INDUSTRY PROFILE
Flavour maker
MONIN reveals its new flavour wheel to help baristas match coffee profiles with natural flavours that can take a beverage menu to new heights and push the boundaries of taste exploration.
J
ohn Davidson, Head of Advocacy and Innovation at Stuart Alexander, an exclusive distributor of MONIN in Australia, says flavour pairing is “a skillset all three professions of bartenders, baristas and wine sommeliers can and should be learning from each other”. A certified sommelier and bartender himself, it wasn’t until John’s first visit to the Melbourne International Coffee Expo in 2019 that he witnessed the similarities between coffee cupping and wine tasting. “I was enthralled by the coffee cupping. It’s not unlike the process used in 1000-year-old wine tasting competitions,” he says. “It was really inspiring to see people use the simple brewing of coffee with water and their
taste experience and secondary aromas to determine the origin of the coffee, the altitude in which it was grown, the climate, air and soil quality. Immediately, the cocktail bartender in me thought, ‘I wonder how you could heighten and expand particular coffee flavours through using liqueurs, spirits, or a product like MONIN?’” MONIN already used flavour wheels in wine, cocktail, and gin and tonic pairings. The opportunity arose to apply the same principles to coffee, dividing the MONIN product range into flavours of exotics and botanical, bright and subtle sweetness, sour and tart, and sweet and aromatic. “We’re not reinventing the wheel, so to speak, but what we’re providing cafés is a guide they can use as a jumping off
MONIN’s new flavour wheel is designed to help baristas identify what coffee flavours best complement MONIN flavoured syrups.
point to connect MONIN flavours with coffee flavours and expand their beverage offering in a reliable way,” John says. “If you don’t want a sugar syrup but you do want to inject a flavour that creates a whole new experience for your guests, that’s where MONIN comes in, with consistency and true-to-form flavours.” John compares dark roasted coffee to heavy red wines grown in lower altitudes with more sunlight and bigger tannic flavours. He considers pairing it with raw flavours, fruits or flowers that grow in similar climates, such as dark or stewed fruits, and types of green or roasted nuts. For lighter roasts, John recommends pairing coffee with citrus fruit flavours such as pink grapefruit, mandarin, and peaches. Cherry is an intuitive flavour pairing given its connection to coffee as a fruit. John suggests a ‘cherry cold brew’ to spice up a menu with its touch of sourness or tartness adding another layer of complexity. Likewise, John says ‘cold brew with white peach’ or ‘mandarin nitro on tap’ can dress up a menu with MONIN being the “secret weapon” to inject an extra punch of flavour. “We’re not trying to convince double espresso drinkers to change their order, or that baristas should be injecting violet syrup into a natural processed Geisha – I would never put popcorn syrup into a Grand Cru Champagne. But what I would suggest, is that where cafés are looking for something new or a point of difference to change the game or stand out on their Instagram feed, MONIN provides an artillery of authentic flavours. Coffee remains the hero, it’s just a way of creating something new and exciting.” Ona Coffee Head Roaster and threetime MONIN Australian Coffee in Good Spirits Champion (CIGS) Danny Wilson has been experimenting with MONIN flavours for years, most recently using its passionfruit syrup with coffee, gin, Licor 43, and sparkling apple juice for his winning 2020 CIGS drink. “What’s interesting about this combination is the intensity of flavours and consistency you get week to week when making it with accessible and
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