Flavored Coffee 101

To the so-called "true blue" coffee aficionados, flavored coffees suffer the infirmity of not being "genuine" coffee. After all, if you are a true coffee lover, why would you add those miscellaneous flavors that would only serve to mask the true flavor of coffee?

Ah, but even coffee aficionados can't deny the joys of an occasional cup of flavored coffee - even if they would never admit it to their coffee-loving friends and even if they call the practice too "plebian" for their taste. There is something to be said about being novel once in a while, after all.

And for those who consider themselves fans of flavored coffees, there is absolutely no reason to hide. If it tastes good, why should you inhibit yourself? It's not like you are alone in your coffee-drinking habit. Even the Arabs, who were the world's first coffee drinkers, liked to add spices such as cinnamon to their coffees and they did that way back when coffee was still largely unknown to Europeans.

Today, flavored coffee has come a long way from little more than a concoction of spices like cardamom, clove, nutmeg, black pepper, allspice, ground nuts, citrus peels, spirits, and chocolate. Our flavored coffees now get many of their tastes not from real spice but from chemical solvents that mimic the natural flavorings.

Flavored coffees are typically divided into four broad categories:

Vanilla-based Flavored Coffee

Coffees like these include crèmes, like French vanilla (a very sweet, raspberry-like aroma) or Irish crème with its sweet, "thick" cream-like aroma. Then there's vanilla nut which is similar to some to extent to French vanilla only with undertones of toasted almonds. Under the nut-based vanilla category of flavored coffee is hazelnut and macadamia nut, which are slightly sweet, nut-like in aroma and very similar to hazelnut liquors.

Chocolate-based Flavors

Flavored coffee of this category ranges from macadamia nut to crème brulee to mint. The result is a slightly sweet, and more predominant chocolate aroma in the whole bean with hints of vanilla (if you chose chocolate crème brulee) or mint (if you chose chocolate mint).

Fruit-based Flavors

Flavored coffee of this category includes chocolate raspberry, coconut crème, and piña colada. The fruity aroma in chocolate raspberry can sometimes be too intense to the point that it completely overpowers the other smells in your flavored coffee. Coconut crème is pleasant in contrast with only the slightest hint of vanilla and tropical sweetness. Piña colada flavored coffee is best reserved on special occasions.

Spice-based Flavors

Spice-based flavored coffee can either be cinnamon hazelnut or cinnamon almond praline. Cinnamon will come off as a strong smell but balanced well with the sweet nuttiness of hazelnut or almond and the cream of praline.
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Corrie Duana, an expert in Coffee, is a writer for ArticleMash.com.