Best Flavored Coffee Beans (Popular & Gourmet Flavors): Reviews and Buyer’s Guide

Since people first started drinking coffee, they've added spices, flowers, and fruits to experience new flavors.

Now the range of flavored coffees has expanded significantly, and coffee can be flavored like chocolate, liqueurs, orange, and much more.

But it can be hard to find the best flavored coffee when there are so many flavor options, and when the quality of products varies greatly.

Some unscrupulous manufacturers use added flavors to hide defects in the coffee beans. These products usually have a very strong odor.

We studied flavored coffee by looking at the quality of the beans and the range of flavors offered by different brands, paying attention to the freshness of the coffee, and even observing the quality of the packaging. Then we brewed and tasted each coffee.

If you are looking for the best flavored coffee beans, check out our list.

Best Flavored Coffee Beans

It can be difficult to choose the best flavored coffee. People have different tastes, and there are so many flavors available. Our list features companies that offer a large selection of flavored coffees.

1. Lifeboost Coffee — Best Tasting Flavored Coffee Beans

To achieve the best taste, Lifeboost grows its coffee under the shade of trees in the Nicaraguan mountains. The beans are then harvested by hand, and harvesters pick only perfectly ripe cherries.

Lifeboost uses natural flavors—extracts and essential oils that do not contain sugar. The aroma of the flavorings is light and unobtrusive, as it should be.

Lifeboost doesn't use strong chemical flavorings to hide possible bean defects, because the company ensures that only the best coffee beans are used.

The company cares not just about taste, but also about health and the environment. The coffee isn't treated with pesticides or chemical fertilizers, so the residues of these substances don't end up on the beans or in your drink.

In addition, all Lifeboost flavored coffees is tested in third-party laboratories for molds, mycotoxins, heavy metals, and other toxins. Lifeboost's coffee also rank high in our list of the best mold & mycotoxin free coffee brands.

2. Coffee Over Cardio — Flavored Coffees Without Sugar

These coffees are flavored with extracts, like vanilla and almond extract, that are used in baking.

Coffee Over Cardio only offers ground coffee beans, which are roasted and ground only after you place an order. This means you'll always get the freshest product.

We liked the company's "Abbey's Secret Stash" monthly subscription. Every month, Coffee Over Cardio roasts a limited number of new flavored coffees.

The coffee subscription is great for those who want to try coffee with a new flavor every month but don't know where to start or can't decide what to order.

3. Lion Coffee — Best Flavored Decaf Coffee

Lion Coffee, by Hawaii Coffee Company, offers a mix of delicious traditional roasts, tropical flavored coffee, and premium Hawaiian coffee. The coffee has been voted "Hawaii's Best" for multiple years.

To preserve the flavor properties of the beans, Lion Coffee is decaffeinated with the Swiss Water Process, which is used only for the best decaf coffees. It's certified organic method and removes 99.9% of the caffeine from coffee.

In reviews, many customers say this is the best flavored coffee without caffeine they've found. We brewed it and made sure of it.

The mild hazelnut flavor and subtle notes of coconut are a delight.

4. Seattle’s Best Coffee — Best Hazelnut Coffee Beans

Seattle's Best Coffee uses premium Arabica coffee beans from Latin America and then creates Arabica blends.

Mixing different Arabica varieties helps to eliminate disadvantages such as excessive acidity and bitterness, so you get a more balanced drink.

When we brewed this coffee, we appreciated the pleasant hazelnut aroma and the drink's soft taste.

The company uses both natural and artificial flavors, but you shouldn't be worried.

Artificial flavors, which are produced under controlled laboratory conditions, undergo strict quality control. They eliminate the need for a long extraction process and make available tastes from rare or difficult-to-grow ingredients.

5. New England Coffee — Blueberry Cobbler

New England Coffee’s Blueberry Cobbler flavor is a unique treat inspired by the classic dessert. Their signature coffee is filled with a sweet and juicy berry taste and a touch of spices.

The distinctive but never overwhelming taste of Blueberry Cobbler coffee makes it the perfect choice for anyone looking for something new. This best flavored coffee on Amazon is ideal for a morning cup of joe or to complement a midday snack.

6. Cameron’s Coffee — Highlander Grog

Cameron’s Coffee uses 100% Arabica beans selected from the top 10% of beans around the world. The company invests in farming communities around the world, and Cameron’s representatives meet with farmers (and sometimes their families) to observe their equipment and, of course, test the finished product.

Highlander Grog, a rum-flavored coffee with butterscotch, caramel, and vanilla, was our most interesting pick.

7. Bones Coffee Company — Strawberry Cheesecake

Bones Coffee Company ethically sources its Brazilian coffee beans, and each batch is roasted and packaged in the United States. Their medium-roast coffee gives you a mild flavor with low acidity and a strong, sweet aroma with a delightfully unique taste.

Carefully selected coffee beans are roasted to perfection in small batches. Each cup boasts a rich, exceptionally smooth taste. 

Strawberry Cheesecake flavored coffee beans seemed to us the most interesting flavor, with its notes of delicious fresh strawberries and spicy cheesecake. 

Bones Coffee Company sells its coffee in 12oz packages, available both whole and ground. To get the full taste of the coffee, buy whole beans and grind them to the required size for a French press, pouring-over, or cold brew. 

8. Don Francisco’s Coffee — Cinnamon Hazelnut Pods

Craftsmanship passed down from generation to generation is what distinguishes Don Francisco’s Coffee from other brands. The process begins with the delivery of high-quality, 100% Arabica beans from the best regions of the world. Then the company carefully thinks over their coffee so that it is aromatic and balanced in acidity and taste, and makes us crave every new cup.

Of Don Francisco’s coffee flavors, we liked Cinnamon Hazelnut the most, with its nutty flavor and sweet cinnamon aroma. 

Hawaiian Hazelnut is another great flavor that will give you a rich aroma of hazelnut and shades of coconut flavor, reminiscent of the islands. And the Vanilla Nut flavor provides a nutty aroma with hints of vanilla. 

9. Mystic Monk Coffee — Royal Rum Pecan

In a mountain valley in Wyoming, a small group of Carmelite monks were looking for a way to support their growing community. After much thought and prayer, the monks were inspired to start roasting coffee and selling it on the Internet. The first samples were fried in a cast-iron skillet in the monastery kitchen, and in 2007, Mystic Monk Coffee was born.

From this humble beginning, Mystic Monk Coffee began to reach more and more coffee lovers. After the first delightful sip, most people become regular customers, and today about 85% of Mystic Monk’s orders come from regular customers. This is not surprising, as monks strive for excellence in everything they do, and every coffee bean is roasted with love and prayer.

We really enjoyed the Royal Rum Pecan flavor. The company itself recognizes this blend as one of their best, and it has regal tones of pecan praline, rum, and fresh cream. 

10. AmazonFresh Coffee — French Vanilla Coffee

Yes, AmazonFresh is the name of the Amazon grocery delivery service, but it’s also a nickname for one of Amazon’s coffee brands.

Their AmazonFresh French Vanilla Flavored Coffee, delivered in a 12-ounce bag, is made from high-quality, 100% Arabica beans, expertly roasted and immediately packaged for freshness. Each well-balanced cup has a delicate vanilla flavor and a smooth aftertaste.

The beans themselves are grown in Central and South America, and roasted and packaged in the United States. 

How Is Flavored Coffee Made?

There are 3 ways to flavor coffee:

• with natural flavors,
• with artificial flavors,  
• with “flavors identical to natural.”

What does a “flavor identical to natural” mean? The European classification of these substances defines them as “coinciding in structure with natural products”. So, the base of a fruit flavor, for example, would be similar to the structure of real fruits. Unlike artificial flavors, flavors “identical to natural” are made from natural ingredients; they’re just not made from the original ingredient that gives rise to a flavor. So maybe the strawberry flavor in your drink comes from a blueberry or a raspberry, rather than from a strawberry. These types of flavors are harmless and are used in the food industry around the world. 

Quality flavors are made in the UK and Israel, where strict quality control is applied. These flavors are then applied to the coffee that has cooled for 10 to 14 hours after roasting. The flavors and beans are mixed together in a centrifuge for about 5 minutes.

Is Flavored Coffee Bad for You?

Well-known companies carefully monitor the quality of their products at all stages of production, using additives that are tested and approved for food production. Natural and synthetic components are analyzed both separately and in mixed form. The finished batch is checked with spectrographs and gas chromatographs. There are a number of regulations that a company must adhere to when assessing product safety.