Keurig 5048 K CupPrice: $14.95
How To Recognize The Best Flavored Coffee
Flavored coffee is becoming more and more popular every day, in spite of negative reactions of the classic amateurs of coffee. In this article we cover:
- What flavored coffee is
- Is it just fashion or a new market and taste habit?
- What are the key factors that influence the quality
- Tips to recognize if we are in front of a 'best flavored coffee' or not.
WHAT FLAVORED COFFEE IS?
In its simplest definition, flavored coffee is coffee with additional flavors added to the beans to give a specific taste, different than the classic organic taste offered by the coffee 'alone'. Flavored coffee is made by adding flavored oils to the beans after they have been roasted and before they have been ground.
JUST FASHION OR NEW TASTE HABIT?
You may like it or not, but flavored coffee is today synonymous with gourmet coffee.
Flavoring coffee is not just a 'new fashion', and it is a very old habit as well. Flavored coffees have been used for centuries: Arabians began flavoring their coffees with cardamom hundreds of years ago; Africans experimented with citrus flavours; and South Americans enjoyed a hint of cinnamon in their cups.
Flavored coffee as we know it today began its development in the 60's, with the spread of flavored tea from Europe. But it was with the specialty coffee boom of the 1990s that the overall interest in exotic flavours increased so remarkably.
Flavored coffee is a controversial topic among roasters and retailers. Real coffee connoisseur do not like it at all. But business is business, and despite a sometimes less-than-enthusiastic reception, flavored coffees are continuing to penetrate deeper into the market, as a result of exposure from large coffee shops, restaurants, and retailers of all kinds.
Today we can choose from a wide array of flavored coffees, with attractive names like 'Amaretto', 'French Vanilla', 'Hazelnut', 'Chocolate Swiss', etc.
Flavored coffee has therefore become a very trendy drink, so popular that according to some estimates one out of four Americans (25%) drinks a flavoured coffee at least twice a month!
KEY FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE QUALITY
Three main factors influence the quality of the best flavoured coffee:
- the selection of coffee beans
- the quality of flavors
- the process used.
Coffee beans: the type of beans used to make flavored coffee greatly impacts the taste of the finished product. Arabica beans are most frequently used for creating the best flavored coffee, due to their low levels of acidity and bitterness.
Flavors: the coffee roaster must choose between 100% natural flavours, artificial or 'Nature Identical' flavorings. Although the flavor name on packages may be the same ('French Vanilla'), the product inside is of course very different.
The Process involves the appropriate amount of flavoring to be used, the chosen roast level, and how and when the flavours are applied. A more in depth view about how the best flavoured coffee is produced will be covered in another article, 'How Best Flavored Coffees Are Produced'.
HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE BEST FLAVORED COFFEE
To help you make the most of coffee flavorings, here are some final tips to help you buy only the best flavored coffee beans.
Be sure you are buying from a reputable coffee roaster, to ensure your beans and flavorings are of a high quality. Firstly, verify that coffee beans are high-quality. Secondly, checks if flavor is made with 100% natural ingredients.
Some roasters may be adding flavor to low-quality beans thinking that their low-quality will be disguised by the flavoring. About 75 percent of taste is experienced through the nose, so the aroma makes for much of the flavored coffee experience, but best flavored coffee should not overdo it: the flavor should complement your coffee, rather than overwhelm it. The ideal flavor should mask some of the harsh notes of the coffee yet not interfere with its aromatic characteristics.
The degree of roasting determines the depth of flavour: the darker the roast, the heavier the flavor. If flavoring is added to beans which have too mild a roast, the coffee lacks significant flavor characteristics, and a flat-tasting beverage results. If the roast is too dark, the added flavor is covered by the taste of the beans. For example, a Vanilla flavor can be lost on a French roast, because the robustness of the bean may overwhelm the sweet creamy tones of the flavor.
Finally, flavored coffee should be stored as closely as possible to room temperature.
CONCLUSIONS
Many black coffee drinkers dislike flavored coffees, because they cannot fully taste the 'native' coffee flavor. While according to estimators, flavoring coffee is just making coffee even more appealing, by adding complimentary flavors.
Many coffee aficionados turn up their nose at the thought of adding flavorings to their beloved black beverage. On the other way, the taste habits of those who like flavored coffee are not much different than the ones who say 'no, thanks' to flavored, but then drink their coffee with milk or sugar (or both...).
As a matter of fact, whether you are a connoisseur of black or a lover of flavored, best flavored coffee is here to stay.
For two simple reasons. Consumers like it. And coffee business professionals like it as well, since they have seen the opportunity to create new profitable market niches, with higher margins than the traditional coffee.
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Since 1940s, Coffee'IT (http://www.CoffeeIT.com/Flavored-Coffee.html) is an Italian roaster of rare espresso and mocha coffees, marketed through importers, wholesalers, distributors, agents, and coffee professionals.
The Spirit of Coffee - Coffees of the World
Ever wonder where the coffee beans in your morning coffee come from? You probably know words like Arabica and Robusta in terms of taste, but did you know that these words can also tell us where those coffees were grown? Here is a look at three of the world's best specialty coffees and the regions in which they originated. Read on to discover the rich history of these coffees.
Yemen Arabian Mocca
Grown in the mountainous region of Sanani in south Yemen at an altitude in excess of 4,500 ft, Arabian Mocca is the world's oldest cultivated coffee, distinguished by its richness and full body with chocolate undertones. Yemen is on Asia's Arabian peninsula, a stone's throw from Africa. Since there are no other Arabian coffees, it is classified as part of the family tastes of North African coffees.
It is here that the term "mocca" was coined. Its correct spelling is Mokha, for the port city that Yemen coffees ship from. Yemen's arid climate contributes to the production of one of the best-loved specialty coffees that led Europeans to fall in love with coffee many centuries ago.
Yemeni coffee is one of the most distinct and prized coffees in the world. It's been called a "wild" or natural cup, earthy, complex, pungent -- to some it may be strange and bitter. This coffee can also be characterized as dry, winey, and acidic with chocolate and fruit undertones, rustic flavors, and intense aromas.
(Source: http://www.sweetmarias.com/coffee.arabia.yemen.html)
Mexico "Spirit of the Aztec"
The state of Veracruz produces many average coffees in its low-lying regions, but atop the tall mountains near the city of Coatepec an excellent Arabica bean coffee called Altura Coatepec reigns. The word Altura itself means "high grown". Altura Pluma indicates the finest coffee of Mexico. Coetepec, a coffee district of Veracruz, provides particularly outstanding coffee beans. Mexican Altura beans have a full medium body, fine acidity, a wonderful bouquet and a satisfying flavor that is mild and sweet. This fine Mexican coffee is noted for delivering a consistently smooth taste and fragrant flavor with good body, depth, and overall balance. It is likely one of the most underappreciated coffees around.
Mexican coffee botanists celebrate Mexico's highest altitudes (with their approximately one hundred species of Arabica coffee plants) as the finest region of all the world's gourmet coffees. An inferior grade of coffee bean known Robusta grows at lower altitudes. Mexico itself produces huge quantities of these unremarkable coffee beans, often utilized as dark roasts, supermarket coffees and beans for blending.
Arabica coffee arrived in Mexico at the start of the nineteenth century from the West Indies. Today, Mexico ranks among the world's top coffee exporters. Most Mexican coffee is processed by the wet method to ensure better acidity and body. Mexican coffee is graded based on the altitude where it is grown. The plantations of Veracruz account for 60 to 70 percent of the Mexican coffee crop. Approximately 5 million bags of coffee a year originate in Mexico. Most of the better beans are grown on large plantations in the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Guerrero. These are producers of "high-grown" Altura Coatepec coffees, among the finest coffees grown in the Americas.
Their flavor is light and nutty with medium acidity and a mild, well-balanced body. With a fine chocolate tang and a hint of sweet undertone beneath the finish, these coffees make an ideal beverage for those of us who enjoy a smooth, mellow-tasting brew that is not overpowering. Altura's smoothness produces many loyalists of the coffee drinkers who sample it. Mexican Altura Coatepec is an incredible morning coffee, as it could be used in a blend to tone down accompanying fuller-bodied coffees, or better yet, alone for the pure regional flavor.
(Source: http://www.coffeeuniverse.com/world_coffee_latin.html)
Java "Dutch Estate"
As a synonym of coffee, "java" introduced itself in the seventeenth century when the Dutch began cultivating coffee trees on the island of Java (part of the islands of Indonesia) and successfully exported it globally. Often the standard by which all other coffees are measured, Java's finest golden beans are roasted to yield a piquant aroma, displaying an exquisite acid balance, a heavy body with chocolate undertones, and a lighter finish than Sumatran.
At one time the island of Java was ruled by sultans and dominated by mysticism. The early Dutch settlers who came in the late 17th century found Java to be a wonderfully diverse place with high mountains, thick tropical rain forests and a sultry climate that revolved around the monsoon rains. The Dutch and the Javanese settled the coastal volcanic plains, while much of the interior of the island was left to the jungle and a few tribal groups. The Dutch found that coffee grew very well in this climate, and began to set up plantations around their initial foothold in Batavia (modern day Jakarta). Initially Arabica coffees were planted, but many of these were killed by the coffee rust plague that devastated the region in the 1800's. Robusta was the logical replacement -- a tough plant resistant to many diseases.
Eventually the Dutch plantation owners conquered Java and took on the elements. Large plantations were established in the east of the island, as well as in Central Java and the west. After the Japanese occupied Java in the 1940's many of these plantations were destroyed or absorbed back into the jungle with their owners imprisoned by the Japanese. After the war and the ensuing independence struggle, many of the larger plantations ended up under the control of the government. Today the big Java plantations (such as Nusantara XII) are still government-owned. However there are many medium and smaller growers who produce excellent quality Arabica beans. These coffees are known as "Government Estate" Java. They are primarily produced at 4 old farms (Kayumas, Blawan, Djampit, Pancoer). The Government body grows about 85% of the coffee in East Java, close to Bali on the Ijen area. The range of altitudes suitable for coffee production is 3,000 to 6,000 feet, with most growing in the plateau region at 4,500 feet.
Government Estate is undoubtedly Indonesia's highest quality coffee. Other more inferior coffee producers of the area are called "Private Estate" Java plantations. They are lower-grown and not processed or prepared as well but they are a good option for those who want to spend less. Java is an undeniably clean-tasting cup for this Indonesian varietal, a fully wet-processed coffee that has the Indonesian body and thickness in the cup without earthy or dirty flavors. (Source http://www.merdekacoffee.com/regions.php)
Frozen Coffee Parfait
Try making this coffee drink using one of the coffees described above and bask in the wonderful flavors of these delicious brews!
Yield: 6-8 servings
1 14-oz. can of sweetened condensed milk1/3 cup double strength coffee sweetened with 4 tb. Sugar while hot (allow to cool before using)
1 cup whipped heavy whipping cream
In a large bowl, combine the sweetened condensed mild and the coffee into hand mixer; whip on high speed for 3-5 minutes. By hand, fold in the whipped whipping cream. Make sure the mixture is evenly distributed.
Spoon the mixture into 6-8 serving dishes, then freeze for 3 hours or until firm.
Garnish before serving with a chocolate-covered espresso bean and chocolate syrup for a yummy treat.
About The Author
Michelle Faber is owner of Gourmet CoffeeXpress, the "Ultimate Website Gallery",
showcasing the creme de la creme in gourmet coffees, & teas, and artisan chocolates, desserts & gifts.
Within this gallery, you can find incredibly high quality items, and many designer styled products.
Gourmet CoffeeXpress offers distinctive products for gift-giving and personal pleasure with world-class service.
Please visit Gourmet CoffeeXpress at http://www.gourmetcoffeexpress.com Visit Gourmet CoffeeXpress at http://www.gourmetcoffeexpress.com to indulge in the world's most EXTRAORDINARY Gourmet Tea, Coffee and Desserts.
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