Coffee beans come in all tastes and roasts. A good cup of coffee goes a long way. Depending on the way it is produced and brewed, coffee can have a lot of complex flavors. This is great because it means everyone can find their favorite type. Diving into the different varieties of coffee can be a great experience. From chocolaty to fruity undertones, coffee has a lot to offer. And if you are looking for a guide to the best coffee that tastes like chocolate, you’ve come to the right place.
Coffee has a complex taste, which means it comes with few notes or undertones. Most coffee beans have either chocolaty or a fruity taste, or sometimes both. The chocolaty note in coffee is not uncommon and it depends on where the coffee is from, how it is roasted, and if there are any additional flavors, natural or artificial, added to it.
We are going to look at which coffee beans have the chocolaty note, and how the roast brings the chocolate flavor out. We will also look at the best chocolate flavor coffee out there.
So let’s dive into the best coffee that tastes like chocolate!
1. Jim’s Organic Coffee – Double Chocolate
Even though it is a light roast, this organic coffee offers a rich chocolaty flavor. The added flavors are natural, of course. We highly recommend this blend if you are looking for a very prominent chocolate taste in your coffee.
2. Folgers Simply Gourmet Natural Chocolate Flavored Ground Coffee
This would be the cheaper alternative to a great and organic chocolate flavor coffee. It is more budget-friendly, but that doesn’t mean that the taste is not up to standard. These Arabica beans are flavored using only natural flavors. The coffee has rich and sweet chocolaty notes. It offers great quality at a reasonable price.
3. Door County Coffee Mocha Mint
This one is for all the chocolate mint lovers out there. Again, we are talking about natural flavors that are added to premium quality coffee beans. The Door County Coffee uses some of the best Arabica beans out there. It’s a medium roast coffee and tastes like dark chocolate with a mint undertone.
4. Cameron’s Coffee Chocolate Covered Cherry
If you are looking for both chocolate and fruity flavor, then Cameron’s Specialty Coffee is the blend for you. It is a chocolate-flavored coffee in a light roast that goes well with the cherry undertones. This gives the coffee a rich cocoa note as well as a sweet cherry flavor.
What Is The Chocolate Note In Coffee?
The important thing to know is that when we talk about the chocolate note or chocolaty taste in coffee beans, we are not talking about coffee that tastes exactly like hot chocolate. The taste is more similar to dark chocolate or bitter chocolate than sweet milk chocolate.
Another important thing to state is that the coffee blend, meaning the beans is where the foundation of the tastes and notes come from. If the coffee bean doesn’t have a chocolaty note in it, it is impossible to gain without adding it. If however, the bean does have a chocolaty taste, there are different ways to make it more noticeable.
Author Note: From the harvesting process to the drying method to the roasting. These are all processes that can further nourish the chocolaty taste in coffee.
So where does the taste of chocolate come from? Well, more often than not, it has to do with the soil. This is why some geographical locations produce coffee that tastes like chocolate, while others produce coffee that has a more fruity taste. If the soil has high potassium levels, it makes the coffee sweeter, which will result in a coffee that tastes like chocolate. pH levels can also affect the ability of the plant to absorb nutrients from the ground, which again, leads to a sweeter taste.
Where Can You Find Coffee That Tastes Like Chocolate?
Coffee has a complex taste. As I mentioned earlier, most coffee can either have a chocolaty or a fruity note to it, or sometimes both. These notes can be subtle or intense. Roasting and brewing methods can further enhance the tastes, but the coffee bean needs to have that chocolaty taste to start with.
A big part of what gives the coffee bean that chocolaty note is the location. Of course, the chocolate taste in coffee can come from many origins, but the safest bet is to check which country the coffee bean is coming from.
Coffee beans from Guatemala, El Salvador, Brazil, India, Vietnam usually have a chocolate note in them. This is mostly because of the soil from which the coffee beans grow. The chocolate taste in coffee beans comes closer to dark chocolate notes than sweet milk chocolate, but even this can vary.
For example, coffee beans from Guatemala have a dark chocolate taste, which can be a bit more intense and somewhat bitter. Columbian coffee would have a chocolate note that is similar to cocoa. Coffee beans that are coming from Brazil would be the closes to having milk chocolate notes, so if you are looking for a sweeter chocolate taste, make sure you try Brazil coffee.
Vietnamese coffee is also known to have a pretty strong chocolaty taste.
It is important to note that while location and soil play a great deal when it comes to coffee taste, that doesn’t mean that all coffee from these countries has a chocolaty taste. So if you are going based on location, you might not get it right on the first try. It might make more sense to buy a smaller amount on your first try to make sure the taste is in your preferences.
If you are buying coffee from a specialized coffee shop, you can also ask for a recommendation. Some coffee shops will brew their coffee beans which will allow you to taste the coffee before you buy.
Best Roast For Coffee That Tastes Like Chocolate
Author Note: Roasting is really important when it comes to preserving and nourishing the chocolate notes of the coffee beans. Some people would even say that the roast has more to do with the taste than the beans. This is not entirely true.
While the roast does play a large role in bringing out the taste and notes of the coffee, if a bean doesn’t have a certain note, it is not possible to achieve it without adding flavors afterward. That said, if a coffee bean has that chocolaty note, roasting it properly can help intensify the taste. And the best roast for nourishing the chocolate taste in coffee is a medium roast.
Medium roast is most suitable for coffee that tastes like chocolate because it helps bring out the taste better than lighter roasts. So if you are looking for a coffee that tastes like chocolate, medium roasts are your safe bet. They are the ones that will taste more like hot chocolate and offer some sweet chocolaty notes. Light roasts are usually more suitable for coffee that has fruity undertones. So you might want to stay away from those if that’s not your taste.
A dark roast can also work for chocolaty and nutty tastes, but they have a more bitter or earthy taste than medium roasts. These taste like dark bitter chocolate, so depending on your preferences you might opt for darker roasts.
Best Chocolate Flavored Coffee
Flavored coffee has got a bit of a bad reputation. And it mostly comes from coffee geeks who think that adding flavors to coffee is diminishing the taste. But the numbers don’t lie. Flavored coffee has a long history and is becoming more and more popular. This means you have a variety of chocolate flavor coffee to choose from. This includes a variety of roasters, flavors and notes, and quality.
Top Tip: If you are going for high-quality chocolate flavor coffee the thing to note is that when adding the flavors to the coffee, the whole origin and roast is considered. This means that the added flavors are mostly enhancing or complementing the already chocolate notes of the coffee bean.
So let us look at some of the best chocolate flavored coffee out there.
Conclusion
Coffee has one of the most complex flavors we consume. It comes in such varieties and is consisted of so many notes and undertones. This is great news because it allows us to dive in and explore and find our favorite coffee blend. The taste of coffee depends on the bean, the roast, and the brewing method.
Speaking of the bean, coffee beans can either have a chocolate or a fruity note or sometimes both. Chocolate notes in coffee are not uncommon, but if you are after the chocolate taste in your coffee you do need to know what you are looking for.
Some countries produce coffee beans which are known to have chocolate undertones. You can look for coffee beans from Guatemala, El Salvador, Brazil, India, Vietnam. Because of the soil and the environment in which they grow, coffee from these countries tends to have a more chocolaty or nutty taste.
The roast can also influence the taste. Generally, it intensifies the notes that the beans already have in them. For chocolaty notes, it is best to go look for medium or even dark roasts. Light roast is usually the ones with a more fruity taste.
For an even more intense chocolate flavor, you can also look for some flavored coffee. Because the market for flavored coffee is so big, you will be able to find a variety of coffee that tastes like chocolate that has great quality. And make sure you check out our recommendations.
Stay caffeinated friends!