Your Cup Of Coffee Will Taste 5x Better When You Add A Pinch Of This Spice

If that morning cup of joe has started to taste a little predictable, there's a simple way to give it a flavor boost without resorting to fancy syrups. Cardamom, a fragrant spice with a warm, sweet, minty, citrusy, and floral taste, can add so much flavor to your morning coffee. This isn't a random combination; cardamom is a staple in Middle Eastern-style coffee (also known as qahwa), and it's also a known addition for coffee in parts of India too. As a pairing, it makes sense. Coffee can be quite bitter, so drinking it with added aromatic and slightly sweet flavors creates a more balanced sip without having to add any sugar. 

If you buy whole cardamom pods, as opposed to ground cardamom, then it's a good idea to pick out the tiny, dark seeds from their green shells as these have the most concentrated flavor and aroma. For the powdered version, making freshly ground cardamom yourself is a great choice if you want the most flavor possible, but in a pinch, the pre-ground version works well too. 

Whole cardamom seeds work best if you're immersing your coffee grounds in a French press or pour-over, or even a standard drip coffee maker. Start with one or two whole cardamom pods, lighting crushing them with a pestle and mortar to release the seeds and mixing those into your ground coffee. But if you prefer espresso, it's best to stir a tiny pinch — around one quarter of a teaspoon — of ground cardamom into the finished shot. Be warned, however, that the ground powder won't dissolve completely and may leave a little sediment at the bottom of the cup. 

There are plenty of other additions to give your coffee a boost that complement this spice. For example, you could pair cardamom with a light dusting of cinnamon to add a little warmth, or with some vanilla syrup to make it even sweeter. Cardamom also works really well with lattes, infusing a sweet, almost cereal-like note into the milk. The biggest consideration to bear in mind here is that adding more cardamom doesn't necessarily make your drink taste better. The spice's distinctive flavor can quickly overpower a delicate coffee, so start small, see how you like it, and adjust the amount for next time, ensuring that it is the coffee that stays at the center of your morning cup.