for more. This humble, understated bean hides a plethora of subtleties that enjoy announcing themselves after each sip. 

Depending on how it’s roasted, the aroma is can be characterised as nutty, spicy, fruity and even chocolatey.

St Helena Coffee

The island of St Helena lies within the distant reaches of the Atlantic Ocean, and is perhaps best known as Napoleon’s home following his permanent exile in 1815. There’s no prize for guessing what else this island is famous for...

Napoleon was once quoted as saying ‘The only good thing about St Helena is the coffee’. That certainly seems a rather unfair judgement of this picturesque island, however, considering the worldwide reputation of its coffee; it seems he was right about one thing.

Much like Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, St Helena coffee is famed for its rigorous quality control. Due to the relatively small amount of coffee produced on this tiny island, each bean is cared for with an almost maternalistic degree of love and attention. In green bean form, this coffee exhibits an alluring, semi translucent sheen. It’s renowned for its high, lively acidity, matched with superb balance and body. This delicate bean emanates consistent, floral aromas with hints of citrus. Many people are even able to pick up on fleeting scents of caramel, which dates back to its Yemeni origins.

Looking to try any of these blends?

Here at Clumsy Goat, we’re always looking to expand our range of coffees. We’ve currently got our eyes on all of the above, meaning sometime in the near future you’ll be able to purchase some of the world’s most sought after speciality blends at great prices, delivered direct to your door.

The secret formula for the ultimate home-brewed cup is every coffee lover’s fantasy. It’s the dream of divine perfection that seems to escape the grasps of even the most devout coffee worshippers.

Many of us test out new, expensive equipment like coffee machines, cafetieres and grinders, whereas others begin to experiment with different types of beans from different regions. Of course, finding a favourite combination of bean and equipment is an essential part of your quest, but you must also consider using the freshest possible beans.

Freshly roasted beans really can revolutionise the whole sipping experience. They give off a powerful, potent aroma that truly awakens the senses. If you’re used to drinking coffee brewed from older beans then prepare to see the world in a different light! 

But wait…how fresh is fresh? There has always been alot of debate surrounding this, but the general consensus is that beans start to lose their freshness the moment the roasting is complete. This means that the quicker the beans get to your door – the better.

Have you ever noticed that bags of coffee beans in the supermarkets rarely have roast dates printed on them? This is because the beans are often roasted halfway across the world and don’t hit the shelves for a lifetime (in coffee years). By this time they’ve already lost so much of their fragrance and aroma. Because of this, all of our coffee is roasted in small, manageable batches here in the UK by our team of passionate, skilled roasters. This ensures our beans are exceptionally fresh the moment each bag is opened.

Also, our long expiration dates mean that if you aren't a super frequent coffee drinker, you’ve got plenty of time to sit back and cherish its mysterious allure.

Correct storage of coffee beans is critical to preserving their freshness, so to get the most out of our beans, ensure they're stored in a dark, airtight container, somewhere dry, away from moisture or steam. This will slow the rate at which they age, meaning they're guaranteed to stay tastier for longer.

Check out our range of freshly roasted beans today - simply click here.