The fall season is upon us and customers are craving their favorite fall flavors. Pumpkin spice-flavored coffees, creamers, and syrups continue to be a popular flavor, but there are several other fall flavors that you should be aware of if you want to keep your coffee menu competitive.

The dawn of a new season is a great opportunity for your business to reevaluate its recipes and add new items. To help you build a more profitable menu that will give your customers the ultimate fall beverage experience, we have put together a checklist of the biggest flavor trends that you should offer this season.

1. Apple Spice

A new flavor trend that is forecasted to be significant this year is apple, especially in the form of apple spice. Though apple as a seasonal fall ingredient is not necessarily a new concept, its introduction into coffee has been relatively untouched up to this point. Using syrups, like Torani’s Apple, apple pie spice, or even apple puree, you can create delicious drink recipes like apple spice lattes, apple crisp macchiatos, or caramel apple spice frappes.

Apple flavored items offer a nostalgic taste experience for customers, as they allude to classic experiences of fall festivals, apple picking, and baking apple pie with the family. It pairs well with many other popular taste profiles, such as caramel, vanilla, and cinnamon, making it a complementary flavor to integrate into your menu.  Additionally, incorporating apples into your menu offer your customers health benefits in the form of antioxidants that help fight off the common cold and other ailments.

2. Maple

In the spirit of revisiting traditional favorites, maple-flavored food and beverage items continue to grow in popularity. According to Mintel’s Global New Products Database, sweet brown flavors, including maple and coffee, are projected to bring a high return on investment this year as restaurant and bakery customers are gravitating towards food items and beverages featuring these flavors.

Its unique flavor profile has made it a strong contender for both sweet and savory pairings. From maple bacon donuts and praline pecan to maple bourbon gravy for savory meat dishes, this ingredient has the potential to bring both your coffee menu and its complementary food items to the next level. A simple place to start using maple is by incorporating it into your lattes and cappuccinos.

3. Hazelnut

Surprisingly, hazelnut is often overlooked as a fall-associated flavor. While many coffee lovers will add it to their cold brew or use hazelnut-flavored creamers throughout the year, there is an opportunity to make it an autumn staple on your menu.

Hazelnut season begins in August and goes through October, making this season the perfect time to promote the nutty flavor. It plays well with other fall flavors, like cinnamon, vanilla, and caramel, and is a welcoming addition to both hot and cold beverages. Nutty flavors are popular during the Christmas season as well, so you can also carry over your hazelnut success into the new year.

4. Pumpkin

Your customers will always expect you to have something to offer in the form of pumpkin spice for fall. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to follow the status quo. Pumpkin is a unique and versatile flavor with many opportunities to reinvent its use in coffee, such as adding new garnishes, combining it with new flavors, and offering it with plant-based milk versions of classic favorites.

Gaviña’s pumpkin spice flavored coffee recipes are a great place to start if you aren’t sure how to make it past the pumpkin spice latte trend. Try recipes like vanilla chai pumpkin pie, a pumpkin caramel iced treat, or try to find ways to mix pumpkin with other trending flavors to show your customers your creative side.

5. Chai Tea

Coffee and tea lovers alike share an affinity for chai flavoring. In many parts of the world, specifically India and China, the word “chai” is synonymous with tea. The recipe that we use in the US focuses on more international fragrances like ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom. With exotic flavors on the rise in 2021 in the US, this globally-inspired beverage is a great addition to your menu this season.

Chai has a distinctly bold flavor that has been described as sweet with a hint of spice. It can be used diversely in both coffee and tea beverages, such as the popular chai tea latte or dirty chai, and complements other current flavor trends. In addition to its cozy taste profile, chai tea is chock-full of antioxidants and is proven to have health benefits, such as lowered blood sugar and lowered blood pressure.

Key Takeaways

Your customers will be looking for new and innovative ways to indulge in their favorite fall beverages. Whether it be through creative brewing and preparation methods, or interesting flavor combinations, businesses that are creative with their fall season coffee menu and these key flavor trends can expect a profitable fall season.

Gaviña Coffee completes your coffee menu with a myriad of fall beverages and flavors. Looking to add pumpkin spice and beyond? Contact us today.