Jun 02 2010
Gourmet Coffee
Since the discovery of coffee many years ago, coffee drinkers have delighted in creating flavor combinations by adding enhancements to their coffee. Eventually these flavors became commercialized and marketed as gourmet coffee.
Originally, cream and sugar were the only offerings people used for enhancing the flavor of their coffee. Over time, the use of flavorings was experimented with using vanilla and other home extracts to add to the taste of coffee.
At first, gourmet coffee was simply coffee with flavored creamers or sweeteners to spice it up. Manufacturers of coffee creamers began making a wide variety of flavored creamers and soon coffee could taste like French vanilla, crème Brule or even hazelnut, to name a few. The typical cup of coffee could now be dessert.
Coffee shops caught on to the popularity of these flavored coffees and created their own versions using flavored syrups for even more variety. Ordering a cup of coffee began to sound like ordering from the dessert menu in a fine dining restaurant.
Cappuccino photo by Lea Csontos
Coffee roasters were not oblivious to the popularity of gourmet coffee and began to experiment with ways to flavor the coffee during the roasting process. Flavors were added using infusion methods such as soaking the beans to allow them to absorb the flavor which would then result in a cup of coffee flavored directly by the bean without the need for added creamers or sugars.
Flavored coffee beans began appearing in gourmet coffee shops and grocery stores everywhere. Every possible flavor imaginable was created, from coconut to combinations of chocolate and toffee. These taste explosions were enough to make even the non-coffee drinker like coffee.
Gourmet coffee includes more than flavored coffee. This category also covers exquisite coffee beans that are grown under precise conditions to achieve a better coffee bean.
The roasting process of these beans is also more involved, aiding the creation of a gourmet coffee.
Gourmet coffees typically cost more than the average coffee. Some of the more elite coffee beans are harder to come by which makes their price and status increase even more.
Individuals who consider themselves coffee connoisseurs are divided in their opinion of gourmet coffee. Some believe the addition of flavors ruins the taste of the coffee. Others simply love the variety of coffee tastes they can choose from. When it comes to gourmet beans most agree that some of the higher priced coffee beans are better due to being grown in a particular way. Still, there are those who simply like a strong cup of black coffee and don’t care where the coffee beans come from or how they are grown.
In the world of coffee there is no going back. Coffee drinkers around the world are hooked on having many choices when it comes to their morning java. Whether it is dark and strong or a caramel macchiato over ice, individuals insist on getting their coffee how they want it and gourmet coffee is the answer.
-Sharon Chapman