Flavored coffee has a bad reputation among coffee snobs. It’s often cheap beans hiding behind artificial flavors. But there are brands doing it right—using quality beans and natural flavorings that enhance rather than mask the coffee.
I’ve tried dozens of flavored coffees looking for ones that don’t taste like chemicals. Here are the ones worth buying.
The Problem with Most Flavored Coffee
Cheap flavored coffee uses two shortcuts:
- Low-quality beans that would taste bad unflavored
- Artificial flavorings that taste like they came from a candle factory
The result is coffee that smells amazing and tastes disappointing. That initial whiff of vanilla or hazelnut turns into a cloying, chemical aftertaste.
Good flavored coffee starts with decent beans and uses restrained, natural flavorings. The coffee should taste like coffee first, with the flavoring as an accent.
Best Vanilla: New England Coffee Vanilla Hazelnut
Most vanilla coffees are overwhelming. New England’s version shows restraint. The vanilla is present but doesn’t dominate—more like a suggestion than an announcement.
The underlying coffee is a medium roast with decent body. It tastes like actual coffee with vanilla notes, not vanilla-scented water.
This is my go-to recommendation for people who want flavored coffee that doesn’t taste artificial.
Best for: Vanilla lovers who want subtlety
Best Hazelnut: Dunkin’ Hazelnut
Dunkin’ does flavored coffee surprisingly well. Their hazelnut is nutty and sweet without the chemical burn that cheap hazelnuts have.
The base coffee is their standard medium roast—nothing special, but solid enough to carry the flavoring. Works well with cream and sugar if that’s your thing.
Available at most grocery stores, which is a plus for accessibility.
Best for: Everyday hazelnut coffee at a reasonable price
Best Chocolate: Cameron’s Chocolate Caramel Brownie
Okay, the name is ridiculous. But the coffee is actually good. It tastes like mocha without adding anything—chocolate notes with a hint of caramel sweetness.
Cameron’s uses specialty-grade arabica beans and flavors them in small batches. The quality difference from grocery store chocolate coffee is noticeable.
Fair warning: this is sweet. If you want subtle, look elsewhere.
Best for: Dessert coffee enthusiasts
Best Seasonal: Starbucks Pumpkin Spice
Every fall, pumpkin spice everything appears. Most pumpkin coffees are bad—cloyingly sweet with artificial spice flavor.
Starbucks’ version is decent. The pumpkin and spice notes are present but balanced. It tastes like fall without tasting like a Bath & Body Works store.
Only available seasonally, which is probably for the best. It’s a nice change of pace, not an everyday coffee.
Best for: Fall morning coziness
Best Natural Flavoring: Lifeboost Caramel Macchiato
Lifeboost is a specialty roaster that happens to make flavored coffee. Their Caramel Macchiato uses natural caramel flavoring on their single-origin Nicaraguan beans.
The result is coffee that tastes like coffee first, with a caramel undertone that emerges as you drink. No chemical aftertaste, no cloying sweetness.
It’s expensive—Lifeboost always is. But if you want premium flavored coffee, this is what it looks like.
Best for: Quality-focused flavored coffee drinkers
Best Southern Pecan: Community Coffee Southern Pecan
Community Coffee is a Louisiana institution, and their Southern Pecan is one of the better nut-flavored coffees available.
The pecan flavor is warm and toasty, not artificial. It pairs particularly well with chicory if you want to go full New Orleans style.
Good cold too—makes an interesting iced coffee.
Best for: Southern-style flavored coffee
Best Coconut: Hawaiian Isles Kona Coffee Coconut Caramel
Coconut-flavored coffee is tricky—it often tastes like sunscreen. Hawaiian Isles gets it right with a subtle, tropical coconut note that doesn’t overwhelm.
The Kona coffee base is high quality (though likely a blend, not 100% Kona). Combined with the coconut and a touch of caramel, it’s like vacation in a cup.
Best for: Tropical flavor seekers
Best Cinnamon: Don Francisco’s Cinnamon Hazelnut
Cinnamon in coffee is an old tradition that modern flavored coffees often get wrong. Don Francisco’s balances the cinnamon with hazelnut, creating a warm, spiced flavor.
The coffee itself is a medium roast that doesn’t disappear under the flavoring. Good for mornings when you want something a little special.
Best for: Spiced coffee lovers
Flavored Coffee I’d Skip
- Most store-brand flavored coffee: Usually the worst quality beans with the strongest artificial flavoring
- Anything labeled “dessert” from cheap brands: Red flag for chemical overload
- Birthday cake/cotton candy flavors: No amount of flavoring makes these taste good
- Cheap Irish cream: Usually tastes like alcohol and artificial sweetener
How to Get Better Results from Flavored Coffee
Store it carefully. Flavored coffees absorb other flavors easily. Don’t store them next to spices or strongly-scented items. Airtight containers are essential.
Don’t use for espresso. The concentrated extraction amplifies the flavoring, often making it taste artificial. Stick to drip or French press.
Consider flavoring your own. Buy good unflavored beans and add a dash of vanilla extract, cinnamon, or cocoa powder to your grounds before brewing. You control the intensity.
Clean your grinder after. If you grind flavored beans, the oils stick around and contaminate your next batch. Clean thoroughly between flavored and unflavored.
The Bottom Line
Good flavored coffee exists, but you have to look for it. The brands listed above use decent beans and restrained flavorings. They taste like coffee with flavor, not chemicals pretending to be coffee.
If you’ve written off flavored coffee because of past bad experiences, try one of these. You might be surprised.