When you’re looking for a way to switch up your ordinary coffee routine, flavored coffees are a perfect solution. Their growing popularity has led to an influx of diverse and slightly ridiculous flavors that range from gourmet desserts to classic standbys.
From coconut and hazelnut to chocolate and blueberry, let’s take a look at the best flavored coffees you can use to spice up your next cup of Joe.
The Best Flavored Coffee 2023
Lifeboost Coffee- Smoky Butterscotch
If you love creamy, rich coffee you will love Lifeboost’s Smoky Butterscotch coffee. This coffee is created using Irish cream butter and natural brown sugar oil extract. A sip of this delicious brew will bring back all those nostalgic flavors of butterscotch candy. Lifeboost’s Smoky Butterscotch is a medium roasted coffee with a hint of smokiness that perfectly balances out the cup. The coffee is flavored using natural essential oils to extract a rich flavor without any calories.
Lifeboost’s coffee is shade grown in Nicaragua with the utmost care. All of their coffee is fair trade and certified organic. The beans themselves are high quality 100% Arabica beans grown at a single origin, to produce some of the best tasting coffee.
If you are looking for high quality, organic flavored coffee give lifeboost coffee a go- they have a huge range of other flavors too; everything from gingerbread latte to pumpkin to blueberry cinnamon crumble, you are sure to find something to suit you!
Pros:
Cons:
Bones Coffee Company – Strawberry Cheesecake
You can enjoy the flavor of this popular dessert guilt-free and dairy-free with Bones Coffee Company’s Strawberry Cheesecake coffee. The crisp and fruity flavor fuses well with the 100% Brazilian Arabica bean base.
This medium roast with low acidity works perfectly for anyone looking for a balanced and smooth coffee. While brewing, you’ll enjoy a delicious fruity aroma that helps boost the taste.
You can feel confident purchasing from Bones Coffee Company thanks to their commitment to ethical sourcing. This company focuses on small-batch roasting and packaging in the United States for freshness, and as a bonus, their packaging adds a bit of fun to your daily coffee break.
Pros:
Cons:
Seattle’s Best Coffee – Toasted Hazelnut Flavored Coffee
Hazelnut is a classic flavor for coffee, and this option doesn’t disappoint with a full, nutty taste. Throughout the roasting process, Seattle’s Best checks the beans three times to ensure the highest quality of flavor.
This particular hazelnut option contains 100% Arabica beans sourced from Latin America. These beans’ medium roast provides a smooth flavor that acts as an excellent base for adding cream, sugar, or milk.
Brewing this coffee will turn your home into a café with a light yet earthy aroma that completes the entire experience.
Pros:
Cons:
New England Coffee – Blueberry Cobbler Medium Roast Ground Coffee
New England Coffee has been roasting gourmet coffee at an affordable price for over 100 years. Made from 100% Arabica beans from Africa and Central and South America, this Blueberry Cobbler flavor tastes wonderfully sweet, blending well with the sharpness of the coffee beans. You also get a hint of spice to mellow out the sweetness.
For buyers with food sensitivities or requirements, this product is gluten-free and certified Kosher. New England Coffee roasts its beans in small batches and grinds them while still fresh for superior flavor.
As you brew this coffee, your kitchen will fill with a delightful blueberry aroma that smells just like a bakery. The final product mixes well with cream, sugar, or milk but tastes great on its own, too.
This company also has plenty of other flavors if you want to explore taste combinations like hazelnut crème or chocolate cappuccino.
Pros:
Cons:
Cameron’s Specialty Coffee – Highlander Grog Flavored Whole Bean Coffee
Founded in 1978, Cameron’s Specialty Coffee focuses on flavor and sustainable sourcing in their handcrafted coffees. This light roast made from 100% Arabica beans features the complementary rich flavors of rum and butterscotch with vanilla and caramel notes for a smooth finish.
This company uses 100% Arabica beans picked from the top 10% of coffee beans worldwide, so you always get the highest quality product. Plus, Cameron’s Specialty Coffee pays special attention during their small-batch roasting process to prevent over-roasting that can lead to a bitter aftertaste.
You can also choose from many other Cameron’s Coffee flavors, including chocolate caramel brownie and caramel crème.
Pros:
Cons:
Volcanica Coffee Company – Chocolate Crème Brûlée Whole Bean Coffee
Here’s a 100% whole Arabica bean option that brings you all of the sweet flavors of a delectable Crème Brûlée with the addition of full chocolate notes. The whole bean version of this coffee lends a fresher and richer taste and allows you to grind them to your preference.
All of Volcanica’s beans come from volcanic environments where they grow on farms located at least 3,000 feet above sea level. The volcanic soil and cool climate, along with the elevation, result in more flavorful beans.
To ensure your purchase is as fresh as possible, Volcanica roasts their beans to order every time.
Pros:
Cons:
Dunkin’ – French Vanilla Ground Coffee
Enjoy your favorite Dunkin’ coffee from home with this timeless French Vanilla flavored ground coffee. Many coffee companies offer vanilla flavors, but Dunkin’ is home to one of the most popular.
This blend comes from 100% Arabica beans that meet Dunkin’s strict standards for growing and picking. With this balanced medium roast, your coffee will never taste too sweet. Instead, you get a decadent flavor that works with hot or iced coffee.
Pros:
Cons:
Kauai Hawaiian – Coconut Caramel Crunch
Kauai Hawaiian is Hawaii’s largest coffee grower, with four million trees across 3,100 acres. They began growing coffee in 1987 and now offer a variety of flavors, including this Coconut Caramel Crunch, that transports you right to paradise.
This unique flavor features 100% Arabica coffee, including 10% Hawaiian beans that capture the island’s vibrant flavors. The coconut and caramel flavors offer a nutty, smooth, and tropical taste sure to please anyone with a sweet tooth.
Pros:
Cons:
The Final Verdict- The Best Flavored Coffee?
The next time you decide to experiment with your coffee routine, consider any one of the best flavored coffee options from this roundup. They’re so delicious and diverse that it’s hard to choose a clear winner.
If you are looking for a high quality, organic flavored coffee we highly recommend Lifeboost’s Smoky Butterscotch coffee. This is a smooth, rich drink reminiscent of Butterscotch candies. Or if you are after a more sweet, fruity blend Bones Coffee Company’s Strawberry Cheesecake coffee powered by natural flavors is a great choice. You get all of the sugary flavor and fruity aroma of traditional strawberry cheesecake in a guilt-free cup of coffee. Volcanica’s Crème Brûlée is another tasty dessert-based choice with a lush taste.
If you prefer more traditional flavors, Dunkin’s French Vanilla and Seattle’s Best Coffee’s Toasted Hazelnut are excellent choices for adding a bit of sweetness or nuttiness to your java.
No matter which flavor you try first, each of these products brings unique taste combinations to coffee, enhancing the brewing and drinking experience. You may even find that you prefer your coffee with a little flavor boost. If you’re not ready to take the dive yet, check out our guide to the best ground coffee for some other great brands.
Buying Guide
What Is Flavored Coffee?
While flavored coffee may seem like a new trend the idea has actually been around for centuries. In ancient times people used to add things like spices, nuts, and berries to their coffee to flavor it. Nowadays, with the advances in technology, we are able to add flavorings to the coffee beans themselves before brewing. Flavored coffee is a healthier option to flavoring your coffee rather than adding sugar-filled coffee syrups or creamers to your brew.
How Is Flavored Coffee Made?
To flavor coffee, producers add flavored oils to the coffee beans. These oils can be natural or synthetic with natural ones coming from sources like cocoa beans, vanilla, fruits, and nuts. Spices are another common way of enhancing the flavor of the coffee. Popular ones include cinnamon and clove.
The flavor usually gets added to the beans after roasting, but before grinding. The beans are cooled after roasting (so the high temperature doesn’t destroy the flavoring). The flavored oil is then poured slowly over the beans while they are being gently agitated, until the beans are completely coated.
Is Flavored Coffee Bad For You?
When flavoring coffee the roaster generally adds them chemical propylene glycol to the beans to help bind the flavoring compounds to the coffee bean. When choosing a flavored coffee, you may want to check the propylene glycol content.
While propylene glycol is a common food additive, in high quantities it can be harmful, though food authorities in the U.S. report that it’s safe to use in food production. The amount used to flavor coffee is minimal and unlikely to cause any problems.
If you are not a fan of additive chemicals, a good alternative to pre-flavored beans is flavored syrups, however these tend to have a lot of sugar in them.
What Should I Look For In A Flavored Coffee?
Naturally Flavored vs Artificially Flavored Coffee
The best coffee flavors use only natural flavors. Natural flavors are extracted from a natural source eg using vanilla beans or hazelnuts to flavor the coffee. In comparison artificial flavors are made in a lab, however the actual aromatic compound added is usually identical to the natural one. Naturally flavored coffees are typically more expensive than those with artificial flavors. Generally, most flavored coffees are a combination of both artificial and natural flavors.
Beans
You might also consider investigating the type of beans used. Most roasters use blends rather than single origins in flavored coffees, as these have a more balanced taste that matches well with all manner of added flavors. The best tasting coffee brands use a 100% Arabica blend. Some manufacturers use lower quality beans and try to mask the bad coffee by drowning it in flavor, these cheap flavored coffee brands should be avoided.
Roast
Lastly, look into the roasting process of the company. In general the best tasting coffee brands practice small-batch roasting and perform quality checks throughout the process. A good sign is if the date of roasting is printed on the packaging, so you can make sure your beans are fresh.
You can also look at the roasting level of the beans. Light roasted beans generally have mild flavors and bright acidity. They work well with fruity, floral flavor profiles. Medium roasted beans have more balanced flavor and acidity with caramel-y notes. Most Flavored beans are medium roasted as these work well and don’t overpower the different flavorings added. Dark roasted beans produce a rich, full bodied brew with more chocolaty and nutty notes.
FAQs
Are you still hesitant to try flavored coffee? Take a look at our answers to these frequently asked questions to learn more.
What are the different coffee flavors available
There are seven general categories of additives used to flavor coffee; fruit, nuts, spice, vanilla, chocolate, caramel and distilled spirits. Most coffee flavors are a combination of these.
These days there is a huge array of different flavored coffees available from your traditional coffee flavors such as vanilla, hazelnut, caramel or chocolate to your more wacky synthetic flavors such as pumpkin, peanut butter, amaretto or maple bacon coffee.
Does flavored coffee have sugar or calories?
No, flavored coffee beans have no added calories or sugar in them. This makes them a lot healthier option than adding flavored syrups or creamers to your drinks. Flavored coffee is also Keto Friendly.
