10 Odd Ingredients to Put in Your Coffee

We all love a black, simple cup of coffee, and we can always indulge in the sugar and cream for giving it a sweet touch. But have you ever tried to get out of your comfort zone by adding other flavors to the equation?

Today That Coffee Roasters examines 10 ingredients guaranteed to add extra flavor to your coffee, this will help you discover even more interesting and exotic coffee mixes that will delight your taste buds. We hope you give some of them a try.

10) Cardamom: Give your morning coffee an exotic touch by adding this Middle Eastern spice to your brew, which will also act as a neutralizer for the effects of caffeine. Cardamom was also commonly used in Ayurvedic medicine to improve the mood, reduce pain, and induce a calm state of mind. If that’s not enough, it can also help stimulate the appetite and help settle your stomach. The Spice that dreams are made of.

09) Eggs: Culture plays a role in the matter of coffee recipes. Scandinavian egg coffee is a traditional drink in some parts of Scandinavia, Norway, and even the American Midwest. It’s made just by mixing a whole raw egg into coffee grounds, then boiling it all together in water. This results in a separation of the coffee grounds and the water, free of sediment or cloudiness. Straining it results in an amber-colored brew that is slightly bitter and that still contains all of the essential oils from the coffee beans.

08) Ice cream: This is a must. Ice Cream is the perfect substitute for cream and sugar, making your coffee that much sweeter and adding a creamy texture to it.

07) Coconut oil: Coconut oil is used for a myriad of purposes, so adding it to your coffee doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Experts maintain that coconut oil enhances coffee, making it taste better and coming along with many health benefits. A spoonful of this oil will help speed up your metabolism and boost your immune system.

06) Oatmeal: Breakfast and coffee served all together. Adding raw oatmeal to your hot cup of coffee until the oatmeal is cooked through is a way of improving your breakfast. Add cinnamon, honey, or sugar for some sweetness.

05) Lime/Lemon: As odd as it might sound, this one is delicious. Give your morning brew a dash of acidity by throwing in a piece of fresh lemon or lime peel. The peel will get rid of the bitter flavors of your coffee and enhance its natural sweetness.

04) Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract is a great replacement for any artificial sweeteners or sugars that you would often use in your coffee, especially if it’s pure. Just adding a few drops of the extract will sweeten your brew and put additional flavor minus all the fake preservatives in commercial flavor syrups.

03) Condensed milk: If you try this, you might as well forget about milk and cream. Sweetened condensed milk put into your coffee will make it so much sweeter and creamier; with this, you will need no extra sugar. A traditional drink in Vietnam, it’s quite easy to make and also cheaper than any of the lattes at most coffee shops.

02) Nutmeg: If you’d like a hint of earthiness in your morning brew, you may want to consider nutmeg. Its taste is more on the sweet side, which will delight your earthy taste buds. Although, it does far better with the sense of smell, giving your coffee a sweet smell that is truly unique and one that will fill your home and heart.

01) Star anise: This is a tricky one, but perfect for licorice and coffee lovers along. When blended with specialty beans, the flavor that star anise brings to your coffee is nothing if not unique. Avoid overdoing it, though. A half a pod of anise is more than enough for a single cup of coffee. If you add too much, the licorice-like flavor will overthrow that of coffee and ruin the balance of it.

Go on and try some of these odd ingredients and let us know your opinion in the comment section; you might want to try them with the coffee grounds from That Coffee Roasters! Don’t forget to contact us to get the best-roasted coffee, made with exclusive blends, just to fit your needs.

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That Coffee Roasters

Phone Number: (305) 821-8811

2697 W. 76 Street, Hialeah, Florida 33016

Facebook: That Coffee Roasters.

How to Taste Different Flavors in a Cup of Coffee

What do you look for in your cup?

Relax, we know how confusing talking about coffee can be. When people start talking about specialty coffee and how bold its body is or how acidic it tastes, all we can think about is: isn’t coffee just bitter and sometimes sweet if you add sugar? At first, we might be skeptical about how different coffee can actually be depending on its properties and origins, but once you learn to tell its nuances and qualities, a new world of flavors and contrasts will open up right in front of you.

So where do we begin? Is there a right way to drink coffee to better understand its characteristics? On today’s article, we’ll explore how we can train our senses to enjoy all that coffee truly has to offer.

The first thing you’ll need to do: forget about sugar and cream. We tend to add different ingredients to our coffee to make it sweeter, but they mask the best properties hidden behind coffee when it’s brewed pure. You’ll be able to sense more if you drink it simple and black. That’s how professionals do coffee cupping, which is the practice of tasting different brews to identify their different notes.

Exactly what will you be able to distinguish when you try it this way? Among others, you get to discover a new fragrance, aroma, sweetness, acidity, body and the aftertaste. Here’s how to find them in your cup of joe.

Fragrance perception

This part of the process is done with your dry coffee grounds, because it’s believed to be the most aromatic coffee form. Try to clear your mind and let your memories take over when smelling your grounds. This way, you’ll be able to tell if your coffee has fruity, floral or herbal notes. Once you’ve identified the predominant fragrance, you can even go further and try to specify its qualities. If it’s fruity, what kind of fruit do you smell? Is it citric like oranges or sweet peaches?

Aroma perception

This is the first time you’ll be mixing coffee with hot water, which will provoke the coffee aromas to arise. This part of the process depends heavily on how the coffee was roasted; you’ll be able to differentiate these three main categories: nutty-like notes, caramel-like notes and cocoa-like notes. The last two are typical of darker roasts and they’re perfect to take along with chocolate desserts. If, on the other hand, you sense a nutty-like aroma, then you can try to find descriptors such as almonds, peanuts or hazelnuts.

Sweetness

It’s time to taste coffee! Yes, you finally get to drink it. The first sips will let you know how sweet your coffee really is. It can actually come in different notes, such as candy-like, malty-like and fruity-like sweetness. Try to concentrate on how sweet your coffee tastes, so you can actually tell these notes apart from other coffee qualities.

Acidity

Acidity is one of the most popular qualities of coffee. Highly acidic coffees are usually light roasted and they’re perfect to accompany with fruity desserts like pies. You can tell the acidic grade of your coffee if your tongue starts to salivate once you start tasting it thoroughly. Possible descriptors include acid comparable to oranges or lemons and acid similar to green apples.

Body

We’ve reached the famous body. What are people talking about when they say coffee has a full body? It doesn’t describe too much about the taste as it does about the texture. Think about water and the way it feels inside your mouth. Now think about maple syrup, one is fuller than the other and feels heavier in your mouth, right? That’s the body of the drink! To identify this quality, take a sip and fake chew the coffee on your tongue. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Does it feel heavy like syrup or honey?
• Does it feel rugged because of small coffee ground particles?
• Is there no real feeling and it’s actually more watery?

Aftertaste

You’ve sipped your coffee all the way through, what’s left? This part of the cupping process simply refers to how much aftertaste comes with the brew? Help yourself by inhaling a little bit of air and allowing yourself to feel if there’s a strong taste left behind or if it’s gone almost completely.

Once you learn to distinguish the tones and nuances of every cup, you’ll also be able to enjoy coffee like never before. At That Coffee Roasters, part of our daily routine involves cupping and identifying our roasts qualities. It’s complex but a wonderful process, and we’re always amazed at how much some processing and farming methods can change a single drink.

What are your favorite flavors?

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That Coffee Roasters

Phone Number: (305) 821-8811

2697 W. 76 Street, Hialeah, Florida 33016

Facebook: That Coffee Roasters

Instagram: thatcoffeeroasters

Legends and Secrets Behind Coffee: The Saint Who Brought It to India

India is the world's sixth coffee-producer country.

Coffee is believed to have originated from a region in Ethiopia called Kaffa in the ninth century. And ever since it arrived at Europe's ports, it has influenced and changed millions of people’s lives. What has made it so powerful over all these years? Why does it continue to inspire such a strong devotion in so many coffee lovers all over the world? For most people, coffee is nothing but this black and strong drink that helps them to perform more efficiently during the day. But for others, it’s so, so much more. It’s a lifestyle, a career path, a passion. And, for a few others, it’s a spiritual experience. The world has many mysteries. And believe it or not, coffee has been involved in some of those legends and secrets that continue to pick our curiosity for the unknown.

We’ve already talked about how different coffee culture is everywhere in the world. Some countries have very specific rituals when it comes to brewing this beverage, others have special and unique methods for growing coffee beans, others like to accompany their coffee with what some would consider very strange ingredients. In India, coffee has a strong religious meaning and symbolism. They believe that coffee was brought to their lands by a saint. This is the story of how it came to be.

The crime that changed everything

The legend says that a Sufi saint, called Baba Budan, revered by both Muslims and Hindus, started a pilgrimage to Mecca, around 1650. Coffee had already spread all across Arabia and had reached Yemen, where Baba Budan first encountered the beverage. During the 17th century, coffee exportation was limited to roasted or baked beans, and it was illegal to transport coffee plants to other territories.

After Baba Budan ended his pilgrimage, he discovered the drink in a place called Mocha, Yemen, a port city with an exit to the Red Sea, from which he planned to make his way back home. After trying it, it is said that he was simply captivated by it and thought of the dark liquid as quite refreshing.  With a strong desire to bring coffee to his homeland, and even though it was illegal and severely punished to do it, he strapped seven coffee beans to his chest and hid them all the way to India.

The legend says he chose the number seven because of its significance in Islam tradition (it appears many times all across the Quran, in Islamic rituals and beliefs.) After successfully smuggling those coffee beans out of Yemen, he found them a perfect place for them in his backyard's soils, at his home, located on the slopes of the Chandragiri Hills in Kadur district. The coffee beans grew, spread in the vicinities and ended up claiming a set of hills called Chandra Drona. Today, they’re named Baba Budan Hills, where his tomb can be visited.

Baba Budan’s little crime started India’s multimillionaire coffee industry. India is the world’s sixth coffee producer, and its coffee is known for its delicate aroma because it usually grows away from direct sunlight. Small farmers produce most Indian coffee, and even though tea is more popular because of English influence, Indian coffee is gaining more and more territory in the industry.

Many different tales and legends tell the story of how coffee entered our lives and changed our culture. At That Coffee Roasters, we love to explore the differences and nuances of every type of coffee! Catch us up next week to learn more about coffee history, traditions, legends, and secrets!

The legend says a saint brought coffee to the country.

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That Coffee Roasters

Phone Number: (305) 821-8811

2697 W. 76 Street, Hialeah, Florida 33016

Facebook: That Coffee Roasters

Instagram: thatcoffeeroasters