Good Whole30 coffee?

[KHT]

Just started my Whole30 yesterday, though I've been eating very Whole30-ish for about a month now at the suggestion of my acupuncturist. I've already gotten past the aversion to having very different breakfasts, no gluten, very little sugar, lots more cooking/prep.

 

But starting on the "real" Whole30, the thing that's the biggest bummer for me is my morning ritual of tea/coffee. I always have chai tea when I wake, with a little honey and milk. Then later in the morning I'll have a cup of coffee at work, also with brown sugar and cream. I've cut way back on the amount of sugar/honey in my drinks, and most days this is the only added sugar I have.

 

I've switched to having Nutpod in my coffee/tea, which is OK. But not having any sweetener is really hard for me. 

 

I wonder if there are specific brands/blends of coffee that lend themselves better to the nut-milk/no sugar thing? I drink good coffee (a dark roast from Peet's, freshly ground), so it's not a quality issue really.

 

I'm already starting to tell myself "Is is realllllllly that big of a deal if I have one little teaspoon of sugar in my tea or coffee? I mean, I know I'm going to do that again once I'm done with this Whole30 thing anyway, soooo........Why fruit juice and all fruits are ok and a little honey in my tea is not is a little strange to me.

 

[ShannonM816]

You're not the only one to have to deal with this. I gave up coffee completely during my first Whole30 because I couldn't stand it without some kind of sweetener, I know others have done the same. The thing is, I now drink coffee unsweetened all the time. and can even drink it black, though I still prefer some creaminess to it so I'll add coconut milk when I'm at home or half & half when I'm out. Your tastes will change, if you just stick to the rules.

A few things you could try with any coffee to help with the bitterness: add a pinch of salt, just a tiny bit -- I've heard both add it to the coffee cup, and add it to the grounds as you're brewing, so try it and see if either way makes a difference. You're not going for enough to taste salt, just a tiny, tiny bit. Cold brewing can help with bitterness -- you can buy cold brewed coffee concentrates that are compliant, but it's easy to make your own -- combine coffee grounds and water, let it sit at least eight hours, and I've seen people do as long as 24 hours, either in the fridge or just at room temperature, then strain it through a coffee filter. I use a french press to do this because it's easy to let it sit in the carafe and then use the plunger to keep most of the grounds out when I go to strain it.  And speaking of the french press, it can also yield a less bitter brew, and there are other brewing methods/apparatus that people swear make the best coffee. 

About the fruit juice and fruits being okay while honey isn't -- fruit is more than just a sweetener, it's a food with fiber and vitamins that happens to be sweet, and even so, it's recommended that you limit it to not more than two servings a day, always with a meal not on its own, and its fine to not have any if you don't want it. Fruit juice is kind of a gray area -- if you check the Can I Have list, they say:

Quote

 

Fruit Juice: Yes

Fruit juice is the only acceptable added sweetener on the Whole30. (We had to draw the line somewhere.) Use it to flavor sauces, soups, or entrees.

Tip: While drinking a glass of fruit juice is technically compliant, we really wouldn’t recommend it, even if you juice it yourself. Juicing strips many of the nutrients out of the fruit, but still leaves all of the sugar. We’d much rather you just eat the fruit.

 

So, to me, this means they could have just as easily said no fruit juice, but this is where they decided to draw the line. Honey may have some minerals, but it is really just a sweetener. 

You might also take a look at this: http://whole9life.com/2012/08/the-sugar-manifesto/ -- and they go into more about the whys of the program, including the no sugar rule, in It Starts With Food if you're interested in reading more.