Make Your Coffee Taste Like A Warm Hug With An Unexpected Spice

We're all looking for ways to brew a better cup of coffee without having our own in-home baristas, and it turns out there are a lot of options for enhancing your morning (or afternoon) pick-me-up. If you find yourself daydreaming of blustery fall days during the summer heat, or needing a hug due to the state of the world, look no further than cloves for the ideal cup. Cloves provide the perfect spicy sweetness to make your coffee feel like it should be enjoyed while watching the rain outside the window of a cozy cafe.

Clove-spiked coffee is common in traditional Mexican café de olla, or "coffee from a pot," and it's also often used in seasonal drinks during colder months. Add whole cloves to your coffee by grinding and brewing them with your coffee grounds. If you use whole bean coffee, you can grind your cloves with the beans for a more flavorful blend. The amount of cloves needed depends on your personal preference and what type of coffee grounds you use each day. If cloves are too expensive, or they don't offer enough flair for your flavor ambitions, you'll be pleased to know that there's far more you can do with spices and coffee beans.

Experimenting with coffee at home should be an adventure, but not the kind that leaves you feeling defeated. Brewing cloves with your coffee is a great start, but other spices like allspice, cardamom, and ginger also allow you to achieve a similar flavor hug. You can try them individually or make a special little spice blend specifically for your coffee. It'll change the way you enjoy your brew and maybe even make you want to start giving your loved ones bagged spices for their coffee, too.

Once you've brewed your spiced coffee, you can add a little vanilla creamer and sprinkle some gingerbread spice over the top for a drink that feels like everything good in life. But if you forget to add the spices to your coffee grounds before brewing a cup, don't fret; there are still methods to make the perfect cup. You can stir in a bit of extra flavor with a ground powder blend like pumpkin pie spice, and follow that up with a sprinkle of nutmeg. The great part about adding cloves and other spices to your coffee is that it's all part of finding your own perfect cup and preferred flavor profile. Remember, just say no to boring coffee.