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Best Hazelnut Coffee
About hazelnut coffee, how to make it, and the best brands to try.
Published December 14, 2021
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Johan Hedlund
Coffee experts@The Coffee Lab
Today there is a growing trend of drinking flavored coffee, and hazelnut is a popular flavor that stands out from the rest. While some coffee drinkers might find it odd that people would want to mask coffee’s unique flavor by adding other flavors to it, everybody enjoys different things and for some people, adding flavorings like hazelnut can bring out the taste that they enjoy in coffee the most. Since there isn’t a hazelnut coffee plant, this coffee has usually been either naturally or artificially flavored using a range of methods.
Picking the Right Hazelnut Coffee
What does hazelnut coffee taste like? Since most hazelnut coffee beans are artificially flavored, the first thing to do is make sure that you read the label to find out what has actually gone into the beans. As a general rule, the shorter the list of ingredients is, and the easier that it is to read, the healthier it will usually be.
Artificial Flavorings
Propylene glycol might be an ingredient that you come across that you may be wary about consuming. It is safe to consume and used in a lot of different food products, but the fact that it is used in other products such as antifreeze has led a lot of people to try avoiding it completely.
Freshness
Another main factor to consider when buying hazelnut coffee like Seattle’s best hazelnut coffee is that flavorings are often added to mask the fact that the coffee is not as fresh as you would like. After it has been roasted, coffee has a limited shelf life of around fourteen days, which is why you should always buy coffee as soon after roasting as possible. However, the majority of flavored coffee is often made using coffee beans that were harder to sell, meaning that it might be a year or more since the coffee has been roasted. The artificial flavoring is able to mask the taste of coffee that would otherwise taste awful.
Bean Quality
Is hazelnut coffee good? Whether you’re going for hazelnut coffee, regular coffee, or another type of flavored coffee bean, it’s important to always look for high quality coffee beans – at the least, choose beans that are 100% Arabica.
History of Hazelnut Coffee
In the 17th century, people were already drinking coffee, but it didn’t get off to the best start, with many people deeming it too bitter to drink. But when Pope Clement VIII tried it and loved it, this revolutionized the workforce at the time as more people started their day with coffee rather than the usual wine or beer.
Considering that at the time, the coffee habits and roasting styles were quite rudimentary, people would come up with different ways to try and improve the taste of coffee. In the Alpine region, local monks used the plentiful hazelnuts that would grow in the area to create a recipe for hazelnut coffee.
Making Hazelnut Coffee
Does hazelnut coffee have nuts in it? It will, if you make your own. If you are worried about buying hazelnut coffee beans with too many artificial flavorings or beans that are old and have had their bad flavor masked by the use of hazelnut flavors, then you can grind fresh hazelnuts and add to your coffee before brewing. Due to the density of the hazelnuts, there are some brewing methods that will typically work better for this, such as the French Press. If you want to make your own hazelnut coffee at home, the main thing to consider is that the hazelnuts are unsalted and dry roasted, to help avoid any oils and other flavors from getting into your cup.
When making your own hazelnut coffee, it’s important to remember that both coffee and hazelnuts are different in terms of density, so adjusting your grind size will be important. There are some recipes that call for grinding the coffee beans and the nuts together, but it is likely that by doing this, you’re going to end up with two different grind sizes. More logically, you may want to consider grinding the coffee beans and the hazelnuts separately before you combine them together. If you like your hazelnut coffee to have a more intense hazelnut taste, you can use a non-stick pan at a medium heat to toast the hazelnuts before grinding. The beans that you choose can also have an impact – in general, light to medium coffee blends are the best option for making hazelnut coffee.
Hazelnut Coffee Brands to Try
1. Amazon Fresh Hazelnut Flavored Coffee
This hazelnut ground coffee from Amazon is moderately priced; however, the flavoring is artificial. It’s not too intense in flavor and the coffee itself is a medium roast, meaning that you can a more enhanced coffee taste with subtle hazelnut flavors rather than the other way around. It is not sweet, with some people finding it too bitter, but this is down to personal preference and opinion.
2. New England Coffee Hazelnut Crème Medium Roast
New England coffee is bold without being bitter, and often served with rich cream. Many people enjoy the coffee here because of its smoothness. This coffee is made with a combination of both artificial and natural flavors, using a blend of South and Central American coffee beans, which is balanced to ensure that the coffee is consistently smooth. New England Coffee Company is a reliable choice, with plenty of experience as coffee roasters for over a century. If you only want to buy coffee from roasters that are helping to improve the coffee industry around the world, they are a great choice as they have lots of initiatives and programs in place to ensure that the farmers in coffee developing countries are supported.
3. Hazelnut for K-Cup Keurig 2.0 Brewers
If you have a Keurig brewer or another coffee machine that is compatible with K-cups, this is the ideal option for you. The K-cups are made with 100% Arabica coffee that has been medium roasted and has artificial hazelnut flavorings added. They are conveniently sized and perfect for on the go or those busy mornings where you just want a coffee quickly. Since they are certified Kosher, you can rest assured that the artificial flavors added don’t contain any animal fats and are plant based. Even better, unlike many coffee pods, they can also be recycled.
4. Cameron’s Coffee Roasted Whole Bean
Cameron’s is a roaster that takes a different approach, roasting the coffee in small batches that produces unique jewels in their product line with the right experience and care. They have a genuine commitment to the environment, making them an ideal roaster to get your hazelnut coffee from if you want to know that your money and custom is going to be used to improve situations for coffee growers around the world. While they do use artificial flavorings to add the hazelnut taste, all ingredients used are FDA-approved. The coffee is naturally sweet without any added sugar, and is lightly roasted, with more focus on the hazelnut rather than the coffee.
5. Eight O’clock Hazelnut Whole Bean Coffee
This is another artificially flavored hazelnut coffee product from a company that has a reputation for being honest and trustworthy. It is made using Arabica beans from South America, that do not have any signs of being old or over-roasted, which is important for anybody who is concerned about flavorings being used to cover up the taste of old coffee that probably should have been thrown out. You will immediately notice the strong, powerful hazelnut aroma when you open these coffee beans.
6. SF Bay Coffee Whole Bean Hazelnut Crème
Vanilla along with wild German hazelnuts are used to give this coffee its distinctive, sweet, and nutty flavor. Other artificial flavoring ingredients are used, but the main ingredients are natural. The beans are certified Kosher, 100% Arabica and medium bold roasted.
7. Don Francisco’s Hawaiian Hazelnut Flavored Ground Coffee
Some people enjoy drinking this coffee black and it has a hint of coconut along with the hazelnut. While it’s called Hawaiian coffee, this is not the source. Like most of Don Francisco’s products, this coffee is a medium bold roast and comes in a can that is reusable.
8. Volcanica Hazelnut Coffee
This flavored coffee comes from a brand that has a good reputation. But while you may see actual hazelnuts in the advertisements for this product, it is made with artificial flavorings rather than natural ones, although they are all FDA-approved. It medium roasted and has a freshness guarantee. Unlike other hazelnut coffees, you can expect fresh, high-quality beans that have been grown in very rich soil.
9. LifeBoost Organic Hazelnut
If you want to buy your organic hazelnut coffee from a company that really cares, this option from LifeBoost is an ideal choice. The beans are organic and flavored with natural oils, making them a great choice for anybody who wants to avoid artificial flavorings. Is also has less hazelnut coffee beans calories compared to some others with added sugar. While they are pricier compared to other options, you can taste the difference. And, this is fair-trade coffee, so you can be sure that the farmers are getting the right price.
If you enjoy flavored coffee, it’s important to know where to look when choosing the best hazelnut coffee beans.
About the author
Johan Hedlund
I´m living in Karlstad, Sweden with my family. Been working the last 25 years with several start ups in the tech industry. Coffee has been an integral part, both professionally and privately. Eager to learn new things and happy to be a member of the era of we community.
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