Improve Your Next Pot Of Coffee With One Chinese Spice

A day doesn't really start until you've had that first cup of eye-opening coffee. But, variety really is the spice of life when it comes to something you drink daily, and Chinese five spice is the one you want to reach for when it's time to put a special twist on your morning brew. There are ways to flavor coffee with extracts, syrups, and sweeteners, but spice is natural and time-tested. Mexico's café de olla (typically with cloves and star anise), Senegal's café touba (featuring selim pepper and cloves), and pumpkin spice in the U.S. are just three examples of coffees that use spices to make unique flavors.

Chinese five-spice powder is a blend of (as the name implies) five spices: Cloves, fennel seeds, star anise, Cassia cinnamon, and Sichuan peppercorns. If you're familiar with Sichuan cooking, you may start sweating just hearing the word and you might think the resulting coffee will make you beg for water, but you'd be surprised. While Chinese five spice is commonly used to prepare dinner dishes, its flavor is already used in sweet treats, like brownies. In cooking, some people say the Sichuan peppercorns tingle the tongue, but in coffee, you won't really get that sensation. Instead, your coffee is transformed with hints of cinnamon along with licorice from the star anise and gives you that sensation of warmth during an autumn day. 

If you're looking to get the most out of adding Chinese five spice, you want to incorporate it into the coffee grounds when you brew it. This gives you a consistent flavor in every sip and a more noticeable difference in aroma and taste. This is also the option for anybody who enjoys black coffee. If you're making an espresso, a 1:20 ratio of spice to coffee grounds is recommended. If you want to make your coffee without electricity or prefer the simplicity of a French press for your daily coffee ritual, the same ratio works. If you're in charge of the office drip coffee maker, first confirm everyone's on board with coffee experiments, and then use about ½ teaspoon of Chinese five spice for every 6 cups of coffee you make. 

For more subtle notes from Chinese five-spice powder, sprinkle it over a steamed milk top. The soft texture of the steamed milk serves as a pillow for the dusting of spice. Without it, you'll just have powder all over of your coffee that could clump and need to be stirred in. By doing it this way, you'll get the aroma and taste to start but it will soften the more you drink. If what you really want is a decadent caramel latte, add Chinese five spice to homemade or store-bought caramel sauce. The usually overly sweet add-on gains fragrance and a kick that tames the sweetness without becoming bitter.