My mouth always waters at the sound of a vanilla or hazelnut flavored espresso drink. And when strolling through the supermarket I've begun to notice more and more the many varieties of coffee beans available. Flavors from French roast to raspberry to chocolate... all with flashy, yummy looking labels to lure you in. But, it's only because I know better that I don't buy them.
Why Not Buy the Flavored Beans?
These beans get their flavors through oils that are added during the roasting process. If you were to purchase a package and take a look at the beans, you would notice that they are shinny and slippery. This is because of these flavor oils.
Most people wouldn't think anything of it, but if you use flavored beans in your Super Automatic espresso machine or with your home grinder, you'll be quick to notice that the constancy and quality of brew will diminish. As the beans are ground to an espresso fineness, the oils cause the grounds to be more paste-like than powdery. In a Super Automatic machine, you'll start to experience a much slower brew, or clogging of the machine. You'll have to adjust your grinder to a coarser grind more often to insure that the beans move fluently through the machine. This will diminish your brew quality, thus wasting the money that you've spent on these seemingly scrumptious beans.
Flavor and Quality Combined
Instead, I would recommend purchasing a nice medium roast or blended roast bean like our Lavazza Super Crema. This bean will always grind up nice and give you the smooth, bold flavor that you're looking for. Then for the added kick of flavor, look into our Monin syrups.
When using a home grinder to grind these flavored beans, the oils of the beans will stick to the inside of the grinder and burrs and you will always have a hint of this flavor. You'll get the taste that you crave, without the added headache of grinder adjustments or additional clean up.
Next time you are out and about and need a coffee, watch the Baristas at your local cafe. You'll notice that they add syrup to your cappuccino or latte and do not use flavored beans in their grinders. With that said, when adding the flavor after brewing you can make all kinds creative coffee drinks. Bon-appetit!