Natural Ways to Flavor Ground Coffee: Cinnamon, Cocoa, and More

A new trend is currently making the rounds on social media. On Instagram and TikTok, you often see influencers Portafilter various flavorings to the coffee grounds in Portafilter .

These include additions such as cinnamon, cocoa powder, or powdered freeze-dried fruit. In this blog, we ask ourselves not only whether it tastes good, but also whether it works without compromising the quality of the espresso.

Portafilter ground coffee in Portafilter —does it work?

Before we move on to the interesting part—the taste—let's first consider whether you should even Portafilter random ingredients to the ground coffee in the Portafilter .

In the videos in question, you can see how freeze-dried fruit is ground with a mortar, then mixed with the appropriate amount of ground coffee, and finally Portafilter into the Portafilter using the standard tamping technique.

It works just the same with cocoa powder or cinnamon, except that in this case, you don't have to make the powder yourself—you just mix it directly into the coffee.

Coffee and Fruit Powder Blend

Experience has shown that the version with powdered fruit causes “channeling” due to its high sugar content and the clumping it causes, which in turn affects the taste of the espresso. A good espresso is achieved through an even flow of water. If you still want to give it a try, you should aim to keep the proportion of fruit powder below 5% of the total amount of ground coffee to ensure there are no flow issues.

Ground coffee with cinnamon

With cinnamon, you’d think it would be easier, since the spice is usually already in powder form in the kitchen. The problem: Cinnamon contains many essential oils as well as fine fibers, which impede water flow even more than powdered fruit. Although adding cinnamon to Portafilter give the espresso a slight cinnamon flavor, this method runs the risk of causing an undesirable bitter taste in the espresso. To prevent channeling, a cinnamon amount of 0.3 g is recommended for 18 g of ground coffee. We’d say: It’s not worth it for that little bit of flavor.

Ground coffee with baking cocoa

While the previous variations result in channeling, the high fat content in baking cocoa slows down the flow. This slow extraction allows chocolate flavors to infuse into the espresso. If you’re a fan of dark chocolate, you might like this. For every 18 g of ground coffee, no more than 1 g of cocoa powder should be added; otherwise, the espresso often tastes dusty and flat.

How Barista Experts Flavor Their Coffee Drinks

For every barista, the espresso is the star of the show, which is why perfect preparation is essential. Depending on the beans, all settings on the portafilter machine should be adjusted to allow for maximum flavor development. Adding additional flavorings is secondary. Coffee itself contains up to 1,000 different flavors, making it one of the most flavorful natural products in the world.

Once you have the perfect espresso with all its flavors and velvety crema, additional flavors may still emerge afterward.

Naturally Flavored Coffee Beverages

The priority, then, is brewing a perfect espresso—after that, there are truly countless possibilities that don’t negatively affect the brew itself, even in terms of flavor. But not only is the extraction unaffected when flavors are added afterward; the intensity of the flavors is also much stronger than with a powder mix in Portafilter.

Cinnamon, Cardamom, and More in Espresso

Cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, nutmeg, star anise, or cloves can be sprinkled directly into the hot espresso.

If you drink cappuccino or latte macchiato, you can top your milk foam with these spices or even mix the spices directly into the milk foam.

Espresso with an extra hint of chocolate

The best way to do this is to place a piece of dark chocolate in the espresso cup and then pour the espresso over it so that the chocolate melts.

Alternatively, both baking cocoa and cocoa powder can be used as a topping on the finished espresso or milk.

Just like with spices, cocoa powder can also be incorporated into the milk foam to create a chocolatey foam crown on top of the cappuccino.

Fruit-Espresso Blend

Just like a piece of dark chocolate, freeze-dried fruit in powder form can be added to an espresso cup and then poured over with hot water. Give it a quick stir, and you’ll have a subtle fruity sweetness and a creamy texture.

For milk-based beverages, the powder can be stirred into the milk.

A Refreshing Tip for Summer:

Shake or froth about 150 ml of cold milk with 2 g of fruit powder. Then add ice cubes and top it off with an espresso shot.

Specialty Coffee Style with Citrus Fruits

Less well known in the specialty coffee scene is the practice of enhancing the flavor of coffee drinks with orange, lemon, and grapefruit zest. For this, you’ll need organic versions of these fruits, since you’ll be using the peel—which is where the flavor-packed essential oils are found.

First, wash the fruit thoroughly so that you can then use a vegetable peeler to cut off a clean piece of the peel. It should be no larger than 4 cm and, if possible, have no white inner layer. So you’ll need to work very carefully.

The cup is now held over the finished espresso with the outside facing down and pressed firmly between the index finger and thumb. This allows tiny droplets of aromatic oil to fall into the crema, thereby influencing the flavor of the espresso.

Our Take on Flavored Coffee Beverages

Natural flavoring is always the better choice, because coffee beans are naturally extremely rich in flavors. So buying an artificially flavored coffee would be an insult to the coffee bean itself.
If you’d like to try a few flavor experiments with natural flavors: GO FOR IT! This spirit of experimentation is, in a way, part of the art of barista work. We just prefer to add the flavoring afterward and keep the Portafilter completely out of the equation, so we can maintain a consistent water flow and get the absolute most out of the espresso itself.

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