Had a talk with my neighbor about flavored coffee and it really got me thinking

I've always been a dark roast purist, but my neighbor Dave shared a bag of hazelnut blend from a local roaster in Portland last week. He said most flavored beans use natural oils not syrups and that changed my whole view. I tried it and actually enjoyed the notes without that fake sugary taste I always assumed came with flavors. Now I'm wondering if I've been too harsh on flavored coffee this whole time. Has anyone else tried a good flavored bean that surprised them?

2 comments

2 Comments

park.robin1mo ago

My buddy runs a small roasting operation in Ohio and he told me the natural oils are usually food-grade flavor extracts mixed with the beans after roasting. He said the cheap grocery store stuff is often syrup-coated and that's where the nasty aftertaste comes from. I tried his maple pecan blend last fall and it was subtle, not like drinking a candle. Might be worth asking Dave where his roaster sources the oils, some places use artificial junk that ruins the whole thing.

bennett.patricia1mo ago

I ended up buying a small bag of flavored beans from a local shop here and it was night and day from the big brands. The guy there told me they use natural extracts and let them soak in overnight before roasting, not just spraying on syrup. The flavor was way more balanced, like you could taste the coffee underneath. I had one from a supermarket once that tasted like they dumped a bottle of vanilla medicine in it, gross. So yeah, where Dave gets his oils really matters. Might be worth asking if he can get a sample of the plain beans first to see what the base coffee even tastes like.