Flavored Coffees: How DO They DO That?

Flavored coffees are the favorite of many but did you ever wonder how they got the flavor in the beans?

Generally the beans are roasted and then flavorings are added.  Many times the flavorings are chemical based, although not always. It is also sad to say that the beans are generally the ones that don;t pass muster for unflavored coffee, since any flavor that is added will cover up the poor quality of the bean.

Let me say that I love flavored coffee.   I just think it is important that you know what you are drinking.  After all, we should all drink responsibly, right?

With many flavored coffees the aroma is better than the taste because the chemical dissipates in  hot water.  All of that aroma that you smell is the scent of the flavor leaving your coffee.  Again, this depends on the coffee, the flavoring agent being used, and other things.

There are other ways to get those flavored coffees you love.  One easy way is to add flavored coffee syrups.  Like southern pecan flavored coffee? Get a good medium roast and add a tablespoon of Monin pecan syrup, and a half tablespoon of Monin Vanilla. You may prefer Da Vinci to Monin, and that is fine.

Most of the companies that do syrups have twenty to fifty different flavors so that you can create any flavor that you like, or that you can imagine.

You can also add a piece of vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, or hunk of nutmeg to the ground coffee when you are brewing it.

So, buy flavored coffees by all means, just know what you are buying.

Image:Maple Brown Sugar Snickerdoodles (c) Marye Audet