Let’s clear the air on your morning brew.
We’ve all been there: You’re standing in the coffee aisle (or browsing our site), and you pick up a bag of single-origin beans. You see words like “Notes of Chocolate and Orange” or “Hints of Jasmine,” and you find yourself wondering if we’ve started moonlighting as a juice factory. Then, you see a bag of our Snickerdoodle roast and wonder if it’s the same thing.
It isn’t. In fact, they’re two entirely different crafts. Since we’ve been roasting beans in North Carolina since 1989, we’ve had this conversation once or twice. Here is the no-nonsense breakdown of what those labels actually mean for your morning mug.
What are Coffee Tasting Notes? (The Science of the Bean)
When a label mentions tasting notes, it’s a description of the bean’s natural personality. Think of it like describing a fine wine or a complex whiskey.
Coffee is the seed of a cherry. Like any fruit, its flavor is a product of its environment—the soil, the altitude, and the rainfall. When we roast these beans, we aren't adding syrups or extracts. Instead, the heat triggers chemical reactions that unlock compounds already tucked away inside the bean.
- The Origin: A bean from Ethiopia might naturally possess the floral acidity of jasmine.
- The Process: A bean from Colombia might lean into the rich, nutty sweetness of cocoa.
When we say a coffee has "notes of orange," we’re telling you that the acidity and sweetness of that specific crop remind our palates of citrus. It’s a tribute to the bean’s origin and the subtle art of a perfect roast. Shop our coffee collection!
What is Flavored Coffee? (The Craft of the Treat)
Now, let’s talk about that Flavored Coffee label. This is a different discipline entirely. In this case, we are intentionally adding high-quality, food-grade flavoring oils to the beans after they’ve been roasted.
Take our Snickerdoodle coffee as the prime example. We aren't waiting for a miracle of nature to make a coffee bean taste like a cinnamon-sugar cookie. We meticulously craft that flavor profile to pay homage to the treat we all know and love. It’s consistent, it’s comforting, and it’s designed to taste exactly like the name on the bag.
The Takeaway: A Place for Both
The biggest misconception is that one is "real" coffee and the other isn't. At Dilworth, we disagree.
- Tasting Notes are for when you want to explore the world through your cup, appreciating the nuances of a specific region's harvest.
- Flavored Coffees are for those moments when you want a reliable, delicious ritual that tastes like a Saturday morning bakery run.
One is a tribute to the bean; the other is a tribute to the treat. Both are roasted with care, and both have a rightful place on your kitchen counter.
The next time you’re browsing our collection, just ask yourself: Am I in the mood for a journey, or a little sippable treat?
