Plain and black is what many coffee connoisseurs consider to be true coffee; they wouldn’t dare drink Hazelnut or French Vanilla, to them it would be sacrilege. However, there are just as many coffee lovers who enjoy trying many different flavors of coffee and having that special treat with fewer calories than a dessert would have. Flavored coffee has come a long way from the days of adding creamers that had been flavored with various tastes. Today, flavored coffee can be purchased in bean form and brewed to make a pot of flavored.

Coffee beans with flavor roasted in or added in after the roasting can be subtle with hints of vanilla or overtones of chocolate or they can be intense flavor-laden drinks that pop with the flavors of Irish Crème or Kahlua, to name a few. There appears to be no end to the flavors that coffee roasters and distributors are creating.

The first step in creating a flavored coffee should always be to start with a superior coffee bean. Flavoring an inferior coffee bean is going to produce nothing more than a poor coffee with added flavoring. Typically, the Arabica and the Robusta bean are used for creating gourmet-flavored coffee.

The flavor for the coffee comes from flavoring oils made of natural and synthetic flavors created by professional chemists that specialize in flavor combinations. Natural flavoring oils can come from a variety of sources including nuts, berries, cocoa beans, vanilla beans, cinnamon, and other spices. There are also artificially created flavorings that chemists create based on the desired outcome wanted by the coffee company. Once the flavors are decided on and created they must be diluted before they are blended. This dilution is typically a solvent that will ease the blending of the oils with the beans to create flavored coffee.

The flavoring process occurs immediately after the cooling of the freshly roasted beans. The roasting process is important if the beans are to be flavored using oils. If the roast is too light the coffee will not have enough coffee flavor; on the other hand, if the coffee roast is too dark, it will overpower the flavoring. The goal is to get the roast precise so that the coffee and the flavors blend well together and complement each other.

The flavored oils are usually added before the beans are ground. The beans are placed in a tumbler or mixer and the flavored oils typically sprayed into the hopper or tumbler. The oils are sprayed very slowly to prevent areas of scorching. The beans are tumbled for varying amounts of time, anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. The roaster or coffee distributor will know the beans are ready when they have a glossy appearance.

Once the beans are properly flavored they are sent to either the packager for airtight packaging to insure freshness. These are then sent to gourmet coffee shops or retailers. The beans can also be sent directly to a grinder to be sold as ground flavored coffee.

Flavored coffee may not be everyone’s cup of Joe; however, there are many people who love their morning cup of Crème Brule while they enjoy their French toast. As long as there are people who enjoy flavored coffees there will be a flavor chemist somewhere dreaming up the next new flavor.

-Sharon Chapman

Related posts:

1. Flavored Coffee Syrups
2. Starbucks VIA Caramel Flavored Iced Coffee
3. Gourmet Coffee
4. Coffee Roast
5. Coffee Blend

No responses yet

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Mail (hidden) (required)

Website