Latte flavoring without the sugar
I have the pleasure and honor of developing a cafe's concept for their coffee. I am interesting in straying away from the usual flavored syrups you find in most shops. While doing this I would like to minimize the amount of sugar that is added to the process. *possibly to nill*. So if someone wanted it sweeter, I would just add simple syrup to the espresso shot before adding the steamed milk.
I know so many people that don't like or can't drink flavored lattes due to how sweet they tend to be. I would like to bring vanilla, hazlenut, and other flavors to the latte without the sweetness. I would still offer them "sweetened" version but still toned down from what you would normally find.
Anyone expirment with adding a vanilla powder to the milk prior to steaming? Any other thoughts on ways to obtain what I would like the flavor drinks to be?
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Jay Caragay on
-
Talk to the people who roast and sell flavored coffees. They undoubtedly will have a stock of flavorings that you may be able to buy from them for experimentation.
Without a doubt, it is absolutely possible to flavor a beverage without the use of sweeteners.
-
Permalink Reply by Jason Raz on
-
Thanks for the good angle. I'll look into what roasters use to flavor their coffees. I was also thinking about experimenting with Inbru.
It isn't soluble so would have to be extracted. Possibly in a tea press or even using the espresso machine *Gasp!* We have a three group which isn't necessary for our location, so I don't mind experimenting on one specific group head. I wonder how a small amount on top of the pressed puck would affect the extraction. Think I'm going to play with this some.
Also thought about adding a vanilla extract to the milk before steaming. Again I would keep to one steam wand and a specific set of pitchers for this process.
-
Permalink Reply by Brady on
-
There are a number of discussions here about ways to make your own syrups. These are just simple syrups infused with herbs, spices, aromatics, or flavored with extracts.
To get a flavored latte that was not as sweet, you could try increasing the amount of the flavoring you used to make the syrup and then using less of the finished syrup in the drink. This would give you a drink with plenty of cinnamon, vanilla, or whatever flavor, but less sweet.
Premaking vanilla-flavored or chocolate-flavored milk ahead of time would be something else you might try.
While you are taking this approach, I hope you've considered limiting your flavored offerings?
Whatever you ultimately do, I would strongly recommend not placing any flavoring in the portafilter basket. Ever.
-
-
Can you go into "why" you strongly recommend not placing flavoring in the basket. What damage or quality implications will it have.
Would this actually contaminate the stainless steel of a group head? I find it highly doubtful that experimenting with flavoring in this manor would have long term effects on a group head that a simple cleaning couldn't fix. Am I wrong in this thinking, if so why?
We have a 3 group Aurelia and would stick to one specific group head while trying this out. If there are any technical implications please let me know.
*Not trying to sound like a jerk, but I'm always one to understand or want to understand the why and how aspect of something*
-
-
On a separate note. Say a syrup is 1 cup of sugar and 1 vanilla bean stalk. Is there any problems with using 1/4 cup of sugar and 3-4 vanilla bean stalks? Does the sugar provide anything other than sweetness in the process, is it needed in some way for the extraction of the vanilla?
-
-
Depending on how pervasive the flavoring you use is, it may or may not be easy to remove from the internal group surfaces. Some natural aromatics are pretty potent, and some spice oils can attack some surfaces (for example, my spice grinder has been permanently pitted by oils from grinding cloves). Also, the ability of some of the artificial flavoring oils to permanently scent coffee grinders is well established.
The other thing to remember is that quite a bit of liquid from the puck travels back up into the group at the completion of the shot. This liquid travels past the screen, through the brass dispersion disk, through the drilled channels in the brass group, through the brew valve, and out the exhaust port. It is extremely difficult to thoroughly clean all of those surfaces without disassembling the group - you'd have to hope that whatever made its way up there would be taken care of by espresso detergent.
Even if you designate one group for this purpose, you have to consider that you might permanently taint this group. Make sure that the person that purchased this $10,000 piece of equipment is fully aware of this fact.
Even if this works fine for your shop (and your shop stays in business for 20+ years) that machine will likely find use in at least 2 other shops before it is ultimately scrapped - so down the road you either declare that one group is permanently tainted OR don't tell the next owner and let the buyer beware.
Another consideration is that the inclusion of non-coffee particles in your puck will probably goof up your extraction... that's a good reason not to put sugar in your portafilter basket too.
Its an espresso machine. Use it to make espresso.
Jason Raz said:Can you go into "why" you strongly recommend not placing flavoring in the basket. What damage or quality implications will it have.
Would this actually contaminate the stainless steel of a group head? I find it highly doubtful that experimenting with flavoring in this manor would have long term effects on a group head that a simple cleaning couldn't fix. Am I wrong in this thinking, if so why?
We have a 3 group Aurelia and would stick to one specific group head while trying this out. If there are any technical implications please let me know.
*Not trying to sound like a jerk, but I'm always one to understand or want to understand the why and how aspect of something*
-
-
I very much appreciate the detailed explanation. I'm going to scrap the Inbru idea in the group head. Looks like the options currently are:
Using an extract or powder added to the milk pre-steaming. Going to reserve the left steam wand for this purpose. As always, I'll be sure to purge the steam wand afterward *probably a little extra than normal*.
Making my own syrups with an eye to keep the sugars low.
I'm still open to other options if people have any ideas. Even if they are far fetched or might not work, it's always good to get the wheels turning.
Also still have the question regarding using less sugar while making your syrups. Besides sweetness, is there any other effects that it will have? Is there sort of a minimum sugar needed to make the extract? And yes, I am minimizing the amount of flavors we are offering. With the occasional seasonal appearance and/or weekly or monthly guest flavors.
-
-
I know that in some products sugar acts as a preservative. Not sure that is the case with syrups as low in sugar as the typical coffee shop product though.
The reason that I can see for using a syrup that contains more sugar is that you achieve the target sweetness by adding less water to the drink.
One thing to consider as you think about approaches is operational simplicity. If you are adding powders to milk before hand, it would be nice if you were adding the same amount of each powder to drinks... for example: 2 scoops for small, 3 scoops for medium. Same goes for syrups or extracts - 1 pump, 2 pumps, etc. What you want to avoid is a scenario where you add 4 drops for vanilla, 1/2 oz for caramel, 2 scoops for chocolate, etc. Also consider portion size... if you are dealing with tiny scoops, any small variation in amount scooped will make a huge difference in drink consistency.
If you do add powders to milk prior to steaming, you may find you need to add a little hot water first. This is how we do our mochas and it is a little awkward but doable. We just add a little water from the hot water valve on the espresso machine, give it a quick swirl, and then add the milk.
Good luck. Keep us posted.
-
-
Well I thought I was going to be working on syrups tonight but spent the day shaking my head at Aurelia Abuse Thread and cleaning two grinders that probably were never cleaned in their 2 years of use.
Brady, after searching for Vanilla Syrup threads I noticed a trend of you being in every single one. Good job! I'm going over the menu tomorrow with the boss to make decisions on what we will be serving. She is all about the different flavors but I'm going to get her down to a choice few that we can make for our opening and then expand from there. I guess we'll keep some Sugar-Free syrups avaialable to people who ask for them unless I can really get a low-sugar vanilla syrup to taste right. Hopefully have my espresso machine up and running by the weekend.
-
-
I am still going to pursue my syrup making adventures during all of this, but I realized something today. When I leave this venture to pursue another opportunity that will further develop me along as a coffee professional, will the owner want to make their own syrups while I am not there. Even though I'm in charge of the coffee concept, I had to take a step back from what I want and look at what the business needs. We talked and we can still incorporate the handmade syrups into the business but we're going to get it rolling with commercial syrups in the beginning.
I think I figured a way to make my own Raspberry syrup without it curdling the milk when steamed, but that is another story for another time :)
Barista Exchange Partners
Barista Exchange Friends
Keep Barista Exchange Free
Are you enjoying Barista Exchange? Is it helping you promote your business and helping you network in this great industry? Donate today to keep it free to all members. Supporters can join the "Supporters Group" with a donation. Thanks!
© 2024 Created by Matt Milletto.
Powered by
