Nearly everyone loves the flavor of coffee in one way or another – if you don’t like having a cup of Joe, you likely still enjoy coffee-based desserts, beverages, and chocolates like Coffee Crisps, coffee-flavored ice cream, hot drinks, coffee-inspired cocktails, or one of the many other delicious products!
The point is, many of you adore the taste, which is where coffee extract can really shine for you! It’s perfect for adding that delicious flavor to pretty much anything you want, and opens a lot of doors for us coffee-obsessed folk (me very much included).
Along with providing a delicious flavor, coffee extract is much more convenient than trying to add a cup of coffee or an espresso shot to your recipes – it just takes a few drops of the extract to add the taste!
But, you don’t just want a random coffee extract – you want the best stuff that’s actually worth your money! So, we’ve made this list for you that ranks our favorite and best coffee extracts out there, so that you can make a delicious choice!
Let’s take a look!
What is coffee extract?
Coffee extract is basically a liquid that has a very concentrated coffee flavor. This is made by crushing up whole coffee beans into a coarse powder, and then mixed in alcohol over a couple of weeks. It’s then strained to get rid of the bigger coffee bits (although a bit of coffee dust is totally fine), with the resulting liquid being your coffee extract!
The alcohol is usually unflavored vodka, and it acts to extract all the tasty characteristics of the crushed up coffee beans. It also gives the extract a very long shelf-life, so you’ll probably use it all up before you worry about how old it is!
Another great thing about coffee extract is that a little bit goes a long way, with just a few drops often being more than enough to add the special flavor to your dish!
How to use coffee extract in recipes
The first thing we think of when we hear “coffee” is obviously the hot beverage, but did you know that there are a TON of other ways you can use the flavor?
For example, you can use it in your cakes, ice cream, desserts, cocktails, smoothies, bakes, and more! My personal favorite use of coffee extract is pairing it with anything chocolate related, as those two combine into a beautiful flavor!
You can also use coffee extract as a substitute in recipes that call for something like instant espresso powder – just substitute it in a 1:1 ratio.
Or, if you want to completely change the flavor profile of a dish, you can use coffee extract as a great substitute for vanilla extract – which means you basically just switch the flavors around. Adding coffee extract as an additional ingredient can intensify a coffee-related recipe or add a twist to a non-coffee recipe, but just remember to add it slowly so that you avoid getting too much flavor!
You can also make coffee cocktails, homemade iced coffee, and more – we’ll check out some recipes down below!
2 great recipes to use your coffee extract
Even though these recipes call for espresso or brewed coffee, you can use the coffee extract the same way you would use instant espresso to substitute these. Or, you can add additional coffee extract if you want extra flavor – just don’t add too much too quickly or you’ll have an overpowering coffee flavor:
- Coffee jelly: Do you love jello but also love coffee? Well, why not combine the two! This delicious dessert takes coffee-related desserts to the next level in a truly unique dish. It’s usually made with brewed coffee, but you can substitute the brewed coffee by mixing coffee extract into hot water the same way you would use instant espresso powder (1:1), making the process a little quicker!
- Coconut milk coffee latte: Coffee and coconut are another two flavors that go together like yin and yang. This delicious homemade coconut milk coffee latte is dairy-free, paleo, and vegan, with keto options if you want! It calls for a shot of espresso, but you can just substitute it 1:1 with coffee extract like we talked about!
How to choose the best coffee extract
You don’t want to decide on your coffee extract based on just the nicest packaging or the price, although those are definitely things we’re going to consider! We’ve created this list of criteria that tells us exactly which coffee extracts are the overall best:
- Ingredients: You want the cleanest, purest, and tastiest ingredients with no artificial stuff in it – which is exactly what we looked for!
- Consumer feedback: Word-of-mouth is so important – I bet you can think of several times where you made a decision based on someone’s recommendation! That’s why we check out consumer feedback, which tells us how a product is received and whether or not the company actually cares about their customers’ opinions!
- Track record: Reputation is easy to break and hard to build up, so you can tell a lot about a product based on the brand’s track record. Companies that ensure the highest quality of care while staying out of scandals is always something we want!
- Price: Life is expensive, so we’ve given options ranging from budget-friendly products to coffee extracts that you may want to splurge on.
We’ve also included coffee extracts that are best for gifting, that come from the most trusted brands, and more to give a couple unique options for you!
With all that out of the way, let’s jump into the rankings:
#1 Best Overall: LorAnn
At the top of the list we have LorAnn!
Now, this is technically an emulsion, not an extract. The difference is simple: extracts are made with alcohol, and emulsions are made with water. This makes changes to things like the shelf-life and boiling points, with emulsions having a stronger taste in bakes because the flavor doesn’t “bake out” like in extracts.
This can be good or bad, because the flavors are so intense that it doesn’t hurt to have the coffee taste fade a little when you bake with them. However, they’re both great, and can be used interchangeably – just be aware of the different ways they react when you bake with them!
All that said, LorAnn’s coffee emulsion is amazingly delicious and effective, being kosher certified and containing pure ingredients. Plus, they have +15,000 reviews that rave about how great it is!
Because it’s an emulsion, LorAnn recommends using 1 teaspoon of their product for every ½ cup of brewed coffee and increasing other liquid by ½ cup.
Check this one out, you definitely won’t regret it!
Ingredients: Water, propylene glycol, natural flavors, alcohol
#2 Best Value: Trablit
This wonderful coffee extract is made in France, with Trablit providing a non-GMO, gluten-free, and kosher certified product that’ll have you adding it to everything!
Not only does it provide a balanced and awesome coffee extract experience, but it also comes in the most affordable package on this entire list!
You can enjoy Trablit coffee extract for just $1.66 per fluid ounce, which is significantly cheaper than all the other products here! However, don’t think that paying less means getting less – Trablit’s coffee extract is absolutely delicious and very well received, boasting another great culinary product out of France.
Definitely try this one!
Ingredients: Liquid coffee extract with added sugar. Contains at least 28% of coffee dry matter
#3 Baker’s Organic: Flavorganics
Flavorganics has found itself as one of the top organic options for many of our “bests” lists – like our best hazelnut extracts list, for example!
And that’s because they offer a great-tasting coffee extract that truly embodies an all-organic ingredients list without sacrificing any taste! Now, I’m usually a little hesitant when it comes to organic products because they don’t often give the flavor that I’m looking for, but you won’t notice any issues with Flavorganics’ product here – they have nearly 700 reviews that tell you how great this coffee extract really is!
The price is a little bit more expensive, coming in at $5.00 per fluid ounce, but that’s because you’re paying for the extra quality in an organic package. However, it’s not the most expensive on this list, with #5 here taking the crown for that!
Definitely give this one a go!
Ingredients: Distilled water, organic alcohol, organic agave syrup, and organic coffee beans.
#4 Best for Gifting: Nielsen-Massey
Nielsen-Massey really takes the lead when it comes to packaging, providing beautiful bottles that come with gift boxes that you can present to your favorite baker!
On top of that, they provide a coffee extract that your favorite baker will love to use, offering a well-balanced and flavorful extract that they’ll bake with just as much as they marvel at it!
Pick this one up next time you need a gift, and your receiver will be sure to add a wonderful experience to the already hundreds of positive reviews that this coffee extract has!
Ingredients: Water, Alcohol (35%), Coffee Extract
#5 Trusted Brand: Watkins
Wakins has proven time and time again that they provide some of the best products and really care about their customers.
They offer a wonderful coffee extract that’s 100% natural, only containing water, alcohol, and coffee to create a simple yet delicious product!
They’ve been around for over 150 years, which tells you a lot about how successful they’ve been – if customers support a brand for that long, you know that they’re doing all the right things!
However, this is the most expensive coffee extract on this list, coming in at $5.64 per fluid ounce. I know you definitely won’t regret it, as it’s amazing, but the premium is definitely something to keep in mind as you make a decision here.
Ingredients: Water, alcohol, coffee
#6 Best Under-the-Radar: Happy Home
I love supporting small businesses – they often have some of the best products and nobody knows about them! But I don’t like gatekeeping, which is why I want to tell you about this awesome brand that makes a delicious coffee extract!
Happy Home’s coffee extract definitely flies under the radar, and yet it’s a high-quality and kosher certified product that really excels in adding that delicious coffee flavor. You’ll find that it’s fairly priced too, coming in at $2.48 per fluid ounce – that’s a great deal!
This family-owned company coming out of Virginia, USA, recommends that you use their wonderful coffee extract for chocolate, fudge, cakes, cookies, icing, ice cream, frosting, and sauces.
Check it out!
Ingredients: Natural Flavors, Water, Propylene Glycol
#7 Honorable Mention: OliveNation
OliveNation is a regular on these lists even though they’re a bit of a newcomer in this field!
They have a solid coffee extract that is pretty darn good. It’s well-priced at $2.96 per fluid ounce, and is non-GMO, gluten-free, vegan, and kosher certified.
A good price for a good coffee extract – I recommend checking OliveNation’s product out!
Ingredients: Water, Alcohol, Colombian Coffee, Caramel Color and Citric Acid
#8 Honorable Mention: Native Vanilla
Native Vanilla is a wonderful brand that focuses on ethically sourcing and creating their flavoring products, with their coffee extract being a great choice!
They also have the second most reviews on this list, coming in at over 1600 reviews for a total of 4.2 stars out of 5. Native Vanilla’s coffee extract is a testament to what can be achieved with natural products all while working with micro-farmers to create the most sustainable and energy-efficient production processes.
You should definitely give this one a go!
Ingredients: Coffee, water, alcohol, caramel color, and citric acid
Others we reviewed
There are a solid amount of coffee extracts out there, but not all the ones we reviewed make the cut – we’re not about to settle for anything less than great!
One of these brands is Beanilla. They offer a product called “natural coffee flavor,” but their ingredients list makes it a bit sketchy…
They list “flavor ingredients” on the list, which doesn’t tell us much at all about what they used to create this product. It could literally mean a bunch of different things, and so this lack of transparency about what their ingredients are means that we do not recommend Beanilla’s product here.
Another brand we reviewed is McCormick, which is actually a massive flavoring company that you’ve likely heard of and even used!
However, despite them being an overall great brand for flavorings, their coffee extract is really expensive – you’ll have to drop $5.80 per fluid ounce! That’s too much, especially since a lot of great quality coffee extracts (like the ones we ranked) are much more reasonable and provide a great experience without burning a hole in your wallet!
Plus, they sell this on Walmart, and they don’t have nearly enough reviews to get an idea of what people think of it. At Coconut Mama, we recognize the importance of customer experience, so we really value when reviews explain how they liked or disliked a product when we review these products and make our lists.
That said, we don’t recommend these two brands, but we’re sure you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for with the others that we reviewed!
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