Announcing Sharpologist’s “brother” website, The Black Coffee Life!
Background
Long-time Sharpologist readers may have noticed that content has not come as regularly as it used to. That’s because late in 2024 I started having some health issues. After a lot of physician referrals and tests, in early 2025 I was diagnosed with a pretty serious liver problem.
Nothing can be done to repair the damage that’s already been made to my liver, but a drastic (for me) change in diet and exercise could keep it from getting worse. One of those changes was to drink 2-3 cups of black coffee per day. Drinking coffee “black” can help the liver? Who knew (I say that facetiously because I found out a lot of health and diet professionals did know)?
The only thing is, I’m not a coffee drinker. Oh I took a sip occasionally over the years, didn’t care for the taste, and moved on. But now that it’s a lot more important I started drinking it, thinking of it as “coffee as medicine.”
Diving Down Another Rabbit Hole!
At first I simply put up with the bitterness and burnt taste of what I was drinking.
But then, as my coffee journey progressed, I dived down a rabbit hole not unlike the one that sent me to old school shaving. I discovered the different beans, grinds, and brewing methods that coffee offers–and that drinking coffee without sweeteners or creamers not only had documented health benefits but could taste good, too.
I initially bought a “K-cup” brewer, strictly for the convenience. Then a drip brewer. Then a French Press. Then a single-serve pour-over brewer.
I used “K-cup” blends. Then ground coffee from the grocery store. Then samples from Stirling Soap’s roastery store. Then whole beans I ground myself (first with a blade grinder…then a burr grinder).
Where Things Stand Now
My health finally started to stabilize a few weeks ago, thanks in-part to my black coffee drinking. And as I started to shave regularly and think about Sharpologist content again, I got to thinking about my experiences with coffee, too.
Turning Lemons Into Lemonade (Or, In This Case, Beans Into Coffee)
By now you probably know where I’m headed here. Just like shaving, I decided to share what I now know, by creating a website. Since black coffee is now part of my life I decided to name the site The Black Coffee Life.
There you will find information about the health benefits of “pure” coffee, brewing techniques, product reviews, and news and trends–for both the beginner and the coffee drinker who has been around it for a while.
Sharpologist is still my “first love” and I will be posting here more often again. But I have plenty of ideas for The Black Coffee Life too and I will be posting there regularly as well.
Good luck on the new venture and most especially your health. No other advice to offer that would be of any use. I’m an instant coffee abuser, one who tips the jar of crystalline goodness into a mug and guesstimate how much was poured. My wife demands I prepare it properly with a spoonful when we have guests over 🙁
Black coffee consumer all my adult life, and shudder to think why anyone would sully the taste with milk, cream or sugar. Good to know my four or five mugs of mud a day keeps me healthy!
Dallmayr Prodomo coffee from Germany is exceptionally smooth but chicory coffee is smoother still . Not bitter.
I hope coffee keeps you here for a long time to come. I like my french press. Cleaning hint, a wire strainer in the sink. Fill pot with water pour in strainer. Then spread coffee grounds in yard. Our ag extension office says good as fertilizer, and repelling moles. We used to have mole troubles, no more.
I have tried a french press but my doctor said it is not ideal for me because it does not filter out elements that would raise my “bad” cholesterol like a brewer with a paper filter would. Trying an AeroPress (which is kind of like a french press, with a filter) is on my list though.
Just FYI, they do make paper filters for the French Press. Not sure if you’ve tried that.
I actually love the French Press, but don’t use it that often as I only have a rudimentary blade grinder and it is really hard to find the right grind, I find.
Then again, most real coffee aficionados (snobs) would turn their nose up at the coffee I prefer: Sumatran. For some reason the funk turns off many who review. The low acid (but still good amount of caffeine) really does it for me. One thing to watch out for perhaps, is some are over-roasted, IMO. Medium dark works well for me.
I just checked Amazon…by golly there are french press paper filter. 🙂 Thanks!