Coffee flavorings: Three different types of flavors

There is already a large market for coffee flavorings with a wide variety of coffee flavors available in the stores.  They come in nearly every form imaginable for convenience at home, at the office or work, and on-the-go.  There are dozens of coffee flavors to choose from as many different brands. The flavorings can come in powder form or in liquid form or even be added at the coffee bean roasting stage.

Importantly, you need to find out if the flavor you are choosing is a replacement for milk/milk powder (like CoffeeMate), additional sugar/sugar, or simply just an additional flavor. You may find that you end up adding too much sugar or creamer in your cup.

Adding flavoring to coffee used to be a relatively expensive luxury but demand has driven down prices so much that you can buy a jar of coffee flavoring for less than the price of a sandwich!  Of course, like most other products, there are upscale brands and flavors to choose from, as well.

Powders

The most common coffee flavorings are vanilla, hazelnut and plain cream or cream imitations.  The usual flavors in your grocer's refrigerated or dry goods sections include vanilla caramel, French vanilla, amaretto, Irish cream and chocolate. 

There are also seasonal flavors such as pumpkin pie and peppermint candy cane as well as limited edition flavors such as peach pie.

Coffee flavorings can be very convenient, too.  They are now packaged as single serving portions that you can keep in your desk or purse, shelf-stable liquid, refrigerated liquid and small canisters of powder.  Wherever you go, you can take these flavorings with you!

What's more, some of the modern varieties of flavorings such as Coffee Mate mean that you get your sugar added, your coffee whitened, and the flavor you like!

If you drink your coffee hot, then powders should be fine; but if you are making a cold cup of ice coffee or you are drinking cooler coffee, then you might be better to use one in liquid form for easy mixing.

Syrups

There are upscale flavors, too, usually in the form of syrups that are packaged in very attractive bottles.  These are made with superior, pure ingredients and are usually very concentrated; they aren't as extravagant as they first seem as one bottle lasts for months.

One popular company in San Francisco, Torani, lists over 70 different varieties of syrup for coffee including traditional flavors such as caramel and vanilla or more exotic flavors like marshmallow, mint and even cupcake flavor.

Typically, these syrups are added during the coffee making process or just prior to serving, if it's a topping type sauce. You will find varieties that are low sugar or even sugar free.

Roasted Flavors

Flavorings added to beans in the roasting stages are perhaps a little less exotic but can really make a no-fuss cup of great coffee. Many roasting companies offer flavors that are roasted, though strictly speaking the best coffee beans aren't flavored at all.

Hazlenut and Vanilla are two spices that are typically used, though some retailers specialize in adding many different flavors during preparation so you can find some quite exotic blends. These exotic blends are added from oils that are blended during the mixing stages, just prior to packaging.

The advantage of adding flavored oils during the roasting phase is that calories can be reduced to zero, unlike using some of the syrups or powders.

How could you? It's easy!

While real coffee lovers might wonder why in the world one would want to disguise the taste of a good cup of coffee with flavorings, many coffee drinkers do enjoy the fresh varieties and flavorings.

Coffee flavorings can indeed be a nice treat, they can be festive and fun and they are very good to use especially if you're stuck with mediocre coffee at work or a friend's house! And better still, you can always choose what coffee flavors you want to add to the coffee!

And finally...

Wherever you are, remember "Only Coffee Beans Make Great Coffee"! And enjoy that cup of coffee!

Return from coffee flavorings to buy coffee beans.

Return from coffee flavorings to coffee beans.