by MWJB » Fri Jan 08, 2016 12:38 pm
I don't necessarily find that sugar brings out any flavours in the coffee, quite the opposite - sweetener, brown & white sugar can have very different flavours as well as providing sweetness. Similarly, the coffee itself might have caramel, toffee, white sugar, honeycomb, candy sugar etc., sweetness & adding another sugar can mask that.
If you're buying coffee with good sweetness in the first place, you should be able to access this by grinding finer, steeping longer (covered) & at a lower brew ratio (19:1). A 4 min, uncovered steep at med/coarse grind will often make it hard to hit peak sweetness specifically. Additionally, the sweetness may be more evident at cooler temps, I don't usually evaluate coffee's sweetness until it is under 55C.
This doesn't mean I think you are wrong to add sugar to coffee, enjoy it as you please, but perhaps there is sweetness in there already that you might not be tapping into?
Personally, I like coffee because of its sweetness & not having to add additional sugar. Admittedly, since not having sugar in the house, my palate may have dried a little, but I still find unsweetened coffee cloyingly sweet sometimes.