You love coffee. You drink it daily, but you’re ready to improve your experience. Don’t worry; we have you covered! We’re delivering prime coffee tips to keep your coffee and your mornings fresh. You don’t need to be a certified barista or coffee roaster to develop amazing coffee experiences in your kitchen. These coffee tips are meant for everyone from the beginner to the highly skilled. You love coffee - it’s time to make the experience more personalized. 3 Ways to Improve Your Coffee Routine Make your own flavored coffee Experiment with flavor additives Create your own coffee blend Create Your Own Signature Flavor With These Coffee Tips When it comes to the best coffee flavors, your mind probably goes in one of two directions: adding milk, sugar, and syrup or buying pre-made flavored coffee. These are both excellent options for some of the best coffee flavors out there. However, did you know that you can create your own coffee flavor? Yep, by sourcing a few of your favorite ingredients, you can develop a personalized coffee flavor all your own. Coffee Tips for Creating the Best Flavored Coffee Adding spices to your coffee grounds will not only elevate your coffee game, but it will also make you the official coffee aficionado of your friend group. While some may have the perfect charcuterie board for game night, you’ll have the perfect coffee pairing for every meal and event. You can thank us later. Coffee tips for creating the perfect cup of coffee all come down to what flavor and vibe you want to capture. Do you want a rich, strong flavor or a more subdued and floral flavor? There’s no wrong answer, and the best coffee experience is different for everyone. 7 Best Coffee Spices for Flavored Coffee Cinnamon Nutmeg Cardamom Cloves Ginger Lavender Cacao nibs Brewing the Best Coffee with Cinnamon and Nutmeg Cinnamon and nutmeg are incredible flavors. They are perfect on their own, but one of our go-to coffee tips is that they are a great team when paired together. These two flavors typically reign in popularity during the winter months. There’s something cozy and comforting about the smell of cinnamon while watching the season’s first snow glisten as it falls. We suggest starting with the Stone Street Dark Blend. Our Dark Blend has a rich and smooth flavor with chocolate notes. The cinnamon and nutmeg blend seamlessly with the chocolate flavor, creating a well-rounded coffee experience. Add ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg or cinnamon per cup of coffee. Play around with the amount of each spice to develop the ideal mix. Pro Coffee Tip. Pairs best with: Listening to Red (Taylor’s Version) on repeat. The Best Coffee for Your Health Cardamom is the standout spice of Turkish coffee. In addition to cloves, it is widely popular throughout the Middle East. If baking is your expertise, you're probably most familiar with cardamom being used in baked goods like bread pudding or sweet buns. Adding a few cloves to your coffee grounds creates a beautiful and intoxicating aroma and taste. In addition, cloves are packed full of antioxidants, more so than most other fruits, vegetables, and spices, which is an amazing way to amp up your morning coffee routine. Speaking of making your morning coffee routine part of reaching your health goals, have you tried adding ginger to your coffee grounds? Current research shows that ginger root is an excellent source for fighting off free radicals. One of the best health and coffee tips is to find ingredients that better your overall health. Pro Coffee Tip. Pairs best with: Binge watching "The Great British Baking Show" How do you Naturally Make Your Coffee Extra Chocolatey? Cold brew and cacao nibs - a match made in caffeine heaven. If you’re wondering what exactly a cacao nib is, you’re not alone. Cacao nibs are crumbled and crushed bits of cacao beans. Cacao beans should sound familiar because that is where we get our beloved chocolate from. Chocolate and coffee have long been considered a match made in heaven; it’s no wonder that these two pair perfectly. Cacao nibs added to coffee grounds directly infuse the chocolate flavor into your coffee. Make sure to grind your cacao nibs in the same way you grind your coffee beans to ensure the flavor is fully developed without particles sneaking into your coffee. To capture the chocolate flavor, we recommend using a dark roast coffee. 3 Best Coffees to Pair With Cacao Nibs French Roast Cold Brew Caffeine Boost Wall Street Espresso Blend Pro Coffee Tip. Pairs best with: Watching "The Bachelorette" with your framily while resisting the urge to look up spoilers. The Best Coffee for Decreasing Stress For centuries, lavender has been associated with calm and relaxing vibes, which is why it is the perfect addition to coffee. Whether you drink coffee for a necessary caffeine kick or because you appreciate the art of brewing the perfect cup (or both!), you’ll love the extra dose of calm that comes with a cup of lavender coffee. The warm weather is finally here. The birds are singing, the flowers are in bloom, and you need an iced lavender coffee in your life. It’s refreshing, it's unique without being too trendy, and most importantly - it tastes amazing. We recommend pairing lavender flavors with a light roast coffee to fully bring out the floral notes. If you prefer cold brew coffee over iced coffee, stick with a medium roast. If you’re new to the world of cold brew, don’t worry; we‘ve got all the coffee tips and tricks you need to make the very best cold brew at home. Pro Coffee Tip. Pairs best with: Visiting 91st Street Garden, saving local bookstores, and falling in love with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks all over again. Coffee Tips for the Best Coffee Flavor After Brewing Adding flavor options after you have already brewed your coffee is the most common way to flavor coffee. A lot of us stick to the tried-and-true methods of using milk or creamer to bolster our coffee. However, there is a whole world of flavor additives that can up your coffee game and take it from basic to bae. The ABC(DE)’s of Flavored Coffee to Elevate Your Brewing Routine Alcohol Butter Citrus Dairy alternatives Extract Pro Coffee Tip: Add Alcohol to Your Coffee We’re going big with our first recommendation. One of our favorite coffee tips isn’t approved for your Monday morning coffee. However, it's perfect for when you get home and still have a million things on your to-do list or for upgrading your brunch menu. The Best (and Easiest) Spiked Coffee: Cafe Caribbean Ingredients: 6 oz hot coffee 1 oz rum ½ oz amaretto liqueur Optional: Garnish with whipped cream and spiced pecans Directions: Pour rum and amaretto liqueur into a glass or coffee mug. Add hot coffee & mix Garnish with whipped cream and nuts Pro Coffee Tip. Try this recipe with iced coffee or cold brew! Butter is Better Coffee If you’re a fan of this burgeoning coffee trend, you have yaks to thank for it. The high elevations cause nomadic Tibetans to heavily rely on yaks to provide for their basic dietary needs. They discovered that adding butter made from yak’s milk to tea and coffee had many benefits. 3 Benefits of Butter Coffee: Energy Fat Calories While our lifestyles don’t necessarily dictate needing an extra high-calorie coffee drink, it’s a smooth way to mix up your coffee routine. New and innovative coffee tips don’t always need fancy ingredients; sometimes, it just involves searching your pantry or fridge for your favorite kitchen staples. Pro Coffee Tip. Butter coffee is best with unsalted butter. Coffee and Citrus Ready to take your cold brew coffee game up a notch? Probably the only thing better than ice-cold coffee on a summer day is lemonade. So, why not combine the two? Ingredients: Cold brew coffee Fresh lemon juice Optional: Orange juice This is a super simple recipe to mix up. It’s great for taking to the pool, walking your dogs around the neighborhood, or anytime you want to amp up the refreshment factor in your cold brew. Directions: Make your cold brew coffee as usual. Then add desired amounts of lemon juice, or both lemon juice and orange juice, to give yourself the best coffee and citrus experience. Pro Coffee Tip. Use pulp-free orange juice to get the smooth experience you expect from coffee. The Best Coffee Deserves More Than Milk I know that dairy milk is a staple in coffee shops and kitchens across the country. But, if you haven’t tried switching up your milk routine, you are seriously missing out. Many dairy milk alternatives come in a naturally sweetened vanilla flavor that makes for one of the best coffee mixers. What is the Best Plant-Based Milk for Coffee? Oat milk is hands down the best plant-based, non-dairy milk alternative. One of the best coffee tips when experimenting with new flavors is to make sure it blends well into your coffee without creating clumps. Oat milk mixes well and has enough flavor to accent your coffee without an obnoxious aftertaste. There are plenty more options to choose from; pick your favorite. 5 Plant-Based Milk Alternatives: Oat milk Coconut milk Almond milk Soy milk Rice milk Extracting the Best Coffee Flavor Extracts. We use them in baking, but we often forget that they make excellent flavors for mixing drinks. The top three classic choices for extract to add to coffee are vanilla, peppermint, and almond. Start with extracts you regularly keep in your pantry since you already know you love the flavor. Adding extract to your coffee is even better when it’s mixed with milk or a plant-based alternative. Vanilla extract can be matched with dairy milk, while almond extract works wonderfully with coconut milk. Always begin with one drop and work your way towards a stronger flavor. Pro Coffee Tip. If you have little ones that want to be just like you, adding vanilla or peppermint extract to hot chocolate is a winning combination. Coffee Tips for Making Your Own Coffee Blend Ok, we know this can sound intimidating at first. Creating a truly beautiful coffee blend is an art form that requires knowledge and skill. However, when you’re brewing for your specific taste buds, you have a head start. What is a Coffee Blend? A coffee blend is made from coffee beans originating from at least two different places. The requirements for a blend are pretty lax. The coffee beans have to be different, but they can come from the same country or even the same region. The key to making the best coffee blend is to start with what you know and love regarding coffee roasts, flavor profiles, and coffee origins. There’s a method to creating the best coffee blend, and we walk you through it step-by-step in our official blending in coffee guide. 3 Coffee Tips for Creating the Best Coffee Blend Balance: Sweet base notes Mid-palate notes High notes Sweet base notes: This is the base flavor that coffee contains, typically described as nutty, caramelized, or toasty. For a sweeter coffee blend, look for coffee beans sourced from Peru, Mexico, or Brazil. Mid-palate notes: This coffee-bean choice should be your favorite flavor to drink by itself. This is typically what is used to describe the overall flavor of the coffee from the first sip to swallow. Costa Rica, Colombia, and Guatemala beans are best for this. High notes: High notes are what people are talking about when they use descriptors like acidity and floral notes. This is most common in coffee beans that do best with a lighter roast. Kenyan and Ethiopian coffee beans are ideal. Ratio for Creating the Best Coffee Blend The recommended ratio for creating a coffee blend is equal parts mid-palate and sweet base, with the high-note beans finishing off the blend. This typically breaks down to 20% high-note beans, 40% mid-palate beans, and 40% sweet-base beans. When creating the best coffee blend, begin with your mid-palate beans since these should be your favorite single-origin coffee. Use this flavor profile that you already love to build off of to create your ideal specialty blend. Get creative and discover the best ratio and blend for you. You might find during the process of creating your blend that you want to up the amount of high-note beans or lower the amount of sweet-base beans. Adding in more beans to create your ideal cup of coffee is encouraged. Sample Ratio for Creating an Espresso Blend: 40% Guatemalan coffee beans 40% Peruvian coffee beans 20% Kenyan coffee beans If you’re not quite ready to begin building your own specialty coffee blend collection, we get it. Stone Street has curated our best coffee blends made by highly skilled roasters, so you’re sure to find one that’s perfect for you. Coffee Tip for Drinking Blends: Start with our fan-favorite Brooklyn Blend. It's kosher, a blend of light and dark roasts, and goes down smooth. What more could you want? Get Creative to Create the Best Coffee Who knew there were so many options for personalizing and improving the standard coffee experience? Coffee should never be boring, and implementing these fun coffee tips is sure to make every cup of coffee your best coffee.
