Espresso lends itself perfectly to all kinds of preparation, from desserts to different types of beverages, and playing with flavourings and spices can be truly exciting in terms of taste. Flavoured coffee has now become a fashion in our country, and there are bars and cafés that offer a rich assortment of spiced coffees, flavoured with cocoa or essences.
By spiced coffee we mean an espresso made with lightly roasted beans and the addition of selected spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, chilli, mint, cloves and nutmeg. But there are no limits to imagination and taste, so it is also possible to try variations with rosewater, cognac or citrus fruits.
Different systems can be used to flavour coffee. You can prepare it freshly, by adding the spices directly into the lever coffee machine, or you can flavour the beans beforehand in a tightly sealed container. A rather quick system is to add the essential oil directly into the cup and let it blend with the aromatic notes of the coffee.
However, since we know about coffee, we suggest that you do not give up the convenience of preparing it with a coffee machine, inviting you to discover the right coffee machine for you. This is because spicy coffee is not only a barista’s prerogative but can easily be prepared at home, managing each step according to your own taste.
The important thing is to arm yourself with inventiveness and obtain the main ingredients: coffee – preferably an Arabica blend – cinnamon, cardamom, cocoa powder, star anise and vanilla.
As for the doses, there are no precise indications, but they should be calibrated according to the result you want to obtain. Let’s find out how flavoured coffee is prepared, and which are the most delicious recipes.
Spiced or flavoured coffee: what it is and how it comes about
Flavoured coffee is a coffee-based beverage to which a flavouring of your selection of spices, syrups and products such as chocolate, liqueurs or milk is added.
Although the fashion for preparing espresso in extravagant or particularly elaborate ways has recently broken out, spiced coffee has existed for many years. In Arab countries and India, the use of spices has been widespread for millennia and coffee could hardly be exempt from this custom. In the Middle East, it is common for coffee to be accompanied by cinnamon or cardamom, two fragrant spices that immediately give the impression of being in some exotic destination.
In South America it is commonly served with a sprinkling of vanilla, nutmeg and cloves. In many cases, thanks to the addition of spices, there is no need to sweeten the drink, which is still sweet and pleasant to sip.
In countries where spiced coffee is part of the tradition, it is customary to drink it slowly in order to distinguish each of the aromas. The infusion should not be taken when it is too hot, but one has to wait until the residue runs out at the bottom of the pot.
Just as there are different ways of extracting coffee, there are also different ways of flavouring coffee: you can choose to flavour the coffee while the powder is in the pot, when the coffee is brewing or after pouring the drink into the cup.
The procedure that gives the beans the most flavour, however, is to place them in a tightly sealed jar together with your favourite aromas. In this way, the beans absorb the organoleptic properties of the chosen spices, and their flavour is intense.
For the process to have the desired effect, the beans must still be hot, as the heat increases the porosity of the surface.
How do you prepare flavoured coffee at home?
If your senses have been overwhelmed by a new flavour while in a café or you have decided to experiment with the extraordinary properties of spices, you can easily prepare flavoured coffee at home by imitating some of the ways of preparing coffee at the bar.
There are three ways to prepare flavoured coffee at home:
- coffee flavoured with spice powder;
- coffee flavoured with extracts in drops;
- additions to the flavoured coffee.
Using powdered spices is very simple and gives you the opportunity to surprise your palate with pleasant and healthy combinations. Cinnamon, cardamom, chilli and cocoa powder are the most popular ones, but spiced coffee at home can also be prepared with aniseed, nutmeg, saffron, rosewater and cloves.
Flavouring espresso with spices is simple: just add the spices to the coffee powder before inserting the arm. This process only requires the utmost care when cleaning, which must be done immediately to remove any residue from the filter.
If you prefer to enrich your coffee with liquid aromas, you can resort to extracts in ampoules. The most popular ones are vanilla and orange, which must be dosed well so as not to excessively alter the taste of the espresso. In this case, a couple of drops can be added directly into the cup.
Coffee additions are one of the most delicious solutions, as they consist of mixing coffee with chocolate, hazelnut cream, cream or various liqueurs. Those who have tasted the delicious hazelnut coffee served in Naples will certainly opt for this system, on the borderline between drink and dessert. To prepare the flavoured coffee with additives, coffee is taken out of the coffee machine and immediately mixed with chocolate, or any other chosen ingredient. The heat of the cup melts the chocolate and enhances the flavours, liqueurs or creams.
Flavoured coffee: recipes and tips
With a little imagination, coffee can turn into an extraordinary base for testing out preparations of all kinds. The classic ingredients with which to flavour espresso are cinnamon and chocolate, but below you will find a long list of flavoured coffee recipes with which you can indulge according to your preferences.
Cocoa and Cinnamon Coffee
The ingredients needed for this recipe are coffee powder, cocoa powder and cinnamon, either powdered or in sticks.
The drink is prepared by putting the powders directly into the filter together with the coffee: you put some of the coffee, add a pinch of cocoa and cinnamon, cover with more coffee powder and compact everything with the press.
Spiced coffee
This variant is made with a mix of spices – cardamom seeds, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, vanilla, nutmeg – which is added to the filter together with the coffee powder. The result is a rich, aromatic drink that leaves a unique flavour on the palate.
Sicilian-style coffee
From the skilful mixture of coffee, cinnamon, cloves, cocoa powder and grappa comes the Sicilian style coffee. The drink is flavoured in two stages: the coffee blend, clove and cinnamon are put into the coffee machine. Then grappa and cocoa powder are added to the espresso. No sugar is used for sweetening, but honey.
Chocolate spiced coffee with milk
For the spiced coffee drink with milk, it is necessary to boil the milk in a saucepan, together with sugar, dark chocolate and cinnamon. In the espresso machine, meanwhile, the coffee mixture with the cloves, nutmeg, cardamom and peppercorns is inserted. Once ready, the milk and coffee should be combined and gently stirred before consumption.
Parisian coffee
It is coffee and milk boiled with cocoa powder and vanilla.
The drink can be enriched with whipped cream.
Spiced coffee with vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg
This is a way to gently flavour the espresso and give it an oriental flavour. Basically, you place the coffee powder in an airtight jar with the spice of your choice and let it sit for a few days. You can use vanilla berries, nutmeg or cinnamon sticks, which should be removed after about three days.
Cognac and cinnamon coffee
For this drink, you need: sugar, cinnamon sticks, fresh whipping cream, cognac, orange peel. The preparation is slightly more demanding than for other types of proper coffee, but it is worth it. First heat the cognac with the sugar, cinnamon stick and orange peel. In the meantime, the cream is whipped and placed in the refrigerator.
Before starting the espresso machine, large cups or glasses are prepared, into which the cognac is poured, followed by the coffee. The cream must be added slowly so that it does not go flat. Everything should be topped with a sprinkling of cinnamon and cocoa.
Mint and chilli flavoured coffee
Although a frightening combination, mint, chilli and coffee have a harmonious and pleasant effect. Neither flavour overpowers the other but simply leaves a spicy and fresh touch on the palate. Dried mint leaves must be placed in a jar together with dried chilli pepper and coffee beans for a few days. Finally, you have to reduce the ingredients to a fine powder, which will be added to the coffee powder inside the filter.
Spiced coffee with ginger, cardamom and pepper
To add flavour to the coffee powder, you can prepare a mix with cloves, black pepper, cardamom, aniseed, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger, which you reduce to a powder.
After grinding the spices, add them to the coffee powder and keep it in a tightly sealed jar.
Hazelnut and vanilla coffee
Vanilla is one of the aromas that goes best with coffee. To prepare this delicacy, grind some coffee beans together with hazelnuts and place everything in a jar, together with a vanilla pod. After a few minutes you can add it all to the coffee powder.
Star anise digestive coffee
To obtain a drink with strong digestive power, a pinch of star anise is added to the coffee, directly in the filter.
Pink pepper coffee
With a spicy and strong flavour, pink pepper coffee is prepared by adding a few slivers of dark chocolate directly into the coffee cup, together with pink pepper.
Creole coffee
To prepare this tasty flavoured coffee variant, you will need the following ingredients: coffee powder, nutmeg, 1 clove, 1 piece of cinnamon, a few vanilla seeds. These ingredients should be added to the coffee left in a bain-marie, keeping it infused for a few minutes. After this short time, the coffee will finally be ready to be filtered and served.
Cinnamon-orange coffee
To flavour coffee with cinnamon and orange, all you need is cinnamon together with some orange blossom. The first ingredient must be mixed with the coffee and placed in the filter of the moka filter. For the addition of the orange blossom, on the other hand, you will have to wait until the coffee is ready, at which point you can complete the work with the latter ingredient, together with half a tablespoon of water.
Rum-flavoured coffee
If you love strong flavours, then rum flavoured coffee is exactly what you need. Preparing it, moreover, is really easy as you only need the following ingredients: half a cup of dark rum, 1 cinnamon stick in pieces, 6 whole cloves and 4 cups of coffee. You will then have to mix them into the boiling coffee and leave it to stand for at least 2 hours, at the end of which you will have obtained a fantastic coffee flavoured with your favourite liqueur!
Cocconut coffee
A much milder flavour is instead that of coconut coffee, which is the result of an excellent mix of coffee powder, vanilla and coconut milk. These ingredients are mixed together and, within a few minutes, you will have obtained a coffee with an intense and very sweet aroma.
Fig-flavoured coffee
The fig-flavoured coffee involves a more demanding preparation, but all in all absolutely feasible. These are the ingredients for 4 cups: 2 fresh figs, Amaretto (almond liqueur), 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cloves, 1 pinch of cardamom, 1 pinch of nutmeg, 40 g brown sugar.
The first thing you have to do is cut the figs in half and marinate them in Amaretto for 15 minutes. When they are ready, mix them with the rest of the ingredients and cook for 5 minutes, at the end of which you can add the coffee and distribute it in 4 cups. If you like, you can also garnish it with a drop of amaretto.
Tips and tricks for perfect flavoured coffee
To flavour coffee, it is not necessary to have a great deal of experience or even specific tools. Coffee beans are porous and easily absorb the aroma of the substances they come into contact with, so all you need to do is choose top-quality ingredients to obtain an excellent drink.
The first element to focus on is the espresso machine, which must be able to extract the best from the mix of spices and coffee powder in the filter. The freshness of the coffee is also of prime importance, as freshly roasted beans are more permeable to external substances.
One of the factors that particularly affect the freshness of coffee is proper storage. Therefore, it is always best to use airtight containers to store coffee powder or flavour beans.
If you value your coffee container, it is important for you to be aware that some materials retain odours for a long time and may remain impregnated with the flavour of coffee and spices for a long time.
Those who prefer flavours to spices can also experiment with other flavoured coffee recipes and select the one they prefer. Over time, it is very satisfying to prepare syrups and extracts at home, so that you can manage the entire process yourself. It is obvious that this requires time and manual skill, but the result can be really satisfying.
Conclusion
For espresso purists, hearing about coffee flavouring or spiced coffee is almost an affront. There are those who like to savour the full notes of the drink, savouring every single scent of the freshly roasted beans. Indeed, coffee is already rich in flavours and constitutes an intense journey through fruity, earthy, ripe or harsher notes that needs no further addition.
However, indulging in experimentation can lead to delicious discoveries. Coffee flavoured with chocolate or enriched with cinnamon or caramel is really something to try, not so much to change one’s drinking habits, but to assess how many valid alternatives one can offer the palate.
At Pontevecchio, we are of the opinion that espresso can be declined according to taste, the important thing is that it is extraordinarily good. Therefore, our company always aims to offer the best, both in terms of materials and process.
The special feature of the lever coffee machine is that it succeeds in enhancing any taste note while maintaining the characteristics of the blend perfectly intact. So, whether you are in the mood for a pure espresso or a flavoured coffee, this type of machine is the best choice.
After all, it is no secret that if you want to drink good coffee, you should do it with the right machine! Check out our lever coffee machine models and you will immediately find the one that best suits the way you take your coffee.