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Permalink Reply by Mike McGinness on February 4, 2010 at 5:45pm

First, welcome to BX!

I only drink a cap' a couple times a month, but had the hankering for a berry infused cappuccino this morning. And it was delightful. However, it was berry infused simply by the natural of the coffee bean itself, not some flavoring. That would be a Sidamo.

I think you'll find few if any serious about quality coffee who flavor their beans. I can say with 100% certainty my roaster will never flavor coffee beans. ('cuz I iz him of course:-)

You're in Portland OR the Heart of quality focused coffee! Check out shops like Barista, Coffeehouse NW, Ristretto Roasters etc. and see what they're doing. Yes, grocery stores and gas stations sell lots of flavored coffees, that's not what you'll find at these shops. Or cross the Columbia and I'd be happy to brew you any number of coffees with quite distinct delicious flavors, a'natural.

Creating a signature beverage with coffee and fruit is a different story than flavored coffees...

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Permalink Reply by Tommy on February 4, 2010 at 7:14pm

i think coffee tastes great without flavoring, and yes I am working on signature drinks combining real fruits/berries with grinded coffee..Not a frappucino, but a new recipe..I hope to update everyone soon, once I find out the best combination..until then, I'll continue on with the research! Thanks for the reply Mike.



miKe mcKoffee aka Mike McGinness said:

First, welcome to BX!

I only drink a cap' a couple times a month, but had the hankering for a berry infused cappuccino this morning. And it was delightful. However, it was berry infused simply by the natural of the coffee bean itself, not some flavoring. That would be a Sidamo.

I think you'll find few if any serious about quality coffee who flavor their beans. I can say with 100% certainty my roaster will never flavor coffee beans. ('cuz I iz him of course:-)

You're in Portland OR the Heart of quality focused coffee! Check out shops like Barista, Coffeehouse NW, Ristretto Roasters etc. and see what they're doing. Yes, grocery stores and gas stations sell lots of flavored coffees, that's not what you'll find at these shops. Or cross the Columbia and I'd be happy to brew you any number of coffees with quite distinct delicious flavors, a'natural.

Creating a signature beverage with coffee and fruit is a different story than flavored coffees...

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Permalink Reply by Eric Hammond on February 5, 2010 at 5:15am

I've never really heard much about doing this. Most people I know add flavored oils or extracts to flavor the beans. Honestly, I think it's a bad idea. Getting too far away from the natural product. Or maybe masking poor roasts or bad coffee by covering them up. Then, how do I get the flavor out of my grinders, brew pots, etc?

I visited a roaster once that did put things in their coffees to add new flavors. For instance, dried orange peel in a really chocolaty roast. Or roasted hazelnuts. Cinnamon sticks. I think it may have been Rostovs in Richmond, VA, but that was a long time ago and I'm not sure that it was actually them. But visit their website. www.rostovs.com Maybe that would give you some ideas.

I lived overseas one time, and could only get a rather poor quality of coffee. And a poor roaster at that. But I did pretty well by brewing my coffee with, say a teaspoon or so of cinnamon. I tried cocoa but really didn't like it. You would have to grind the berries. And I wonder if the seeds would flavor it more than the fruit.

All that said, I'd encourage you to start doing some single org coffees and pulling them as espressos. African coffees roasted properly tend to be floral or fruity. South Americans tend to be nutty to caramel or cocoa. Pacific Rim tend to be earthy. But those are just tends. I've has some wonderful lemon zest notes out of a Tanzanian as well as cocoa. Putting milk in them usually kills a lot of the lighter notes. Right now I have a Tanzanian Peaberry in my 3rd espresso grinder (A blend in one and decaf in the other). Deep cocoas, hint of citrus zest, good acidy. It was roasted a little darker. Maybe 460 or 450 or so. I don't have my notes in front of me. Hope this helps!

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