One of my favorite types of candy is the infamous Jelly Belly. I especially like the popcorn and coffee flavors of course. I’m not sure why, but the popcorn seems to be the most identifiable flavor of all. But that’s candy, not coffee.
I’ve recently been asked if I sell any “flavored coffee”. “My husband just loves hazelnut coffee,” said one potential patron. While I do enjoy a good caramel macchiato on occasion; I do find it very difficult to add flavoring to fresh roasted coffee. For me the caramel flavoring helps dissolve the burnt coffee offered at the corner coffee shop.
What most people fail to realize is that coffee is very flavorful, and cupping coffee is an art in of itself. I am just beginning to learn the various nuances of the smells and tastes of fine coffee. Recently my wife purchased an iced coffee from a well known fast food restaurant. She told me that something just wasn’t right about it. I took a sip. It had a great flavor and plenty of sugar and chocolate, but I could taste a small trace of alkaline in her cup. Once I told her, she could recognize it. Should coffee really taste like the tip of a 9 volt battery covered in chocolate?
I have made a conscience decision to not sell flavored or altered forms of coffee in my roasting business. The main reason is that once you have fresh roasted coffee there is nothing that compares to the already flavorful taste. There are so many variables of flavor in any single origin of coffee, that it would be a waste in my opinion to mask the true taste. Flavored coffee is a lie in of itself as it is merely masking poor quality coffee while still promoting high priced brew. It’s just as bad as soaking a tough steak in a chemical based tenderizer.
Wake up and really smell the coffee! Flavored coffee is a bait and switch. It may look good, smell good and be drinkable; however it’s still not what your pallet could truly afford. I challenge you to stop drinking stale, flavored brew and see what fresh roasted coffee could do for you.
Brandon Gott
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