From Drew Moody at CornerOfTheCafe.com:
There’s an agreement among coffee professionals that putting cream and sugar in black coffee is frowned upon. This common value is so well-known outside of the coffee industry that it’s become a point of mockery to our clientele. The running joke to those on the other side of the bar, of course, is that they’ll be refused service or even forcibly removed from a cafe if they even dare utter the words “cream and sugar.”
During my professional barista career, I too disapproved of the use of sweetening agents in black coffee and I made sure to inform my customers of my stance. Of course, if a customer were to ask me for them, I would never refuse them or say something sassy or arrogant to them; I did, however, politely tell them to “Just try it black”, making sure to educate them about a coffee’s natural flavors and all of the other buzz words we ascribe to black coffee.
Lately, though, I’m wondering if we in the industry are living a double standard when it comes to sweeteners.