It may seem unbelievable, but in the coffee world there are several heated debates. There are several currents that claim that their way of preparing and drinking coffee is more correct than the opposite, but if we must simplify, we can separate coffee drinkers into three groups: those who prefer it without additives, those who sweeten it with sweeteners and those that add dairy. The better the coffee, the less necessary it is to sweeten its flavor, since specialty coffees are not bitter and have a series of easily recognizable notes.
However, there is a cultural association between sugar and coffee/tea that will be with us for a long time, and according to studies, 38% of Americans add sugar to their coffee. But… what if instead of sugar, we added spices such as pepper, cinnamon or even cardamom to the coffee?
Fashions. The other day, in one of the productive weekly meetings in WorldOfSoftware, my colleague Javier Jiménez dressed up as a coffee. Not from just any coffee: but from a pumpkin spice latte. Some of the regulars present at Starbucks, which is the chain that has helped popularize this version (and others like ‘oleato’), knew perfectly well what he was referring to and why in this autumn season. Others, not so much.
“How is that?” could be heard. Our colleagues at Directo al Paladar have a recipe that I encourage you to try, but it consists of a coffee to which, among other things (like pumpkin), you add spices such as cloves, nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon. Also sugar, too much for my taste. The result is a coffee that is unlike any coffee you have ever had before, as it is ‘warm’ not in the sense that it is hot, but because it transports you to a cold autumn afternoon. Coffee guru James Hoffman also has another great recipe:
nothing new. Really, and beyond trends, this spiced coffee thing is neither a North American trend nor, above all, something new. Although in Europe or Latin America it may seem sacrilege to add spices to coffee (sugar is not unusual, that’s fine), in other parts of the world it is something very normal. An example is Arabic coffee to which they add spices such as cinnamon, ginger, cardamom or cloves.
Surely the recipe takes into account the quantities of the spices, but in very traditional areas such as stalls in Missour, Morocco, they prepare the mixture with the spices they have on hand and with measurements by eye. The result is a very, very fine grain that has a powerful, very powerful aroma, but a flavor that does not ‘sting’ in the throat and is quite mild. In the end, these spices serve to enhance the natural flavor of the coffee, as happens when we mix chocolate and salt, and the mixture of coffee and spices has been with us for centuries.
Be careful, I’m a neurologist! We talk about flavor, but there are those who think that adding spices to coffee can give us much more. An example is Dr. Brandon Crawford, a neurologist specializing in brain health and healing who, a few months ago, shared with She Finds his recipe to make coffee an even healthier drink.
Coffee, due to its nutritional properties, is already a drink that provides us with elements such as antioxidants, but Crawford thinks that adding certain spices can have a positive impact on our brain.
The spices. The spices are those that we have already mentioned, but below we are going to see one by one the properties that they contribute to our daily cup, according to Crawford:
- Cinnamon– Regulates blood sugar levels to maintain good cognitive function and prevent neurodegenerative diseases. It is also an effective way to accelerate weight loss.
- Turmeric: It has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that can help reduce inflammation and oxidative damage in the brain, factors that are linked to diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
- Ginger: It is another anti-inflammatory that also helps balance neurotransmitters essential for concentration and cognitive agility.
- Nutmeg: improves mood and can contribute to a more focused and positive mental state thanks to its neuroprotective properties.
- Black pepper– Piperine improves the absorption of curcumin (from turmeric) by 2,000%. This combination amplifies the benefits of curcumin in the brain, improves digestion and enhances nutrient absorption.
The problem. Reading this, it seems that if we don’t take care of our brain it’s because we don’t want to. There are studies that have investigated the properties of these spices and there are those who have stated that some, such as cinnamon, are superfoods. The problem is that there are those who may think that these properties of spices will considerably improve our health (coffee can have this more direct effect), and it seems that Crawford is a lone voice in this field.
We must keep in mind that the quantities we take are tiny and, although they have many properties, daily health habits such as sleeping well, disconnecting from digital or practicing activities that generate endorphins, will have a more immediate and stronger impact on our body. and mood.
The key is grinding. Be careful, it does not mean that it is wrong to add these spices to coffee and other foods, but if you do, it would be good to consider flavor as the main motivation. And it is not so much adding powdered supermarket spices to coffee (as we can do in a coffee shop with cinnamon in a cappuccino), but rather directly grinding the beans together with the whole spices. Just like what happens when we grind coffee before preparing it, all the flavor and aromas of the spices are released, further enhancing what we want to achieve: a different flavor in our cup of coffee.
Spiced coffee is a thing. If you didn’t know that adding spices to coffee is something that has been done (as we say, for centuries), you may be wondering where to start. It is not as simple as adding a handful of cloves and half a stick of cinnamon to the grinder next to the coffee, since if you go overboard with the quantities, you will ruin the cup. It is a much more exotic flavor and there are baristas who recommend starting by adding ginger and cinnamon, since they are two of those that, in principle, go best with coffee. There are those who share recipes with cayenne, but I have not dared.
If that also means giving the brain a little boost, all the better, but the flavor is what should motivate us when it comes to replacing the sugar in our coffee with something more exotic. Something interesting will be to wait for in-depth research on the effects of spiced coffee on our body. What is coming to light are studies on how coffee influences our brain.
Images | Tamanna Rumee, Nathan Dumlao
In WorldOfSoftware | The best trick to make coffee in the Italian coffee maker is not to make coffee in the Italian coffee maker