Coffee That Doesn’t Taste Like Coffee
Coffee is a popular drink! Everyone seems to need it in the morning, in the afternoon, or (for those that are real addicts) at night.
And if you’re one of these people, it may surprise you to know some people just can’t stand coffee. Maybe because it tastes bitter, makes them jittery, or keeps them from sleeping at night.
But that doesn’t stop such people from wanting a pleasant-tasting beverage in the morning. Preferably one with just a little caffeine to start the day, or get them through those dull afternoons.
You may ask, do such drinks exists? Yes! and they are all coffee-based. Coffee can be made more palatable for anyone. We all can’t drink strong bitter coffee – and we don’t have to.
In this detailed guideline, we give you a few examples of mild, yet flavourful caffeine beverages you can try. We also offer you some advice on making a cup of coffee that doesn’t taste like one from home. Let’s get started.
Different types of coffee that don’t taste like coffee
- Green coffee refreshers
How about trying a refresher? Green coffee refreshers are cold drinks made from unroasted green coffee beans. You can have them in different flavors, and they contain very little caffeine.
Unlike coffee made from roasted beans, green coffee refreshers are pretty mild on the tongue with a flavor that most people who hate bitter coffee love. They also contain some green coffee extract that’s great for energy boosting and fat burning, making them a perfect drink for any health-conscious coffee drinker.
- Mochá Latte
If you love chocolate and are looking for a cup of chocolatey coffee, a Mochá latte, also known as a cafe Mochá, is an excellent choice for you.
It’s has a predominantly chocolatey flavor with just a little coffee taste. Mocha also has a sweet flavor that is a little more than what you find in lattes.
Mochá lattes are popular among non – coffee drinkers. They are made by adding some steamed milk and chocolate syrup to a regular cup of coffee, resulting in a comforting, rich taste.
- Vanilla lattes
If adding milk and syrup is not enough to help you drink a cup of bitter coffee, you need something sweeter, and a vanilla latte is a great choice.
However, if you choose to drink this type of coffee latte, expect it to have a strong vanilla taste with very little coffee in it. The best way to regulate the vanilla taste is to use less vanilla syrup when making it.
It’s an excellent beverage for people who like their coffee drinks without the coffee flavor.
- Instant Coffee
Sometimes, all you need is a cup of coffee, and you don’t care about the type of beans used to make it. That’s where instant coffee comes in.
Most flavors of instant coffee are mild and ideal for anyone trying to escape the robust flavors found in various roasts.
Adding some milk and sugar to instant coffee( as is done in lattes) also further tones the flavors.
Instant coffee brands are ideal for home use, especially for people who don’t have time to grind and brew their own coffee from roasted beans.
- Chai Latte
I may not be a fan of chai lattes, but I know many people who love them. They are ideal for anyone who can’t stand the taste of coffee but is looking for a caffeinated beverage.
As the name suggests, Chai latte is made from tea ( chai being another name for tea in India and some African countries) and coffee. The fusion of the two results in a creamy beverage that tastes like masala chai tea.
Chai latte has a spicy taste that comes from the Indian spices known as masala used to make it.
If you love Indian food, or anything spicy, Chai Latte is your best bet for caffeinated beverages you can enjoy every day.
- Vietnamese coffee
If you love quality coffee but can’t stand the inevitable strong flavor found in most quality roasts, try Vietnamese coffee.
It is a dark roast of the Robusta variety that is always made with some sweetened condensed milk. The resulting cup of coffee is sugary and sweet, with a lingering coffee flavor that most people enjoy.
You can take Vietnamese coffee, either hot or cold, making it an ideal beverage for hot or cold days. If you want to experiment with coffee flavors from other parts of the world, a cup of Vietnamese coffee is a great place to start.
- Frappuccino
Cold brew coffee is popular among people who love cold beverages once in a while.
If your looking for a nice cold caffeinated beverage that doesn’t have the bitter taste found in cold brews, a frappucino is a good pick.
It’s prepared using whipped cream, milk, ice, and some delicious toppings such as shaved chocolate.
You can hardly tell that a frappucino is a coffee drink due to its smooth and creamy taste that makes it almost taste like a milkshake.
It’s ideal for people who want to introduce their friends or young adults in the family to a mild caffeinated drink they can enjoy without suffering any adverse effects such as jitters.
- Misto Coffee
As the name suggests, misto coffee is made by mixing black coffee with a mist of steamed milk. The correct ratio to use when making it is 1:1. It’s easy to make at home and is an excellent alternative to coffee lattes.
However, Misto coffee is not for people who love mild coffee flavors. Expect it to have a bit more of an intense flavor than what you get when drinking lattes.
- Cold brew coffee
While most people use cold brew to make other types of mild coffee drinks, such as Frappuccinos, it’s also a great beverage when taken on its own.
Although it’s mostly served black, adding milk and sugar to cold brew is a great way to reduce its coffee taste. If you want to make it even more flavourful, a dollop of ice cream or some chocolate chips will do the trick.
The additional ingredients reduce the coffee flavor while making it rich and tasty.
Making your own coffee at home
While buying a cup of java from your favorite coffee shop is great, sometimes you just need to make one at home. It’s a great way to reduce expenses and also – why go out for coffee when you can make one yourself?
However, if you hate the taste of coffee, you may feel preparing one yourself is a waste of time. No, it’s not!
There are tips you can follow to make coffee that doesn’t taste like coffee (such as the ones suggested above). Here are some you can try.
- Be patient
You need a lot of patience and some trial and error to make a good cup of coffee at home.
Start with a cup of strong black coffee and spend time finding the right flavor by adding things like sugar, milk, or creamer.
If you really want a different taste, add some ice cream, whip cream, or chocolate chips. Just make sure your base coffee is of good quality.
- Use the right type of coffee
When looking for a great coffee to use as your base for a non-coffee tasting beverage, choose your beans wisely.
When coffee tastes bitter, its been made from dark roasts, while light or blond roasts are ideal for subtle tasting coffee.
You’ll make a more informed choice when purchasing coffee beans if you know the terms to look for from the packaging.
Words like “chocolatey” or “nutty” describe a medium to dark roast you can use as a base for any light coffee beverage if you add milk, flavored creamer, or whipped cream to it.
Fruity or sweet descriptions refer to light roasts that are more flavourful and can give you a smooth-tasting cup of coffee if you brew them right.
You can get a mild cup of coffee without necessarily adding sugar or milk when using light roasts.
However, if you find coffee beans with descriptions such as smoky or caramel, they are most likely dark roast beans. You have to use lots of creamer, sugar, or milk in your coffee if you use dark roasts to prepare it.
You may also purchase coffee from regions that have a reputation for producing less bitter coffee brands. For example, Arabica coffee beans from Central America have nutty flavors, while those from Ethiopia, such as Harrar coffee, are spicy and fruity.
Others also have more exciting flavors like the Arabian Mocha from Yemen, which tastes chocolatey. Picking coffee based on the region is one of the best ways to find your preferred flavor.
The freshness of coffee beans will also affect the taste of your coffee. Beans that are older than 30 days are most likely stale. Avoid them.
Once you know all these factors, you can pick an excellent base coffee for your use at home.
If keeping all this information in mind is too much of a hassle, shop for a flavored brand of light roast coffee, such as hazelnut, cinnamon, or pumpkin spice flavored coffee. It will ease your choice-making process.
You can then work on your extraction technique to get a cup of smooth coffee that doesn’t have the bitterness associated with strong coffee beverages.
- Fine-tune your extraction process
The bitter-burnt taste that most people hate when drinking coffee comes from the acids found in coffee bean extracts. If you want to cut down on these acidic extracts, you need to watch your extraction time.
If you steep coffee grounds in hot water for too long, expect the resulting coffee to taste bitter. Taking less time to brew coffee will help you come up with a lightly flavored cup.
The temperature of water you use to make your coffee also matters. Sizzling water is best for rapid extraction. If your water is too hot, don’t leave your ground steeped in it for too long.
- Choose the best additives
Before you think of adding anything else to your coffee, start by using coarse grounds to ensure you achieve a light flavor. The coarser they are, the less contact time they will have when steeped in hot water.
As advised above, adding things like milk, sugar, and cream can also help you cut down on the bitter taste of coffee. Learning the right amount of creamer, milk, or sugar to add will come with experience as you determine your preferred flavor.
Usually, 2 pumps of flavored syrup, milk, or creamer in a cup of black coffee will cut down on its bitterness and even out the coffee flavor. You can always add more if the resulting beverage is not to your liking.
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, the coffee you make still tastes bitter. That’s where other unconventional tricks that cut down the sharpness of coffee come in.
A popular one is adding a pinch of salt to strong coffee to reduce its bitterness. It’s similar to what we do to cut down the bitterness of veggies in a curry. Try it and let me know if it works for you too.
- Pick the proper coffee brewing method
While some people think boiling water and pouring it over some grounds or a spoonful of instant coffee is the only way to make coffee, there are several ways that are better.
They all involve some type of coffee-making equipment. Investing in one of these items will ease your coffee brewing process at home. Here are some suggestions.
- Instant coffee
Instant coffee comes in powder form; it’s the simplest way to brew coffee without using any equipment. We just thought we’d include it for people who don’t want to invest in coffee-making machines.
Instant coffee is often made from dark roast beans, which gives it a strong flavor. When you use it to make coffee, don’t expect it to taste like freshly brewed java.
You can use it to make mild-tasting coffee by adding just a bit of the instant coffee powder to some hot water. If you feel it’s still too strong for you, add some sugar and milk to dilute it further.
- Moka pot coffee
If you want to master the art of making coffee in a pot, Moka pot coffee is a great option.
Once you master the art of making coffee in a Moka pot without a bitter flavor, you will probably prefer it to other brewing methods. It works best when you brew medium-fine coffee grounds on a medium to low heat setting.
The more you brew your coffee in a mocha pot, the more bitter it will taste. Therefore, once you see the first splutter, remove the pot from the fire immediately. Adding some milk to the resulting brew will give you a smooth cup of coffee that not too strong for the palate.
- French press coffee
The French press method of brewing coffee is much better than the Moka pots option because it gives you more control over how you make your coffee.
It allows you to control the strength and flavor, ensuring you come up with a cup of coffee that tastes just like you prefer.
If you like very light flavors, use lightly roasted coffee beans powder, but if you prefer, intense flavors use freshly brewed coffee.
French press coffee brewing is one of the best ways to make a decent cup of coffee at home.
- Drip coffee
Another coffee-making process you can try that’s similar to the French press technique is drip coffee making which is used to make filter coffee. An example of an excellent filter drip coffee machine is the Chemex coffee maker.
When making filter coffee, the best way to achieve the freshest and fullest flavors is by using fresh grounds. You’ll find that you don’t need a large quantity of coffee grounds to come up with a decent cup of coffee. A tablespoon or less is enough.
The most important factor to remember apart from using fresh grounds when brewing drip coffee is to use clean filters.
- Espresso machines
For anyone who loves robust coffee and wants it every morning, purchasing an espresso machine is a must. Although espresso has a reputation of being bitter, it can be smooth and sweet when prepared the right way.
Espresso machines allow you to adjust the coffee flavor by balancing the coffee powder and brewing time. Using about 2-7 grams of ground coffee will give you a flavourful yet light shot of espresso.
You can also play around with other functions of the machine to create different flavors.
Now, can you make coffee that doesn’t taste like coffee?
Hopefully, you can using the tips we’ve given you in this guide. I enjoy drinking coffee, and using some of the tricks outlined above has made me a coffee connoisseur. But I also know that strong coffee is not for everyone.
The good news is, anyone can love coffee if they learn how to make it their way. And the best way to learn how to make coffee you love is by trial and error.
Try as many brands and varieties as possible from all over the world. And with time, you’ll have one or two flavors you enjoy and can rely on to give you a great cup of coffee every time.
If experimenting is not for you, and all you need is a cup of coffee you can enjoy, visit your favorite coffee shop and ask them for a customized cup.
You will find they are pretty knowledgeable when it comes to brewing coffee that doesn’t necessarily taste like one.
When all is said and done, coffee making is an art. Coffee is also a beverage that anyone can enjoy when made the right way.
Therefore, if you’ve given up on coffee or haven’t tried it because you feel it’s too strong, we hope our guide has given you an idea of just how easy it is to customize a cup of coffee to your liking.
