Flavored coffee has always been popular and there are a few ways to flavor coffee: the beans themselves can be flavored with flavoring agents, flavor and spices can be added during the brewing process, or you can add flavor directly to your brewed coffee. Why would you want to get flavored coffee beans if you can just add whipped cream or syrup to your cup of joe? Find out the reasons why below.

Flavored coffee is far from a new concept. Infusing coffee with cardamom, cinnamon sticks, and other whole spices was a large part of Arabic, Middle Eastern, and Turkish cultures for centuries. Combining coffee with chocolate for additional flavor and taste was a ground-breaking discovery in Europe during the seventeenth century

Later, flavored coffee syrups emerged at the forefront of the coffee flavoring scene in the United States, with one of the largest coffee companies being founded in Seattle in 1971 and growing in popularity each year: Starbucks.

Then, during the 90s, flavored coffee became super trendy, with TV shows like Friends popularizing drinking these milky, flavored concoctions. The coffee shop became the place to hang out with friends, not just order your coffee to go. 

Finally, there has been another surge in their popularity in recent years, with adventure-seeking millennials wanting to experiment with new flavors.

As evident in flavored coffee’s history, there are many ways in which coffee can be flavored. Today, with advances in modern flavoring technology, there has been an explosion of new and exciting coffee flavors, from pumpkin spice to French vanilla.

With so many choices on the market today, this brings up the question of why we should take the time to flavor coffee beans. Why not just drink regular coffee without added flavor? What’s the big deal about flavoring coffee? Learn different ways coffee is flavored, why you might want to drink it, and which flavors you simply MUST try!

Flavored Coffee is Not Just for Coffee Shops – You Can Brew it at Home

It’s fair to say that all of us coffee lovers out there enjoy going to our local coffee shop for a pumpkin spice latte every now and again, but guess what? You can brew flavored coffee at home as well! 

Simply roll out of bed and add some flavored coffee into your machine, French press, or whatever coffee-making device you own, and boom! A tasty pumpkin spice latte without having to step outside your front door. Using flavored coffee beans or ground coffee is an easy way to get coffee shop quality at home.

Additionally, flavoring the coffee beans directly allows you to still drink your coffee black if you desire. You can brew your coffee and there’s no need to add sugar, flavored creamers, or sweet syrups as the coffee is already full of flavor. 

Coffee shops often infuse their coffee drinks with flavor by adding a ton of sugary products. However, if you use pre-flavored coffee beans to make your tasty coffee drinks at home, there’s no need for any additional ingredients, meaning you can avoid adding extra sugar, calories, fat, and carbohydrates.

Flavored coffee is for everyone! Coffee purists often turn up their noses at flavored beans, but maybe they won’t if they try our Hazelnut Vanilla Coffee!

Different Methods to Flavor Coffee

There are several different techniques for flavoring coffee. The appropriate choice depends on the roast level (light, medium, or dark roast), the origin of the coffee beans, the bitterness or acidity of the coffee, and how all these elements will react with the different flavor profiles. 

The two main ways coffee is flavored are before it is brewed (after the roasting process) with the assistance of flavoring agents, or after it is brewed with the use of whole spices, cinnamon sticks, coffee syrups, and coffee creamers. 

Many cultures use spices, such as cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg, to flavor the coffee grounds so it brews with the spices or to their mug after the coffee is brewed. Try using whole spices to add natural flavors and aromas to coffee.

At Zavida Coffee Roasters, our coffee beans are flavored after the roasting process with flavoring agents, as this ensures the longevity of the flavor. You must be aware, though, that ground coffee will tend to lose flavor quicker as more surface area is exposed to oxygen – which is the same concept we describe in our guide to storing your coffee to retain its freshness.

There are two principal types of coffee beans: Arabica beans and Robusta beans. At Zavida, 100% of our coffee is made from Arabica beans. For more information on the origin of Arabica coffee, check out our blog, "Where Does Arabica Coffee Come From?".

It’s a fallacy to think that you can use low-quality or old beans and mask them with flavoring. High-quality beans always need to be used, but especially for flavored coffee because the flavoring won’t produce the aromas and flavor profiles you want. 

Adding spices and syrups to mask the unpleasant flavor of coffee brewed from old beans won’t work either. Be kind to your taste buds. It simply won’t make the coffee quality better. Old beans = bad coffee. 

What Are the Benefits of Flavoring the Coffee Bean Directly?

Flavoring coffee beans brings with it a whole range of flavor experiences. If you haven’t yet tried flavored coffee, see what you’re missing out on below!

1. Flavored coffee tastes amazing

First and foremost, flavored coffee tastes great! Adding a burst of flavor to coffee beans enhances their taste and arguably makes for a more enjoyable coffee than an ordinary cup of joe. You must admit that a cup of Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Coffee or Cookie Dough Coffee sounds far more exciting than a regular coffee blend. 

2. It’s calorie-free

Purchasing flavored coffee beans can be a healthier alternative to adding cream, sugar, and sweet syrups to your coffee. At Zavida, we offer a whole variety of flavored coffees, which are calorie-free. 

3. Flavored coffee smells divine

Additionally, the smell of opening a bag and brewing flavored coffee is second to none. With Zavida's coffees, your kitchen will smell delicious. Sipping on a cup of Chocolate Fudge Brownie Coffee while enjoying its rich, chocolatey aromas, is almost like eating the real thing. A truly incomparable experience!

4. Flavoring coffee sparks creativity

Furthermore, the coffee-flavoring world is a playground for creativity – it encourages innovation. The wide variety of different flavors that are being produced is astonishing. Flavoring coffee beans creates novelty, attraction, discussion, and innovation. The possibilities for new flavors are endless. 

5. Flavored coffee enhances your lifestyle

Flavored coffee is a fun product. As stated by Zavida Coffee Roasters’ founder, Charles Litterst, flavored coffee is meant to be “more fun” and “livelier” than regular coffee. It is meant to drink with friends “at a party or get together”. He associates it with dance and enjoyment, and most importantly, living life to the fullest. He called his coffee company Zavida due to its close similarity to the Spanish word for life, “la vida”.

Why is Cold Brew Coffee a Great Way to Extract Flavor? 

If you want a more delicate and varied flavor profile, we recommend creating cold brew using flavored coffee beans. Flavored cold brew coffees are usually more complex. This is because the low temperature of the coffee lowers its acidity and therefore creates an environment where the sweetness and bold flavors become more noticeable. 

The process of making cold brew coffee involves steeping ground coffee in cold or room-temperature water for around 8-12 hours. So, if you’re looking to make a smooth coffee bursting with fabulous flavor notes, the key is to steep your coffee overnight.

What Are the Most Popular Coffee Flavors?

With all the different coffee flavor options out there, we understand that choosing one to try can be overwhelming! To help make this decision a little less daunting, we have created a box of our best-selling flavors. Our Best-Sellers Discovery Box is perfect if you’re unsure which flavors to start with. It includes four of our most popular coffee flavors - Hazelnut Vanilla, Crème Brûlée, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, and Canadian Maple Coffee. You simply can’t go wrong! 

Other standout flavors include French Vanilla, Butter Pecan, and Irish Cream, or if you’re looking for fruity flavors, Coconut Delight and Pumpkin Spice are winners. 

Another perk of our fruity flavors is that you can use their leftover coffee grounds as fragrant body lotions. We are particularly fond of mixing excess Coconut Delight coffee grounds with coconut oil to produce an amazing homemade body scrub. You might not be aware, but coffee is amazing for the skin. For more ideas on how to repurpose leftover coffee grounds, take a look at our blog "Give Your Used Coffee Grounds A Second Chance At Life".

Where to Buy Flavored Coffee

If all the above reasons resonate with you, why not consider purchasing your own bag of flavored coffee and see what all the hype is about for yourself?

Luckily, flavored coffee is widely available at many coffee retailers. At Zavida, we specialize in flavored coffees and offer a whole range of unique flavored products. Last year, we even introduced a new product line of Funky Flavors. We offer over thirty different coffee flavors for you to explore, and we have every flavor preference covered. 

Not only that, but we also have Flavor Shots – one or two pumps, and your coffee will taste delicious. You might think that a pump is a small amount, but they are concentrated bursts of sugar-free flavor. A single Flavor Shots bottle should flavor up to 300 16 oz cups of brewed coffee.

Learn More About Coffee!

To continue your coffee journey, check out the blog articles below:

Coffee Grind Types Explained

How to Decrease the Acidity of Coffee

Brewing Coffee Without Electricity

Zavida: Your Flavored Coffee Specialist

There are many ways to enjoy flavored coffee. It’s tasty, calorie-free, and will make your house smell amazing. At Zavida, we think flavored coffee is a fun, exciting beverage, designed to be shared with family and friends in moments of joy and celebration. 

On another note, if all this coffee talk has now put you in the mood for delicious, flavored coffee, feel free to check out our flavored coffees on our website. Also, if you have any questions regarding flavored coffee or our flavoring process, we welcome you to contact us! We’re always happy to hear from you! 

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