A quesstion for serious ☕️ coffee drinkers...

[electric_blue68]

My memory runs good to excellent. However I have no idea why I started drinking coffee - in my case Cafe Bustello Supreme Instant Coffee while living in a majorly Hispanic neighborhood. Never was a coffee drinker.

Anyway, now that I'm in a (nice) assisted living place I have coffee as well.
Question:
Can coffee have faint notes of chocolate in it?
OR Are my taste buds imagining it? 😄
It was a surprise to me, no expectations of anything else than coffee taste.

A good friend and coffee drinker years back (re the Bustello) said I was imagining it.
Tia!

[Ocelot II]

1. It certainly can, and many varieties do. You aren't imagining it.

Coffee-growing regions develop distinct flavor signatures influenced by their unique combination of climate, soil, and processing traditions. Central American coffees, particularly from Guatemala and Honduras, frequently exhibit chocolate notes due to volcanic soils and traditional processing methods. Brazilian coffees often display nutty-chocolate characteristics, especially those from the Cerrado region.

Colombian coffees from Huila and Nariño provinces can develop complex chocolate profiles when grown at high altitudes. Ethiopian coffees, while known for bright, fruity characteristics, can also display chocolate notes, particularly from the Sidamo region when processed naturally.

https://www.ictcoffee.com/news/why-some-coffee-has-chocolate-notes-the-science-behind-coffees-beloved-flavor-profile/#:~:text=Central%20American%20coffees%2C%20particularly%20from,those%20from%20the%20Cerrado%20region.

[electric_blue68]

3. Ty! Interesting!

[KT2000]

2. Some coffees have a chocolate note

but I avoid them. I don't know if they add something or if it is the beans.

[electric_blue68]

4. The poster above's link says soil, processing, genetics are the reasons. Not added. 👍

And as a chocolate fan - it's quite fine by me! 🙂👍

[blm]

5. Lavazza Gran Selezione has hints of Chocolate.

I add a tiny pinch of Ovaltine to a pot of coffee.

[electric_blue68]

8. Never had it - but I remember Ovaltine TV comnercials.

[Attilatheblond]

6. Had to cultivate a 'taste' for coffee as a prophylactic against migraines. Pretty much dislike the stuff

But found Jose's Mayan Blend. OK, game changer! Chocolaty notes make it work for me.

[electric_blue68]

7. Oh, good. Glad it helped!

I'm 72.
At around 16 yrs old I had a verty weird eye exam (vs my typical ones) from a doctor my dad drove us to.

Anyway by the time I got home - I had the light sensitivity, the nausea, pain, and the auras. Laid down in a darken room.
Major ick as you, unfortunately, know.

So glad you've gotten relief!

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

9. Yes, coffee can have a chocolate taste. And, with a little work, ...

... it can taste a bit like Irish Whiskey.

[electric_blue68]

10. Ahhh, who knew! 😄👍

[ProfessorGAC]

18. Well, Not That Much Work!

Unless, of course, you're buying that Irish whiskey by the barrel.

[cadoman]

11. my favorite coffees have loads of fruity notes in them

Look for single origin pour-overs when you're in a fancy area to get an idea of how many notes a nicer variety can have.

[electric_blue68]

12. Interesting, ty!

[Woodwizard]

13. I grind my beans

Some have a hint of chocolate I sometimes make really strong coffee to use in my fudgesicles they are so good.

[electric_blue68]

14. Fudgesicles! 🙂 Sounds like fun!

[MiHale]

15. Oh yes...he answers as he drifts into a caffeine dream...chocolate...

[electric_blue68]

16. 😄 👍

☕️

[BadgerKid]

17. Caffeine and chocolate flavor (theobromine)

Differ by a single chemical group. It is not at all surprising.

[electric_blue68]

19. Ah! I have heard of theobromine....

So I went read about (from chocovivo.com) [and glad I have enough kind of brain power to get it] -
the methylxanthine chemical family; binding to the brain’s adenosine receptors.

When an adenosine binds to its receptor, this sends a signal to our body to calm down. The more receptors that the methylxanthine food blocks, the less adenosine chemicals that bind to their respective receptors, and the fewer amount of signals sent to our central nervous system to calm our body down.

They showed the differing chemical graphics of each. Theobromine v caffeine.

Caffeine has an extra Methol group which passes the brain-blood barrier, werein chocolate's theobromine passes through less often.

And this was interesting.(Chocovivo)

"We have all been told tales of the mighty importance of Chocolate in the Mayan and Aztec cultures. The usage of Chocolate in religious ceremonies and its presence in religious texts as a true gift from the Gods, placed Chocolate at the center of these societies. After hypothesizing that Chocolate contained a chemical akin to that of marijuana’s THC, Daniele Piomelli - who was researching at the Neurosciences Institute- found traces of anandamides in modern Chocolate.

These anandamides connect to the same endocannabinoid receptors that THC does, and it is this exact neurotransmitter connection between THC and the endocannabinoid receptors that produces the euphoric and calming effects associated with marijuana (4).

Since higher amounts of anandamides would result in heightened feelings of euphoria and other possible effects, this would explain the extreme amount of importance placed upon chocolate and chocolate consumption in weddings and ritual ceremonies in Aztec and Mayan culture (5).".

The chocovivo owner and chocolate expert thinks the anandamides have been mostly bred out of modern chocolate.

[pansypoo53219]

20. i started young. but i soon was doing the perculator at the cottage. my cat got gevalia + a coffee maker. actually i got

a vintage perc 1st. i have a bitter issue so i had to dr coffee. i got pickier + pickier. then i used up some to hard to eat toffee in my coffee.....+ butter, but too damn hot. salt + hazelnut for iced coffee. almond was good too.
now i have my vintage drip-o lator. no tech at all.

[electric_blue68]

21. If it works for you, it's all good! ...

Are you more sensitive to bitterness than average?

I'd say I'm not a big fan, but maaaybe a little in conjunction with stronger flavors within a particular food like citrus, tangy "green", umami, some sweetness, a bit of salt - works for me.

[pansypoo53219]

22. bitter too strong to me, tho i love grapefruit. i do like STONG coffee. but not DARK/BURNT coffee.

starbucks awful. seattle shit. PBS had a tast doc. salt cuts bitter.
then valetine coffee roasters was born. i liked 8' o clock columbian, but valentine's costa rica is the best.

i am a picky girl. no eggs, no cheese, no beer. i prefer iceburg. hmm. BLTs soon. super taster. can't do extra spicy hot. but i want flavor.

oh. torke coffee is great too. a former fon du lac place you got free coffee w/ a meal + too strong til i added enough cream(too many little creamer- here's a carton).

OH! i tried a victorian coffee grinder i had from an estate sale. turned my 8:00 into valentines.

my cousin thought miami's cafe de leche so good. ha! i make it all the time.