When brewing coffee, what can I add to the coffee grains to make it taste gourmet?

Answer 1

Ground Cinnamon

Answer 2

There are several things you can do to make the coffee taste "gourmet" but that depends on a few things. Do you want gourmet to mean "with a hint of spice" a la ground cinammon, orange peel, etc. or do you want it to mean "sweet addition" such as caramel, cane sugar, chocolate or cocoa (on a side note, I sometimes drop a lindt truffle into a hot coffee, this is a great way to give a hint of dark chocolate to the flavor. The Chocolate stays on the bottom of the mug for a melted treat at the end. You can also go the gourmet route by making the coffee presentation "fancy looking", which might entail some whipped cream, sprinkled cinammon on the glass, caramel sauce, etc. One thing to keep in mind is that no addition to the coffee will make the coffee good if it wasnt kept fresh or ground properly. Keep it fresh or grind it right away and any coffee will taste fine.
If you want to know more about how to grind, brew, of flavor coffee, these are some good sites.
http://www.ineedcoffee.com/03/brewing/
http://www.howtobrewcoffee.com/
http://baetzler.de/humor/alt_coffee_guide.html

Answer 3

The most common spice to add is cinnamon, abount 1 Tsp. for 10-12 cups. Depending on your taste, you may want to add more or less.

Anothr spice you can try is Nutmeg. Again, start with 1Tsp., and adjust for your taste.

You can also break up a vanilla bean in the grounds. Depending on your taste, you may want to add more or less bean.

Zesting orange peel into the grounds before brewing is also very good.

I've had coffee where ground cloves has been added to the ground coffee before brewing, but I think this is only good if you sweeten the coffee with sugar or honey. Since clove is such a powereful spice, you will need to experiment with the amount.

For variety, try mixing two or three of these spices, in varying combinations, for example cinnamon and orange zest.

Dropping a few peppermint or spearmint candies into the coffee after brewing, and letting them dissolve, will give it a mint flavor, but also add some sweetness.If you have a mallet, break up the candies before adding to the coffee and they will dissolve faster.

Another suggestion that I think makes all the difference is to grind your own beans, (I think there is a noticable difference in fresh ground), and use filtered water. I have a 'Brita' water filtering pitcher that I use for everything we ingest, from cooking to drinking, including coffee and tea. You may not notice the flavor of your tap water, (unless it is really bad), but if you do a side-by-side taste test of filtered water and tap water, you'll know the difference.

Answer 4

Nothing - buy gourmet coffee to begin with. Better yet... buy a coffee grinder (not expensive at all) and buy gourmet coffee whole beans. Keep the beans fresh by storing them in the freezer. Only grind enough beans for one pot at a time. Also, if you're really into gourmet coffee, get a higher quality coffee maker. My boyfriend is really into it, and he has a $2000 espresso machine, but that's really excessive!

Answer 5

You can put a dress on a pig and it's still a pig.

You can add all the flavorants you want, but if the coffee itself isn't of good quality you are just throwing good money after bad.

Gourmet coffee starts with great beans and proper preparation.

Answer 6

I agree with rainy plus do this


Salt takes away the bitter taste

If you like moca add coco but u will need to use sugar as well Try the richer darker one

If you like a punch Baileys Irish cream or Kahlua

My Grand mum liked vanilla and cream

Answer 7

Definitely, cinnamon! My mom taught me that. If you want extra flavor at home without compromising the coffee taste, try buying the bottles of flavors from your local grocer--I find that using just a teaspoon of caramel flavor gives it a really smooth "finish". :-)

Answer 8

Hey Noonie, thanks for the idea about using ground cinnamon, I am trying that, looking forward to seeing how it tastes. I usually put creamer in my coffee.

Thanks everyone who suggested using cinnamon, I tried it and LOVE it. Tastes really good.

Answer 9

About a half teaspoon of salt.

Answer 10

you can either add vanilla or cinnamon. both are great