Some smells are special. Gourmet coffee brewing is one of those smells, especially first thing in the morning. The aroma of brewing coffee wafting through the air will wake any sleeping coffee drinkers from the deepest sleep.
Flavored coffee, of course, has it’s own special aromas. The scent of chocolate, nuts, peppermint or fruit adds an extra treat.
So, remember, take some time today to stop and smell the coffee. You may have to wake up first, but it’ll be worth it.
Until next time, happy brewing.
Looking for that special coffee treat for Valentine’s Day? This recipe just might be the ticket.
St. Valentine’s Day Coffee Drink
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup of kona coffee.
- 2 cups of water
- 1 tbsp strawberry syrup
- 1 tbsp vanilla creamer
- fresh strawberries
- powdered sugar
Instructions:
- Brew the 2 cups of water with the 1/4-cup of Kona Coffee
- Pour into a glass
- Add strawberry syrup and vanilla creamer. Stir
- Garnish with fresh strawberries coated with powdered sugar
- Serve
Source: www.holidaycoffeerecipes.com
Additional Tip: Put some melted chocolate on the side for dipping the strawberries and feeding them to each other.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
So far I’ve been talking about how flavoring is applied to flavored coffee, either by flavoring oil or by syrup. The final issue is dietetic in nature – sugar (and calories) or no sugar.
Flavoring oils have the clear advantage here, imparting scent and flavoring without any sweetening agent. Flavored coffees prepared with flavoring oils are suitable for both diabetics and dieters. Flavoring oils usually add less than five calories to the coffee.
Flavored syrups are another story. There are definitely sugars and calories added here, as much as 100 calories and 24 grams of sugar per fluid ounce. Your usage will determine the final calorie count.
The good news for diabetics and dieters is that sugar free syrups are available. For example, Monin, a major manufacturer of coffee syrups, offers a small line of sugar free syrups, boasting zero sugars and zero calories. They use Splenda as a sweetening agent. Other examples abound.
For some however sugar free solutions just don’t work. Personally, I can taste aspartame and other artificial sweeteners. I don’t enjoy the taste. If you’re like that then moderation is the rule.
Drink up and enjoy the flavors.
Flavored coffee has been around for hundreds of years. It probably started with the addition of spices to coffee to make it more palatable.
Today there is an abundance of natural and artificial flavoring oils to produce a panoply of flavored coffees never imagined before.
But not everyone wants someone else deciding what flavor combinations go into their gourmet coffee or want their gourmet coffee flavored every time. For those who want to control the flavor experience the alternative is flavored coffee syrups.
Coffee syrups give the individual coffee drinker control over the flavor of each cup. You need more Amaretto flavoring this morning, go ahead, it’s your choice. (Flavored Coffees are designed to give a consistent experience from cup to cup.)
For the flavored coffee drinker it’s a world of choices – flavored during the roasting process or flavored to your taste for each cup. Either way you get a great cup of gourmet coffee. Enjoy!
One of the popular niches in the gourmet coffee world is flavored coffee. Coffee is a bitter drink and a small population of hardy few drink it “black.” For some it’s added creamer or sugar, for others it’s flavoring, that takes the edge off and adds to the gourmet coffee experience.
Coffee flavoring is done right after the roasting process when the coffee beans are most porous. Flavor oils are added to the coffee prior to grinding so they can saturate the bean and provide an even flavor experience over all the beans.
Once ground and brewed the flavoring is then spread evenly from cup to cup providing a consistent drinking experience.
While natural flavor oils are available most flavored coffees use artificial flavoring oils as they usually provide a better saturation of the roasted coffee.
Just like coffee blending, this is another way that roast masters practice the art of bringing you great gourmet coffee. The palate of available flavors allow for taste combinations that the coffee alone may not offer.
The purists may never go there, but you can enjoy a world of amazing gourmet flavored coffees.
Drink up and good health.