Flavor Coffee Naturally
With the popularity of espresso-based specialty coffees on the rise, more people are turning to flavored syrups and sauces to give their coffee drink a personal touch. Unfortunately, these commercially bottled syrups and sauces often contain large amounts of highly refined sugar as well as a handful of ingredients used as preservatives and dyes. If you like flavored coffee but want to avoid these highly processed products, you still have some options. The suggestions below will help you learn how to flavor coffee naturally for a unique, tasty cup of coffee in your own home.
Steps
- Add spices directly to your coffee grounds. This is a simple, natural, and often calorie-free way to add flavor to your cup of coffee. Spices like cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg can be sprinkled directly over the coffee grounds in your coffee brewer. When the water passes through the grounds, it will extract the flavor of the spices into your cup.
- Store your coffee beans along with spices. Another way to add a favorite spice or herb's flavor to your coffee is by storing your coffee beans with the whole spices. Mix whole nutmeg, cloves, sticks of cinnamon, or other spices into your coffee beans. As you scoop each day's portion of beans out for grinding, you will notice the flavor of the spices slowly infusing directly into the beans, with the flavor becoming more pronounced each day.
- Make flavored simple syrups at home. The flavors added at most specialty coffee shops are processed, bottled forms of simple syrups - a mixture of water and sugar. You can easily make your own simple syrup at home, adding in herbs and spices to produce any flavor you like.
- Start by bringing equal volumes of water and sugar to a simmer in a saucepan. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved. This is the base of your flavored simple syrup.
- To your base syrup, add any herbs and spices that you like, allowing them to simmer gently for 10 or 20 minutes. Possible flavors include vanilla bean, fresh rosemary, orange peel, clove, star anise, and even dried fruit.
- The finished simple syrup can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks. Add it to your coffee by the spoonful until it is sweetened and flavored to taste.
- Add flavorful extracts directly to your cup. Another simple way to flavor coffee naturally is by adding a few drops of plant extracts or essential oils to your coffee cup. Vanilla, orange, and mint extracts are possible options that are easy to find in a grocery store. Add these liquids to your coffee cup by the drop, as the flavor can become intense with only a small volume.
Tips
- Naturally flavored coffees can also make great handmade gifts. After infusing your coffee beans with spices, pour them into a mason jar and wrap a decorative bow around the jar. Make sure to label the jar with the spice mixture used.
- You can also buy many varieties of flavored coffee grounds that are flavored naturally. Check the packaging or the roaster's website to determine how the beans are flavored.
Things You'll Need
- Coffee
- Spices or herbs
- Saucepan
- Water
- Sugar
- Spoon
- Spice extracts
Related Articles
- Make a Reusable Coffee Filter
- Sweeten Your Coffee
- Choose Coffee Grinds
- Make Coffee With a Coffee Press
