Here's How Flavored Coffee Is Made

Most bags of coffee beans list their flavor notes, such as cherry, honey, or dark chocolate. These aren't added ingredients but rather the natural flavors that occur during the coffee washing and roasting processes. But there's also flavored coffee. In these bags, producers add extra notes beyond what's present in the beans, either during or after roasting. As you can imagine, coffee purists turn their noses up at many flavored coffees. The best high-end coffee roasters argue that added flavors are only there to cover up the faults of low-quality beans. And the inability to tell exactly how a roaster adds flavor to their beans gives others pause. 

And that's fair, as it's not always easy to tell. Roasters can flavor coffee with either artificially flavored oils and extracts or with natural ingredients. The former is more popular, and unfortunately, some brands are more upfront on the packaging about the methods they use than others.

Big brands like Dunkin' often use artificial additives to achieve flavors like hazelnut, caramel, and candied almond. Some simply dump flavored syrup into a bag of roasted beans and mix to coat.

But other brands reach for more natural methods. They may add whole spices, fruits, nuts, or other natural flavorings, either during the roast or immediately thereafter. Roasters can also infuse the flavor more slowly by allowing the roasted beans to sit alongside the flavoring for a while. The aromas naturally absorb into the beans over time. You can even do this at home with unflavored beans you buy. It's one of the many DIY ways to give your coffee a flavor boost.

The lack of transparency from many roasters about how they add flavor to their beans can make it tricky to discern what you're buying. But if you source your favorite flavored beans from an independent roaster, it's worth asking about its process.