We must admit that the aroma of a fresh brewed coffee from flavored coffee beans can start a cascade in our senses that can only be satisfied by a flavored coffee drink. How does that flavor become infused in the coffee beans? What should you know to enjoy these flavored coffees?

First, flavored coffee beans are becoming more and more popular. Where we once had to go to a specialty coffee shop to get our fix of flavored coffees, we now can ubiquitously find flavored beans at almost any grocery store. Where there used to ben only 2 or 3 flavor choices, we now can find dozens of flavors as whole beans, ground coffee, K-cups, and more.

SF Bay Coffee Hazelnut Crème Whole Bean

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How do the beans get flavored?

Generally, while the beans are being roasted, flavored oils are added to coat and infuse the beans. If you examine the beans closely, you will see that they are typically shiny because of that coating. While that shows you where the flavor comes from, there is a danger that the oily beans will clog up that great grinder you have in your super automatic espresso machine. Additionally, a true espresso grind is too fine for flavored beans, often resulting in a sticky paste unless you always set your grinder to a very coarse grind.

Grinding Flavored Beans

So how do we get a good grind for flavored beans and not gum up the works?

Basically, you may find that an expensive blade grinder works best with flavored beans. The other choice is to grind unflavored beans and then add the flavoring after brewing is complete. While we don’t recommend blade grinders for fine espresso, they work remarkably well to grind flavored beans without clogging.

Hamilton Beach Fresh Grind Electric Coffee Grinder

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What would a Barista do?

If you watch a barista make a flavored coffee drink, you will notice that they first grind unflavored coffee and then add flavored syrup at the end of the process so as to not clog the grinder. That way you get a better result and don’t create a problem at clean-up time.

We suggest you start with a great medium roast bean, grind that bean without flavoring, brew your drink, and then add flavoring in the form of syrups widely available.

Torani Variety Pack

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Related article:

• Visiting a Coffee Cooperative: how do those beans get to my espresso machine?

What in the world is decaf espresso? Many would consider those two words used together as an oxymoron, but they’re really not! Decaf espresso, like regular decaf coffee, is made by removing most of the caffeine from the beans before they are ground and used to make coffee.

You might also like to read: What is espresso?

How much caffeine?

Many of us would think of espresso as a unique kind of coffee bean– but it’s really not! A shot of espresso can be made from many kinds of beans. And while espresso tends to have more caffeine per ounce than “regular coffee”, that really has more to do with the brewing process than with the coffee itself.

A single shot of espresso might have between 30 to 100 mg of caffeine. Surprisingly, your morning cup of coffee probably has around 96 mg of caffeine.

Normally your morning cup of coffee is made by slowly dripping water through unpacked ground coffee beans. Conversely, espresso machines use high pressure to pump hot water through a porta filter filled with a “puck” of compressed, friendly ground coffee.

Making a shot of espresso typically results in a coffee drink with concentrated caffeine. However, just like with regular coffee, there are ways to remove or drastically reduce the amount of caffeine and the resultant shot. The goal is to remove the caffeine without removing the taste or other attributes of the espresso.

Caffeine is typically removed from coffee beans with the use of a solvent of some sort–perhaps water, carbon dioxide or other organic solvents. These processes can remove about 97% of the caffeine and have minimal effect on the taste of the coffee drink. Many prefer processes using pure water to remove the caffeine rather than organic solvents.

Does Starbucks sell decaf espresso drinks?

Starbucks and many other coffeehouses sell decaf espresso drinks as well as decaffeinated coffee beans. Starbucks tends to have slightly more residual caffeine than some other beans. Research has shown a shot of decaffeinated espresso at Starbucks contains in the range of 3 to 15.8 mg per shot.

You might also like to read: How to choose the best coffee beans?

You can purchase decaffeinated beans for your espresso at your favorite coffee shop and many upscale markets. Or you can try some of our favorites:

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Conclusion

So back to the fundamental question: should you drink decaf espresso? The answer is “it depends”.

The reasons for choosing caffeinated or decaffeinated espresso are much the same as how you choose caffeinated or decaffeinated drip coffee. Are you trying to wake yourself up? Or are you trying to make sure you can go to sleep in an hour? How does your stomach react to caffeine? The choice is yours.