How Do you Take Your COffee?

Lyons Township High School is the home of nearly 4000 students. As more and more high schooler turn to caffeine for a morning boost, the more egotistical of us (myself included) will have to turn to unorthodox coffee condiments if we want to stand out. Drinking black coffee is going out of style, and we need to stay ahead of the curve. Adding random ingredients to your coffee could be dangerous, though. That’s why I set out to do it for you.

​Butter
I sliced about a half tablespoon of butter off of the stick and dropped it into my very first cup of coffee. I love the smell of coffee, but I can’t say the same about butter-coffee. My first impression, however, was underwhelming. It tasted relatively the same as a cup of coffee. What really bothered me was the aftertaste.
 
A hint of butter lingered far too long, and about halfway through the cup I started to realize I was not enjoying this. Also, elaborating on the scent, butter completely takes over the smell of the coffee. Tasting coffee but smelling butter only confuses the senses. No one should have to feel this way over coffee.
 
Rating: 3/10
Did I finish? No.

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​Peanut Butter
The idea of butter and coffee had been tarnished in my mind, but I knew a solution. Peanut Butter. The Best Butter. I went into this cup optimistic.
 
There’s a hitch about Peanut Butter that I soon found out, though. It does not mix with the coffee, only dissolves into smaller bits. This made it rather hard to drink. The peanut butter all fell to the bottom and only rose briefly when stirred. As far as the taste, it was decent. It was not distracting like regular butter, it only left a hint of peanuts on the coffee. I would try this again if I wasn’t left with peanut butter at the bottom of my mug.
 
Rating: 5.5/10
Did I finish? I finished the coffee, not the peanut butter.

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​Cinnamon
I was nervous about cinnamon. I don’t know much, but I do know that cinnamon does not taste good in large amounts. More than once I have been disappointed after tasting cinnamon with a spoon. Surprisingly, the results were actually satisfying for the first time today.
 
Cinnamon in coffee really only changed the smell. Unlike butter, though, cinnamon smells really good. The coffee was a bit bitter, but any coffee lover has grown to tolerate bitterness to some degree. The smell was very satisfying, and the taste was just about all you can ask for. Especially in the fall, this was a nice change of pace.
 
Rating: 8/10
Did I finish? You bet.

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Salt
So far, I had played it relatively safe. It was time to be bold. I originally heard of salt in coffee as something people used to make coffee less bitter. Of course, I was disgusted and vowed never to try it, but here I am.
 
The first sip was enough for me to know this was not my cup of tea (or coffee). I invite you to think back on all those times you accidentally swallowed salt water in the ocean, or the time you mistook salt for sugar and applied it liberally to your breakfast cereal. Needless to say, I had an unpleasant experience. Even if the first sip was enough for me, I took a bunch more just to be sure. They were all worse than the last.
 
To be fair, I probably added too much salt. Also, to be extra fair, I could most definitely taste how the coffee was less bitter. Even so, I would prefer if my coffee didn’t dry out my mouth.
 
Rating: 3.5/10
Did I finish? No.

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I also tried Oatmeal, Egg, Coconut Oil and Tonic Water.  Were those any good?  Check back here next week for those results!