The best spices for tea and coffee - everyone will find their ideal taste

Historical reference

This drink became the founder of an entire taste industry, which elevated coffee consumption to a real cult. Eastern merchants, engaged in the coffee trade around the world, often brought slightly stale goods to the end point of their journey. And to improve its aroma, they offered customers coffee with spices that changed the taste of even the cheapest drink.

The tradition of adding various herbs and spices has taken root in the culture of preparing the aromatic drink. Today they are used when brewing coffee not to mask the smell of cheap beans, but to add a new, refined taste to this aromatic drink.

Experts advise buying grains and your favorite spices only in whole form and grinding them immediately before brewing the drink, if this is indicated in the recipe. Spices lose their aroma if they are stored in ground form, and some of them can completely change the taste of the drink if they are crushed. Therefore, when preparing coffee with spices, you must strictly adhere to the recipe.

How to prepare spices for use

Additives in coffee for taste and aroma must be fresh. It is best to grind them before use, since oxidation of beneficial substances occurs in ground powders. After grinding, they gradually lose their properties.

Store whole nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon sticks and other spices that are added to coffee in a closed container. When purchasing, pay attention to whether the packaging does not leak the aroma. If yes, then look for other points of sale.

For the first time, coffee additives should be taken in small quantities - at the tip of a knife or coffee spoon. This will give you the opportunity to taste and evaluate the resulting taste.

Sometimes a particular person doesn't like it. This means that the spice will not be beneficial; it is better to choose another one. It is believed that the human body is sensitive to food and chooses what is needed at the moment.

Spices in India - culture of use

In India, housewives rarely use spices separately. They are ground and mixed, depending on what dish or drink the powder will be used for.

In Indian cuisine, you need to combine several flavors in one dish - this is considered the pinnacle of the housewife's skill. Considering that more than 80% of India's population is vegetarian, preparing food with such qualities is not easy. Spices help with this - they add the missing flavor, for example, bitter or sweet.

Each housewife has her own individual mixture of herbs and spicy seeds, the recipe for which she does not tell anyone. There are sets of spices specifically for coffee and drinks - tea, compotes, decoctions.

What spices are added to coffee?

Cuisines all over the world use different additives, including those specific only to a particular country, but there is a generally accepted list of the most popular spices that are added to the drink to enrich its taste and diversify its aroma. Some of the most popular spices and herbs for coffee include:

• vanilla;
• nutmeg;
• cinnamon;
• carnation;
• ginger;
• cardamom;
• citrus zest;
• salt;
• black pepper.

1. Vanilla has a very persistent sweet aroma that turns coffee into a sophisticated drink. To prepare it, you need to take natural vanilla pods, and not artificial powder.
2. Nutmeg has a warming, spicy, tart aroma with slight bitter notes. This spice, when added to a drink, can dull the smell of the ground beans themselves.
3. Cinnamon, on the contrary, has a warming, sweetish aroma that can reduce appetite. You can add seasoning to the drink either in ground form or in stick form.
4. A special feature of cloves is the uneven distribution of flavor in the flower. If we are talking about the bud, then it is a delicate sweetish aroma, and its stem has a sharper spicy smell.
5. Ginger, with its sharpness and fresh aroma, complements varieties such as Robusta or Arabica and is very warming in the cold season.
6. The taste of cardamom is reminiscent of a combination of ginger and cloves and gives coffee a noticeable bitterness.
7. Citrus zest refreshes the palate and is ideal for a drink with aromatic herbs or liqueurs.
8. As for salt, just a few grains will not change, but will emphasize the taste of coffee. Few people know that in oriental coffee shops it is salt that is added to the cezve to give the drink a bright oriental taste.

Each coffee spice changes the taste of your favorite drink. By adding a new ingredient each time, you can prepare a drink that will create a good mood or warm you up in bad weather.

Spices that go well with coffee

The wise East was the first to drink coffee with spices. Thus, they sought to neutralize harmful (in their opinion) caffeine, enhancing all the beneficial properties of the drink: its stimulating effect on the digestive and nervous systems.

Europeans also adopted the exotic formulation of “oriental coffee,” but a number of seasonings seem to them too specific, aggressive, and completely kill the taste of the drink itself. Over time, a list of the most common spices suitable for coffee “accompaniment” has been outlined:

• Cinnamon. Gives a warm bittersweet flavor. It is an excellent complement to sour Arabica beans. Cinnamon coffee is prepared either by using the powder or by dipping a whole stick into a hot drink for a few seconds.
• Ginger. Spicy, juicy, aromatic, very warming. In a hot drink it exhibits its properties to the maximum. Stimulates intestinal function. Powder is used, as well as fresh grated root.
• Carnation. Bright, spicy, imparting a bitter piquancy. It goes well with a strong drink, while the negative effects of caffeine are practically neutralized. Can lower blood pressure. It is a good antiseptic, which allows the spice to be used during problems with the throat and respiratory system.
• Cardamom. Sweet, cooling, slightly spicy. A cup of cardamom drink relaxes and helps to achieve a blissful state of mind. The high content of essential oils gives a unique, lasting aroma. Strengthens the stomach. It is recommended to add cardamom boxes to hot coffee.
• Black pepper. With it, the drink becomes especially fragrant and appetizing. It warms you up perfectly and “clears” your thoughts. Two or three peppercorns, added to freshly prepared coffee and infused, cleanse all body systems and remove toxins.
• Nutmeg. Unusually tones and excites. It is used as a powder that is poured directly on top of the coffee foam.
• Vanilla. Gives a dizzying aroma, warm and attractive at the same time. It is best to dip the whole pod into the drink and hold it for a little while.

The tradition of adding spices to a coffee drink appeared in the east.

Recipes for Turks

Each recipe with the addition of spices has its own characteristics in preparation. True coffee lovers brew it only in a Turkish coffee pot, observing all the details of their favorite recipe.

Coffee with vanilla

To prepare you will need:

• ground coffee – 2 teaspoons;
• cold water – 200 ml;
• vanilla – 1 pod.

Put coffee in a Turk, adding a few grains from a vanilla pod. Pour water and heat over low heat until boiling. Turn off the heat, add sugar as desired and let the drink brew a little. Pour into cups.

Coffee with cinnamon

Required:

• ground coffee – 1 heaped teaspoon;
• cold water – 200 ml;
• ground cinnamon – 1/3 teaspoon;
• sugar – 1/3 teaspoon.

Put the coffee in the Turk and heat it a little over low heat. Pour in water, adding cinnamon and sugar as desired. Bring to a boil and pour part of the drink into a cup. Heat the remaining part again and also drain some of the liquid into a cup. If you perform this procedure two or three times, you will get very tasty coffee with thick foam on top.

Who and when came up with the idea of ​​adding seasonings to coffee drinks?

The idea of ​​adding spice to coffee is not related to the desire to add variety. It all started in the 13th century, when people began brewing coffee en masse.

Eastern merchants noticed that during long transportation the grain began to rot and smell unpleasant. In order not to lose income, they came up with the idea of ​​mixing them with seasonings. This helped sell damaged goods.

According to another version, spices began to be added in the East to neutralize harmful caffeine and enhance the tonic properties of the drink.

In coffee shops, spices were added to mask the aroma of the cheap Robusta coffee variety. Over time, the method began to be used to give an unusual taste and maintain health.

Do not add seasonings to elite beans: Blue Mountain, Yemen Matari, Kopi Luwak, Old Java. This will spoil the taste.

Let's look at what spices are added to coffee.

Useful tips

Different mixtures of coffee spices will also help diversify the taste; some of them go very well together. It is not recommended to add a mixture of three or more additives at once. It is better to experiment with small portions, adding one new spice at a time to the base taste of the main spice in order to find your combination for coffee with spices.

If you want to fully experience the rich taste and aroma, you can try making coffee by adding a few grains of salt to the Turk during preparation and ground black pepper on the tip of a knife.

In Tunisia, a favorite recipe is a drink where cinnamon powder, 1 clove bud and two or three grains of cardamom are added to the water as additional ingredients on the tip of a spoon. In coffee shops in Rome, when preparing a drink, cardamom and cinnamon are ground into powder and a little lemon juice is added to this mixture. All this is poured with hot coffee brewed according to the classic recipe. This combination of spices creates a real tropical aroma and uplifts your mood.

As you can see, spiced coffee has many variations. By making different compositions of spices or adding one of your favorite spices to a drink, you can make your life brighter and more varied.

Tasty or healthy

Both tasty and healthy. In India, the birthplace of spices, they are added to all dishes and drinks. This is due to the climate – humid, hot. In such an environment, pathogenic microorganisms quickly develop and there is a high risk of developing an infectious disease or even an epidemic.

For example, everyone knows that cinnamon seasoning for coffee improves the taste, but not everyone realizes that it is a powerful antiseptic that can disinfect the intestines in a couple of days without causing side effects.

The same goes for turmeric. It is still used in various rituals as a symbol of cleansing the soul and body. Turmeric is used less often in spiced coffee recipes because few people know about its properties.

Universal Supplements

Black pepper

If you're new to making spiced coffee, try black pepper. It will highlight the natural coffee flavor.

Pepper cleanses the gastrointestinal tract and regulates its functioning. If used regularly, it will help get rid of toxins, cleanse the blood vessels of the brain, improve memory and mental performance.

Salt

No more than 2-5 grains of salt will change the flavor of the coffee. To avoid spoiling it, use purified salt.

In many eastern countries, salt has become a secret ingredient. It is added to the cezve during cooking.

To learn this method at home, read the article “How to make coffee with salt.”

Cold spiced coffee

Ingredients:

• 225 ml freshly brewed black coffee;
• 2 clove buds;
• 1 cinnamon stick;
• 2 peas of allspice;
• chopped lemon zest.

The amount of ingredients is indicated for two servings.

Combine and grind seasonings. Transfer the aromatic mixture into a container with hot, freshly brewed coffee. Leave for an hour and a half. Pour into glasses three-quarters filled with crushed ice. For a more sophisticated look and a fresh touch, sprinkle lemon zest on top.

How to make a drawing on coffee using a stencil

For this we need:

1. Actually, stencils for coffee with a design that interests you;
2. Cappuccino, latte or mocha;
3. Milk;
4. Tea strainer;
5. Cocoa.

Make cappuccino, add milk to it. We collect cocoa powder in a strainer, so the pattern will be uniform. Cover the cup with a stencil and carefully sprinkle with cocoa. Serve immediately.

Everything seems simple, but there are several features. Firstly, you should never touch the foam with the stencil. Just place it on the mug. If the foam is too fluffy, hold it with one hand, but as close as possible to the surface of the drink. To make the patterns last longer, you can make foam from cream, even aerosol. You can also use ice cream. Another option is thick and fatty milk, which is whipped with a blender using the turbo mode.

Material on the topic: Coffee with sugar, benefit or harm?

Spice mixture for coffee and tea

Stores sell ready-made spice mixtures. For example, we have three options for tea or coffee blends:

1. Masala (see coffee masala) - contains cardamom, cinnamon powder, pepper.
2. Ginger lemon - ground ginger, lemon zest.
3. Orange twist - sugar, lemon and orange zest, cinnamon powder, cloves.

The same company offers the mixture in a hand mill. Coffee and tea mixture contains cinnamon powder, cloves, vanilla, caramelized sugar.

You can make similar mixtures yourself. To do this, you need to take the selected spices, grind them and put them in an airtight container. The mixture can be stored for 3–6 months. If stored longer, it loses its flavor.

Select spices for the mixture with care. Mixing everything in a row leads to muffling of the aroma and taste of spices. The maximum number of ingredients in the mixture is 3-4, one spice should dominate.

Recipes for making tea with spices

Tea with spices warms you up, improves your mood, and makes you feel better when you have a cold. Black tea is suitable for brewing with spices. You should take loose tea leaves and make the drink in a teapot.

Anisic

The smell of anise tones and improves mood. Anise tea has an anti-cold effect. Ingredients:

• tea leaves;
• five pieces of anise;
• mint.

Preparation:

1. Mix tea with anise, pour boiling water.
2. Leave for ten minutes.
3. Before serving, garnish with a sprig of mint.

To see how to brew tea to improve appetite:

Cinnamon

The warm aroma of cinnamon creates a festive mood.

Cinnamon tea recipe:

1. A cinnamon stick is added to black tea and poured with boiling water.
2. Let it brew for 10 minutes.
3. Sprinkle ground cinnamon on already brewed black tea.

Ginger tea

Tea with ginger and lemon zest will help cope with an incipient cold. Ingredients:

• tea leaves;
• a piece of fresh ginger;
• lemon zest.

Preparation:

1. Place the tea leaves, grated ginger and zest into the teapot.
2. Pour boiling water over and let steep for 10 minutes.
3. Before serving, sweeten the tea with honey and garnish with a sprig of mint.

You can make tea using this video:

With cardamom

Traditional winter tea, associated with New Year and Christmas. Ingredients:

• tea leaves;
• cardamom;
• orange zest.

Recipe:

1. Place the tea leaves and spices in the kettle and pour boiling water over it.
2. Serve tea with honey.

With nutmeg

Nutmeg has a tart aroma.

Preparing tea:

1. Add a pinch of chopped nutmeg to the tea brew and brew with boiling water.
2. To soften the bitter taste of the resulting tea, add honey.

Coffee with milk, prepared in Turkish

This recipe contains cloves - a bright spice; one bud is enough for one serving.

• 1.5 tsp. ground coffee beans (finely ground);
• 2 tbsp. l. water;
• 150 ml milk;
• ¼ tsp. chopped dry ginger;
• ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon;
• 1 black peppercorn;
• 1 clove bud;
• sugar.

How to cook:

1. Place the spices in a Turk (after crushing the black pepper with a knife), add cold water. Heat over low heat.
2. As soon as it starts to boil, remove the cezve from the stove. Then leave for one or two minutes so that the spices warm up thoroughly. Add ground coffee, pour in milk, stir.
3. Next, cook in the classic way: over low heat until the foam begins to rise. At this point, remove from heat. As soon as the foam settles a little, warm it up again. You can repeat this action 2-3 more times, but do not forget that each time the drink will become stronger.
4. Pour the coffee into cups (it is advisable to preheat them in the microwave or using boiling water). Everyone adds sugar themselves, to taste. An invigorating spicy drink is ready.

Tip 4. How to help the drawing last longer?

In general, designs on the surface of coffee are short-lived, which is why such coffee should be served immediately after decoration. However, there are some ways to extend the life of the jewelry, and the main thing here is the thickness of the foam. It is believed that the most durable designs are obtained with cappuccino to which cream has been added - the thicker the better (you can even use aerosols from a can).

Instead of cream, you can add ice cream to a cup intended for coffee and let it melt slightly. As you carefully pour coffee into this cup, you will notice that the ice cream rises and forms a foam that is quite suitable for drawing through a stencil. If you have a blender with a whisk attachment, thick foam can be easily obtained from full-fat milk in just a minute on turbo mode. Having laid this foam on the surface of the coffee, it will not be difficult for you to draw any design on it.

Features of the use of spices

Arabs traditionally prepare coffee with spices. They prefer drinks with a spicy tartness and spicy accompaniment against the background of the usual aroma. Arabs use not only the previously listed spices, but also cumin, star anise, anise, allspice, and garlic. Sometimes clover grains, dates, figs, mint, citrus essences, almond powders, etc. are also used. Such a wide range of additives allows you to prepare a drink for all occasions. In the east, coffee is served as a complement to main courses and as dessert. The drink can be liquid or creamy.

If you are taking your first steps in using coffee spices, you should follow certain rules. It makes sense to start with small doses of spices and a small amount of drink. The new taste and aroma may not seem very pleasant upon first tasting. Spices require moderate use. Otherwise, the excess will completely destroy the taste and aroma of the coffee, making it disgusting. For example, if you want to use black pepper, just add one pea to a cup for the first time.

Spices are believed to neutralize the negative effects of caffeine. However, recent research by scientists suggests that coffee is an extremely healthy drink that has no negative effects.

Experts say that even ground spices can be used to prepare the drink. However, it is worth remembering that over time they lose their intense aroma. Therefore, spices should be purchased whole and then crushed immediately before use.

Rules for combining coffee with spices

Do it right

To make delicious Turkish coffee or another recipe with spices, follow the recommendations:

• do not combine more than 3 types of additives in one drink;
• do not use elite blends of Arabica with Robusta to prepare a spiced drink;
• For the first experiments, start with a small dose so as not to overdo it and spoil the taste and aroma.

Brands of mixtures

If you like coffee with additives, but don’t want to bother, purchase factory-made spice blends and seasonings. Their advantage is hermetic packaging that preserves the taste and aroma. Basically, these are mixtures of several types: cloves with cinnamon, vanilla with cardamom.

Brands of seasonings for making Turkish coffee have proven themselves well: Kamis, Sonnentor. Spices of the first brand are also added to tea. The second is created specifically for coffee drinks.

Preferences of residents of different countries

A common seasoning for Turkish coffee in Greece and Italy is cinnamon. Iraqis prefer saffron. The Romans use cardamom with cinnamon. Yemenis also add cardamom.

Scandinavians love to add alcohol to their drinks. Mexicans use vanilla beans instead of a spoon and also add cloves and cinnamon. Tunisians prepare coffee with rose or orange water.

Interesting! How to brew espresso in Turk

Residents of Louisiana (America) use cloves with cinnamon and zest. They also like to add brandy and set the drink on fire. The Turks make their coffee thick, sweet, very spicy, and mix different seasonings.

It doesn’t matter what kind of coffee we prepare, the main thing is that it is brewed according to the rules, and that the spices are combined with each other. Let's look at popular recipes for making drinks with additives.