Flavoured coffees.

[M.J.E.]

    Hallo.  Im new here, but have already posted a bit on iced coffee, which is my favourite form of coffee.

    Id like to ask another question now.  Does anyone here like flavoured coffee?  I mean coffee which has added to it flavours like chocolate, hazelnut, cinnamon, vanilla, peppermint, caramel, and so on.
    Are these quite popular, or looked down on a bit?  Does anyone know when and where this idea originated?
    Also, what other flavours can be found?  I would be interested to hear what other flavours are found sometimes.  The ones I just listed seem to to be the main ones Ive found, but Ive occasionally found other odd ones like Banana Nut Cream (discontinued by the one shop where I found it because it didnt sell well).
    Also, I know only two places in Victoria where you can get flavoured coffees. You can buy packets of several flavours, ground if you want.  Only one shop is within a reasonable distance, the other (much the better one) being a couple of hundred miles away.  Im sure there must be many others, but I just dont know where they are.
The very first place I found flavoured coffee was at a café in Murray Bridge in South Australia about 5 years ago. But, at over 400 miles away, thats a bit too far for me to have gone to again.
    Im not sure if it is permitted on this forum to mention particular shops where you can get particular types of coffee.  If it is, I would like to recommend the more remote place in Victoria where Ive bought flavoured coffee, and I would also like to hear anyone elses recommendations for where to get flavoured coffee in or near Melbourne or nearby towns.
    If particular places cant be mentioned, can indirect suggestions be given about how to find it?
    Thanks.

                        Regards,
                         Michael.

[t30sxh]

Re: Flavoured coffees.

I was given some hazelnut coffee a couple of years back, me and the mrs tried a cup, then binned it...it wasnt to our tastes. I like coffee to be coffee flavoured.

[TC]

Re: Flavoured coffees.

Gross, I reckon...

Find the cheapest nastiest floor sweepings coffee you can buy and then add cheap nasty flavour essence to it.

Great, fresh coffee has its own flavour  :-?

If it has to be flavoured, better to add a syrup to it...

[acoggins]

Re: Flavoured coffees.

Hey Michael,

If you want some coffee with flavour, do yourself a favour, treat yourself to some ethiopian coffees - high quality. You simply wont believe that theres no added flavours, some of them have strong resemblances to things like berries and rock fruits. Theyre amazing.

Coffees with flavours added to them simply dont compare with some of the beautiful coffees available from high quality farms around the world.

Although adding flavours to coffee might sound nice, I just havent ever liked it. Pre-snob days or post.

[M.J.E.]

Re: Flavoured coffees.

    Well - I half wondered whether this query would get these kinds of responses.  It appears flavoured coffees tend not to be much liked by many.  But I suppose they come in good and poor quality, just like standard coffee does.
    Evidently I am not a coffee snob (not meaning that as a put-down to those who might be, but simply observing that obviously I am not purist about this), since if I like something, I really dont see what the problem is with it.  Just because you like vanilla ice-cream on some occasions neednt prevent you from enjoying chocolate or strawberry or orange ice-cream, or whatever, on other occasions - if you really do like those others in addition.
    Quite possibly I have missed out on really great coffee that is just coffee-flavoured.  I will look out for those Ethiopian ones suggested and see what I think.

Regards,
 Michael.

[Thundergod]

Re: Flavoured coffees.

Michael you can find "differently flavoured" coffees just by trying different coffees.
Some coffees exhibit flavours like chocolate or caramel or fruits as already mentioned.
All this is natural and brought out by the roasting process.
No need for any additives.

As coffee is a natural product would you want to add something artificial to it?

[au_d2]

Re: Flavoured coffees.

Hello Michael,

If I can give you this analogy:  

Think of a person who has only ever drunk cask wine,  they love wine, XYZ bottleshop down the road has just released cleanskin wines, and flavoured wines .. This person loves them too.  

He then comes along to FineWine Forum group and starts saying how much he loves wine



When we say that there are amazing qualities of Coffee, from different origins/varieties and even differences from farm to farm, altitude grown etc etc   We are talking of the subtleties in flavour.  This is what we as Coffeesnobs are persuing.

There is heaps of information contained in this and many other forums, but if you want something in you hands and visual . I highly recommend the new book (Magazine style) The Home Coffee Machine Review  available in BeanBay  http://beanbay.coffeesnobs.com.au/ViewProduct.aspx?ID=330
At $24.00  I believe its a must have.

This will certainly help in your appreciation of the little brown bean.

[M.J.E.]

Re: Flavoured coffees.

I respond with slight trepidation, sensing that Im not really in very popular territory here, although clearly the topic has been raised now.

Im not into wine, in the sense that, although I very occasionally have a glass with my meal, I have not gone into wine even in the very slight way I have done with coffee; so I dont quite understand the analogy about cask wine, cleanskins, and so on. Im not sure about cleanskins, but I gather cask is considered pretty routine, if not inferior.
But, continuing the analogy, if I were on a fine wine forum and someone said they liked something widely considered poor-quality, I would just assume that either they just havent ever tasted anything better, or they just happen to like the cheaper wine. Either way, I would have no problem with that. Although I do appreciate the helpful suggestions, I am feeling Ive made a bit of a faux pas here by raising the topic of flavoured coffee and admitting that I enjoy it, in addition to good standard coffee.
Thanks for the suggestion about the book; Ill look for it.
Quite likely my palate is not subtle enough to discriminate between the different natural flavours of coffee, and that may be one reason the artificial flavours appeal to me. Whether time will change that, I dont know. That may be a much more advanced level of connoisseurship (if thats a word), and clearly I am not nearly at that level yet.

Regards,
Michael.

[cuppacoffee]

Re: Flavoured coffees.


Hah, dont feel bad Michael.

I continually try coffee in all sorts of ways - chewed, cupping, espresso, plunger, aeropress, piccolo, latte, soy (recent convert from vitasoy to bonsoy), decaf, long black, machiatto, cappuccino, etc. and yes, with syrups too!

How else am I going to know what my customers experience in the cup?

[Koffee_Kosmo]

Re: Flavoured coffees.

I have used syrups before but for some reason they clash with coffee

I do however like flavoured syrups with hot or steamed milk
I currently have at my disposal
Alchemy brand syrups in hazelnut & vanilla flavours

KK

[Thundergod]

Re: Flavoured coffees.

Quite likely my palate is not subtle enough to discriminate between the different natural flavours of coffee

Michael I dont consider my palate anything exceptional.
My wife can detect more subtle nuances in coffee than me and Im always asking her opinion on how the coffees I roast and make taste.

I can taste a few more differences that I could at first.
This has been because of some training and also drinking a lot of coffee while looking for those nuances.

You like what you like.
Thats the way it is.
What you like may change.
Some people on this coffee journey find something they like better than what they drank before and wont go back.
Others expand their experiences like Dennis just mentioned by trying coffee in many different ways.
Each to their own at their own pace.