Best spices and toppings you can add to your coffee

Here you will find spices and toppings that will make your coffee tastier and healthier. Description of the spices and where to buy them. Coffee customs in different countries.
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Coffee spices and toppings

Coffee is a part of the daily lives of many people. On their way out the door to work, they take a cup in the break room at the office and also as part of a delicious snack after dinner. But why not give this routine a flavor by trying something new? You don't have to change your drink entirely to something you've never had, just add some toppings for a slightly different taste.

What spices can you add to your coffee?

Want to diversify your coffee ceremonies and make each cup of an aromatic drink different from the previous one? Use new spices every time, add them in different proportions, mix, experiment and achieve the perfect combination and unique taste!

Connoisseurs of coffee with spices and spices traditionally use cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, cloves. Experiment lovers enrich the drink with vanilla, black or allspice, anise, caraway seeds, star anise and even garlic. Experienced coffee lovers advise purchasing spices as a whole, and only in cases where the recipe requires grinding the product, do it immediately before cooking. Ground spices lose their aroma during storage, and some of them are generally not recommended to be ground, since their aroma can radically change and spoil the taste of the finished coffee.


Traditionally, Arabs use spices for coffee meals. They prefer a tangy astringency, a strong spicy accompaniment against the background of the familiar aroma. In addition to the listed spices, cumin, anise, star anise, garlic, and allspice are actively used.

It happens that they use completely exotic coffee additives for a European: clover grain, figs, dried dates, essence of citrus and mint, nut powder from almonds, hazelnuts, cashews.


Spiced coffee is served as an accompaniment to main courses and as an independent dessert. However, when using spices, some rules must be followed: If a spice is used as a novelty, it makes sense to start with a small portion of the drink. The taste may seem very unusual.



The right way to add spices to coffee

Spicy coffee seasoning requires moderation. Its excess will kill the taste of the drink, completely ruin the impression. For example, if you plan on adding black pepper, one pea per cup will suffice. Careful, correct use of spices, spices, seasonings will serve well for big coffee lovers - neutralized caffeine allows you to increase the single dose of the drink and the total number of cups.

Another important recommendation: ground spices and spices change their aroma over time or completely lose it if stored improperly. Better to buy them whole and grind them before each serving.

It is believed that adding spices and spices to coffee partially neutralizes the harmful effects on human health, which means that you can give yourself the opportunity to drink an extra cup of your favorite drink. The main rule when using spices and spices is to start small, the spices should emphasize the aroma of the coffee, but not destroy it!

Use some herbs and spices at certain times of the year. So, in the spring and fall, it is best to add a mixture of cloves, cardamom, ginger and turmeric to coffee. This drink will help you regain strength and cope with the flu.

In winter, the following will be useful: ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, pepper, star anise, orange and nutmeg.

Spices and spices that improve the taste of coffee and make it healthier.

Coffee with Cinnamon

Spices and toppings for coffee
About cinnamon
The bark of several species of cinnamon trees in the laurel family, used as a dried spice. The best known are four types: Ceylon cinnamon, Chinese cinnamon, Malabar cinnamon and cinnamon.
Cinnamon is found in various coffee spice recipes, the reason may be that it alone can replace sugar and cream in coffee. Cinnamon and coffee not only combine well in taste, but also in stimulating effect.

Taste and aroma
Delicate, sweetish, slightly pungent, warming, in some varieties - slightly astringent.

How to use
You can stir 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon in a brewed cup, or grind cinnamon with coffee beans, or mix already ground with ground coffee before brewing.


Benefits of Cinnamon

Cinnamon reduces the acidifying effect of coffee on the body. It is an excellent spice in this case (cinnamon is also used as a spice), which cleanses the blood, increases blood circulation, has an anti-inflammatory and warming effect. Cinnamon helps to overcome colds, tones the nervous system, improves vision and creates a great mood. And it also gives the drink an indescribable special aroma. It is because of this that cinnamon is often added to lattes. However, don't add more of this spice to your coffee.
Coffee spices and toppings

Organic cinnamon sticks and cinnamon powder

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Coffee with Hazelnuts

Spices and toppings for coffee
About hazelnut
Hazelnuts come from a tree that originated in Europe and western Asia, the corylus avellana. It first became part of organized agriculture in what is now Scotland about nine millennia ago. In that part of the world, these ancient people didn't have much in the way of meat, so they relied on nuts to keep them whole. The fatty and nutritious composition of the nut would have preserved them firm and stable. Imagine that 9,000 years are passing and people are still consuming the same stuff today, although with a little extra sugar - although hazelnut coffee certainly does not count as part of the paleo diet.

Taste and aroma
Filbertone is one of the essential flavor mixtures found in hazelnuts. Filbertone is a ketone present in hazelnut oil that occurs naturally. It has the character of being fried, marbled, soft, and long-lasting. The interesting thing about this compound is that it can be used to test olive oil for its authenticity.

How to use
Perfectly tones up and gives the drink an incredible nutty aroma. Best used as a powder and sprinkled over coffee foam, or mix already ground with ground coffee before brewing.


Coffee spices and toppings

Benefits of Hazelnuts

Nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, antioxidant compounds and healthy fats, are bundled with hazelnuts.
They can also have health benefits, including: activates the brain, improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system,
improves the functioning of the digestive tract, strengthens the immune system, treats diseases of the lungs and bronchi,
removes toxins and toxins from the body.
All in all, they are an exceptional and delicious source of nutrients that can easily be included in your diet.
Coffee spices and toppings

Organic hazelnuts and hazelnut powder

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Coffee with Cardamom

Spices and toppings for coffee
About cardamom
Herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family. Malabar Coast of India and Ceylon; black cardamom is native to Guatemala and India. To this day, these areas are centers for the production of cardamom.
Cardamom belongs to one of the most refined spices. Its main area of application is aromatization of flour confectionery products and in products with added coffee (for example, coffee cake). In the East, cardamom is one of the most beloved spices. In addition, this spice is an indispensable component of "oriental" coffee (in Arabic, in Tunisian): freshly ground cardamom seeds are added to coffee before brewing. The French add cardamom to liqueurs such as Curaçao and Chartreuse. The Germans put cardamom in a spice mix to flavor the famous Nuremberg Christmas gingerbread.

Taste and aroma
Seeds with a strong, pungent, spicy-burning, slightly camphor odor and sweetish-pungent taste.

How to use
Cardamom is a concentrated spice with a pungent taste and aroma. Therefore, this spice should be used in small quantities. Use no more than 1/5 to 1/4 tsp depending on age and weight. ground seeds in one go. Coffee - to taste (2-3 tablespoons), Ground cardamom -1/4 part teaspoon, sugar and milk to taste.

Coffee spices and toppings

Benefits of Cardamom

Cardamom has been used in traditional folk medicine for over 3000 years. It has anti-inflammatory, stimulating, carminative, diuretic, stimulating effect - it stimulates the mind, heart, gives a feeling of joy. Cardamom is also recommended for asthma, cough, bronchitis and migraine, as a means of increasing appetite. It promotes the elimination of various poisons and toxins from the body.
Coffee spices and toppings

Organic cardamom and cardamom powder

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Coffee with Ginger

Spices and toppings for coffee
About ginger
Ginger is a genus of perennial herbaceous plants from the ginger family. Its homeland is Western India and Southeast Asia. It does not grow in the wild in nature. Ginger is cultivated in the subtropics and tropics of Japan, China, West Africa, Brazil, India, Argentina, Jamaica. Because of its beneficial properties, ginger can be grown as a garden or indoor plant. Ginger has erect, reed-like stems, the length of which reaches one and a half meters. The roots look like fleshy roundish pieces of yellow or gray color.

Ginger is one of the most famous medicinal plants, which is used both in medicine to treat various diseases, and in cooking to add a special, piquant taste to dishes.

Taste and aroma
The burning taste of ginger root is given by a phenol substance - gingerol. And the tart aroma of ginger root comes from the essential oil it contains.

How to use
Ground coffee - 11 grams of arabica beans per 150 ml of water,
natural honey - 1 teaspoon, ginger - 1/3 teaspoon, Cream to taste. Pour ginger with hot water, heat a little and put in ground coffee, bring to a boil and leave to infuse for a couple of minutes. Then pour through a strainer into a preheated cup, add honey and, if desired, cream. That's it, ginger-honey coffee is ready to drink.

Coffee spices and toppings

Benefits of Ginger

Ginger has a calming effect on the nervous system, helps relieve pain and spasms, and stimulates the gastrointestinal tract. Also has a warming effect. Adding ginger to coffee softens the negative effects of caffeine, relieves headaches, and improves metabolism. An amazing property of ginger coffee is the elimination of apathy, lethargy, restoration of mental and physical strength. When brewing coffee, you can add a little ground ginger or a small piece of fresh root.
Coffee spices and toppings

Organic ground and fresh ginger

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Coffee with Nutmeg

Spices and toppings for coffee
About nutmeg
Islands of Indonesia: Java, Kalimantan, Sumatra. It also grows in Brazil, Western India, Africa. The heart of the nutmeg fruit, which has been growing for about 100 years. Round dense nucleoli of dark color. Grated nucleoli of a burning spicy sweetish taste with a peculiar aroma.
The monopoly on the supply of nutmeg has always remained the cherished dream of any European monarch, but widespread trade in it began in Europe only after 1512.
One of the most popular spices is nutmeg. It is surprisingly good both in desserts and in full-fledged and nutritious dishes and drinks. Only ripe fruits, which contain the required amount of essential oil, will give the spice a recognizable aroma. And many manufacturers add the outer part of nutmeg, which contains less than 1% essential oil, to reduce the cost of the product. Often, expensive varieties are mixed with cheap ones that look like high quality, but are much cheaper, and low quality nutmeg husks and scrap are added. Of course, high quality nutmeg, like all spices, cannot be cheap.
How to protect yourself from buying low-quality spices?
If there are dark inclusions in ground nutmeg that have a solid structure, then this is definitely not the best quality product. The color should be bright and saturated, and the mixture should have a dull grayish-greenish tint. The mass should taste homogeneous, not crunch on the teeth. The sour taste indicates the addition of the outer shell of the nut.

Taste and aroma
Nutmeg has a pungent, bitter and astringent taste with a pungent aftertaste. Warms up the body.

How to use
Add 2 teaspoons of freshly ground coffee to the French press. Then add a pinch of ground nutmeg and ground cinnamon. Pour boiling water over the contents and mix. Brew for 3-4 minutes. Add sugar and milk to the finished coffee to taste.

Coffee spices and toppings

Benefits of Nutmeg

Especially appreciated for its ability to improve brain function. Thanks to elemicin, it tones the body, increases concentration, improves memory and visual perception, relieves depression, stress conditions and chronic fatigue, relieves tension, anxiety and irritability, improves sleep, raises mood, restores a balanced state. Therefore, nutmegs are recommended for people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia, as they inhibit the degradation of the nervous system.
The product has a beneficial effect on the state of the cardiovascular system. It expands blood vessels, which leads to a decrease in blood pressure, stabilizes the heart rate, and facilitates the functioning of the heart and blood vessels.

Eating nutmeg also benefits other body systems:
normalizes metabolism; strengthens bones and prevents the development of osteoporosis; destroys pathogenic bacteria in the mouth and stomach; eliminates unpleasant odor; improves the condition of the gums, eliminates bleeding;
eliminates headaches and joint pain; relieves inflammation; increases the number of red blood cells and prevents anemia;
improves appetite; eliminates flatulence; activates the synthesis of enzymes; restores the functioning of the digestive system;
cleans the liver and kidneys from toxins, brings them into working condition; removes toxins from the body during food and alcohol poisoning; has a diuretic effect and relieves swelling; dissolves kidney stones; increases the body's resistance, activating it to fight colds and other infections.
Coffee spices and toppings

Organic ground and fresh nutmeg

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Coffee with Cloves

Spices and toppings for coffee
About сloves
Moluccas. Since 1512, the Portuguese took possession of them and became the monopoly owners of the plantations of this spice.
Dried unopened flower buds of a tropical myrtle tree. One of the most common and inexpensive spices.
The Chinese emperors of the Han dynasty, who ruled more than two thousand years ago, were refined people and loved everything beautiful. They could not bear the stinking breath of their subjects. Therefore, everyone who wanted or was forced to contemplate the emperor zealously chewed a clove bud before the reception, and during the entire audience they kept it in their mouths.
In England, the carnation found its way into the courtroom. It was believed that a clove stuck in an orange with its aroma helps the judges to make the right decision.
Cloves are one of the most popular spices. It is suitable both for desserts and drinks, as well as for main courses and soups, i.e. almost universal. And therefore, it can be easily found in stores and markets. How to choose a quality one? If you take a whole carnation, then pay attention to the integrity of the buds and their appearance; for the aroma.

Taste and aroma
It has a bitter and pungent taste and a strong warm aroma.

How to use
To brew delicious and aromatic coffee with a spice, it must be borne in mind that prolonged heating destroys the taste and aromatic qualities of the spice. Therefore, it is recommended to add it at the final stage - in whole buds or in the form of freshly ground powder.

Coffee spices and toppings

Benefits of Cloves

Antibacterial action. Kills bacteria and blocks their reproduction. Anthelmintic action. Removes worms from the body. In ancient Chinese medicine, this parasite was removed with this spice. Antifungal action. Kills the fungus. Suppresses the growth of Candida fungi. Copes with thrush. Pain relieving effect. Relieves swelling. Helps with toothache.
Relieves spasm while toning muscles. Surprising but true. Heals wounds. The rich composition promotes wound healing.
Against bloating. Prevents the formation of gases. Improves digestion. Preventive action against cancer. As part of eugenol, it prevents the formation of cancer cells. Increases pressure. Improves blood flow through veins. Normalizes the pressure of hypotonic patients. Calming effect. B complex vitamins are good for the nervous system. Aphrodisiac. Stimulates attraction.
Revitalizing action. Regenerates muscle capacity. It freshens breath and is used as an aid in getting rid of nicotine addiction.
Improves blood circulation. The complex of vitamins and minerals improves microcirculation and blood quality.
Coffee spices and toppings

Organic ground and fresh cloves

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Coffee with Vanilla

Spices and toppings for coffee
About vanilla
Vanilla is native to Mexico and Central America
Vanilla is a liana with a long, high climbing stem that forms aerial roots on trees.
The leaves are fleshy, oblong-oval and ring-shaped, with yellow-green flowers in clusters, one stamen and pistil hidden in the petal tube, making pollination difficult. The fruit is a narrow, triangular pod, 7 to 30 cm long.
Vanilla was literally worth its weight in gold and in Mexico there was even a caste of vanilla thieves with farmers branding each pod so they could identify it if it was stolen. In ancient times, vanilla pods were used as money by the Indians. The Totonac tribe, who first invented the cultivation of vanilla vines and were invaded by the Aztecs, paid their tribute in vanilla pods. According to Totonac mythology, vanilla grew from the blood of a goddess and her mortal lover, beheaded by her angry father.
The first written mention of the cultivation and use of vanilla was left by the Natuatl tribe. During the reign of Emperor Montezuma, the Aztecs also valued the spice vanilla and collected taxes with vanilla pods. They used vanilla to flavor chocolate and a drink similar to cocoa. The Spanish, who discovered the Old World and conquered the Americas, began to monopolize the importation of vanilla spice from Mexico in the 16th century. In Europe, the very expensive spice was used to make chocolate and cocoa, it was used to flavor tobacco and simply chewed, considered to be an exhilarant.

Taste and aroma
Subtle, rich, sweet aroma, but bitter taste.

How to use
The easiest recipe is to make your favorite espresso or latte the way you normally do it, and add some vanilla as you have it. Try it, and if you need to, add it again, that way you'll know how much you need.

Coffee spices and toppings

Benefits of Vanilla

Due to the composition of the plant a variety of biologically active substances vanilla has an effective effect on the work of all systems of the human body. In medicine, the following beneficial properties are used in the treatment of various diseases:
Eliminates fevers, helps to get rid of pain and other discomfort in the stomach, combats nervous system disorders and mental illness, gets rid of sleepiness and sleep problems, helps get rid of rheumatism.
Stimulates the work of muscle tissue, improves metabolism, combats gastrointestinal problems, suppresses the
tendency to drink alcoholic beverages.
Helps restore the menstrual cycle and alleviate symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.
Helps in antibiotic therapy, is used in the fight against cancer, eliminates anemia.

Coffee spices and toppings

Ground vanilla and organic vanilla extract

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Coffee with Anise

Spices and toppings for coffee
About anise
Homeland Egypt, Syria.
The anise seed consists of two connected slices.
It is harvested at the beginning of ripening and stored until the fruit is completely ripe. Only then, during threshing, are the seeds separated from the flower heads. The seeds are tiny, egg-shaped, with thin stripes on a greenish-gray background.

Fresh anise seeds have a fairly bright greenish-brown color and intense smell, if not stored properly they darken and lose their aroma.
Anise has been famous for its essential oil and medicinal properties since ancient times. This plant was well known to the ancient Egyptians, ancient Romans and Greeks. The Egyptians baked bread using this spice, and the ancient Romans widely used anise seeds for health purposes. Hippocrates, Avicenna, and Pliny wrote about the properties of anise, particularly that aniseed refreshes the breath and rejuvenates the body.

In addition to the health properties, this plant was often attributed magical properties - anise plants were tied at the head of the bed to purify the air and get rid of nightmares.

It is used in the production of soaps, perfumes and other romatic products. In India, its seeds are chewed after a meal to freshen the breath. The smell of anise is attractive to dogs, so it is used in the training of hounds.

Taste and aroma
Anise seeds have an intense sweet aroma. The taste is specific - sweet and spicy.

How to use
When making coffee in Moka Pot over coffee add some anise seeds. Brew the coffee as usual. Start with a small amount of anise seeds, one pinch.

Coffee spices and toppings

Benefits of Anise

It has beneficial effects on:
Digestive system (increasing the secretion of gastric juice, relieving spasms in chronic gastritis);
lactation (estrogenic effect, so anise preparations stimulate mammary gland function during lactation);
Respiratory system (moderate expectorant, antiseptic action on the bronchi, stimulating reflex stimulation of breathing); improvement of skin function (improving blood circulation in the capillaries of the skin).
A mixture of mashed fruit with egg white treat burns.
Anise is used as a simple remedy for hiccups: you need to chew a few seeds and then drink a glass of water. It is believed that the aroma of anise inspires optimism, makes him diplomatic, improves mental performance, increases the ability to adapt.
Coffee spices and toppings

Organic anise seeds and dried anise stars

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Coffee with Saffron

Spices and toppings for coffee
About saffron
Saffron (Crocus) - a tuberous herbaceous plant 10 - 30 cm tall in the Iris family - is one of the oldest and most expensive spices in the world for 4000 years, which is obtained from a flower of pale purple (less often yellow) color, manually cut out in the first day of opening 3 orange-red stigmas.
The quality of saffron depends on proper drying - in a dryer at 45-50 ° C for 12 minutes at normal temperature for about 30 minutes. The spice should be stored in a dark, dry container for no more than six months.
Crocus, from which saffron is derived, blooms just a week in October, to get a kilogram of saffron, you need to manually treat several hundred thousand crocuses.
Saffron grows in Greece, Iran, Italy, Spain, Portugal, in the south of France, in the Caucasian states, Ukraine. Turkey, Iran, India, Pakistan, China and Japan, Mexico, USA. Saffron is still a very expensive spice because of the difficulty of harvesting. Saffron was already known in India and Egypt in the 4th century BC, however, saffron-based paints have been used in rock art since the Neolithic era.
The first traces of its use in food were found in Mesopotamia 3,000 B.C., and the first written mention dates back to the Sumerian civilization. The Persians in the 10th century B.C. wove saffron threads into fabrics and made saffron-based, arousing aromatic oils.

Taste and aroma
The spice saffron has a strong, distinctive aroma, a slightly intoxicating smell and a bitter-spicy taste with hints of honey.

How to use
You can add this Arabian spice to any coffee drink you make, and in any case, it will be tasty and useful. The flavor of saffron is closest to honey, slightly bitter and spicy, with a slight metallic flavor, but in small quantities it is barely perceptible.
It is safe to take up to 1.5 grams of saffron per day, but doctors recommend a dosage of up to 1 gram per day. The spice is considered toxic when taken orally in doses greater than 5 grams.

Coffee spices and toppings

Benefits of Saffron

Saffron has unique properties and has a beneficial effect on the work of all organs and systems of our body. In small quantities, it relieves melancholy and depression, promotes the production of the hormone of joy - serotonin.
Saffron is an excellent antispasmodic, anticonvulsant, diuretic and anti-inflammatory agent. It helps quickly eliminate hangover syndrome, improves memory, normalizes digestion, increases male potency.
In modern medicine, this spice is used to prepare eye drops and some tinctures restorative effect. Its anti-mutagenic properties and ability to resist the development of cancerous tumors are actively studied.
In the form of tincture spice is taken internally or used externally (baths and lotions). For the treatment of the respiratory tract is recommended to inhale its aroma. Migraine and insomnia were fought by placing stamens or flowers of crocus near the pillow or chewing one thread before going to bed.
Coffee spices and toppings

Saffron threads

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Traditional coffee drinks with spices from the Middle East and South America

Coffee spices and toppings

Coffee customs in different countries

A coffee cup can have a huge cap of foam on it. The drink can be sugary sweet or exorbitantly bitter. With a hint of aromatic spice or citrus flavor. The main thing is not to stop at one "scored" recipe, be interested in the traditions and culinary peculiarities from around the world. It makes life brighter and more interesting!
In Italy and Greece
The most common coffee spice is cinnamon. It is used if the drink is brewed in a real old-fashioned carafe. And necessarily in the form of a whole stick. If sugar is supposed to be added, it should definitely be a cane version.
In many Mediterranean countries
Prefer to drink coffee with ginger. Sometimes a little nutmeg and coriander are added.
In Roman coffeehouses
Cinnamon and cardamom are rubbed together with a spoonful of fresh lemon juice and poured into a hot drink. This interpretation has a real tropical flavor.
coffee with spices
Arab countries
Arabs can brew their coffee all day long in a jezva and drink cup after cup. Each serving is sure to contain a box of cardamom. Its tangy flavor enhances the aroma and completely neutralizes the negative properties of caffeine.
In Iraq
In Iraq, coffee is drunk with an amazing taste and an equally amazing hue. This is what the bright orange saffron stigmas add to the drink.
In Turkey
In Turkey, they add a mixture of spices and make coffee thick and very sweet.
A similarly fragrant drink is made in North Africa.
in Brazil
In Brazil, famous for its coffee tree plantations, the crema is sprinkled with bitter chocolate.
In Mexico
Mexicans are coffee drinkers. They boil cinnamon, cloves, and sugar in plain water for a long time, then mix it with the brewed coffee, infuse it, and serve it with a little vanilla.
In Tunisia
In romantic Tunisia, orange or rose water is used to make coffee.
In Yemen
Yemen's coffee traditions have a rich history. Bedouins, for example, cherish special teapots for brewing. They have a narrow spout, just right for a box of cardamom to fit inside and stay there. The drink comes into the cup hot and fragrant.
In Indonesia
TIn Indonesian coffee houses, the drink is brewed right in front of the customer. The baristas always have a large assortment of spices. Every customer has the right to choose his or her own spice. What spice he points to, that's how the coffee tastes.
Coffee spices and toppings

Toppings to Add to Your Coffee

Aromatic whipped cream will liven up your coffee drink. But why not get a little creative? Ice cream, chocolate and Nutella are also great options to pamper yourself or your friends at a party.
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