The Unexpected Ingredient You Should Be Adding To Your Coffee

Coffee, it’s what gets me out of bed in the morning. I can hear that memorable 80s Folgers jingle now. You’re welcome; it’s stuck in my head now too.

If you’re anything like me, my cup of Joe is part of my morning ritual. A necessary pause during the AM rush. My staple cup of coffee is unassuming: a light roast French press coffee, milk or heavy cream if I have any leftover from the recipes I’ve made that past week, and a healthy “teaspoon” of granulated sugar.

But, I will say that I’m no stranger to experimenting with my daily caffeine fix. From the 2020s top coffee trends, like many, I was introduced to the creamy, dreamy world of whipped coffee or Dalgona. I then experimented with coffee’s hottest new dairy-free alternative, oat milk. I also learned how to create a smooth, versatile cold-brew concentrate at home.

When I first heard about replacing cream and sugar in my coffee with cinnamon as an unexpected flavor-packed alternative, you could say I was a tad intrigued. I was totally on board to see if this fascinating coffee hack could earn a worthy spot on my coffee bar’s ever-growing tiered tray.

Cinnamon: The Unexpected Accompaniment To Your Cup Of Coffee

This coffee hack suggests coffee lovers swap out their beloved cream and sugar for a dash of cinnamon. Adding some cinnamon to your pre-brewed coffee grounds will enhance your coffee’s flavor by adding a warm subtle sweetness without adding unnecessary fat, calories, and or artificial sweeteners to your favorite morning brew. Not only does cinnamon transform your go-to wake up drink into a diet-loving, keto-friendly coffee, but it is also packed with essential health benefits that anyone could get behind.

Adding Cinnamon To Your Coffee Can Do The Following:

1. Help You Lose Weight: That’s right! Enjoyed one too many Dalgonas this year? I know I have. You’re not alone. If the quarantine fifteen has got you down, you can make the switch to fat-burning cinnamon coffee instead. Cinnamon has appetite-suppressing properties, nicknamed nature’s “gastric band.”
2. Improve Insulin Sensitivity: Suffering from type 2 diabetes? Adding a dose of cinnamon to your daily regimen may help regulate your blood sugar levels naturally. It has been proven that cinnamon can imitate the effects of insulin, enabling the release of glucose from the bloodstream.
3. Help Brain Function: Cinnamon metabolizes into sodium benzoate. It’s been shown that consuming cinnamon may prevent or slow age-related neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, according to Psychology Today. Cinnamon’s sodium benzoate can stimulate the new neurons in the brain and support existing neurons’ survival.
4. Helps Fight Off Cold And Flu: Like the popular elderberry syrup that can now be made right in your instant pot, adding cinnamon to your morning cup of Joe can also provide antiviral, antibacterial compounds that will be essential during the colder winter months of the year.

Honestly, after reading about all the benefits, giving cinnamon in your coffee a try doesn’t seem like a bad idea, right? But how does cinnamon in your coffee really taste? And, how do you go about putting cinnamon in your coffee? Is there a specific way to prepare it? Let me give you the run down.

How To Add Cinnamon To Coffee

While reading about adding cinnamon to coffee, I came across quite a few articles that suggested adding a teaspoon of cinnamon to your already-made cup of coffee. Don’t do that. Admittedly, I did, and it was quite the mistake. Cinnamon doesn’t mix well in some liquids. Cinnamon is a bark consisting of many fibers that absorb rather than dissolve, which results in a cinnamon-like challenge clump. Yum.

I’m not asking my readers to do a throwback here by taking the cinnamon challenge, so we’re going to do this the right way. Adding cinnamon to coffee works best with filter coffee or with a French press. Start by adding a dash to about half of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the top of your ground coffee prior to brewing. Adding cinnamon to the coffee grounds will offer you a rich, sweet, clump-free cup of coffee. It’s so tasty when done the right way, you may even say goodbye to cream and sugar, especially if you’re trying to get healthy.

Although, not the same as your typical cream and sugar additives that you may be used to, cinnamon in coffee offers a warm welcoming, and comforting aroma, with sweet and slightly spicy notes that are perfect for the cozy season.

If you’re not feeling sold on this, you could go half-and-half, and try some of the following tips:

• Try pre-mixing the cinnamon in your milk prior to adding the milk to your coffee.
• Add a cinnamon stick directly to your coffee to avoid clumping. You can also add cinnamon sticks to your French press. Just crack two sticks, add to the vessel, and brew.
• Add a dash of cinnamon to homemade whipped cream on top of your morning coffee as a special treat.
• In a small bowl dissolve a 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon in one teaspoon of honey. Slowly pour your coffee into the cinnamon-honey mixture, stirring constantly until well blended.