I agree, black is the only way to drink coffee, unless it is barista-made cappuccino or latte. A local place that serves pricy but excellent doughnuts makes what they deem a seasonal raspberry-latte, which is in abeyance until it cools off. So here we add flavoring to milk both of which I say I abhor, adding to the argument that that ambivalence undermines my opening statement.
So the spirit of "Smoke what you like and like what you smoke" applies equally to coffee despite the following.
My theory is that like all mass-produced consumer goods produced by corporations, coffee, like beer, cigarettes, etc. etc. is produced as cheaply as possible, losing all character and a substantial amount of quality, becoming the object of millions of dollars advertising campaigns to convince a public of the merit of these goods even in its absence. Think of the Clydesdales of Budweiser or Mrs. Olson and the incorruptible Juan Valdez of Folgers. Think of the millions/billions? spent in this effort, creating entirely fictitious characters to mouth duplicitous advertising. By this these brands gain an intimacy in the mind approaching family.
Then think of the staggering profit! Nestle's in the last few years have been multi-billion. Money is power, the power to manipulate the marketplace.
