The type of coffee bean used to make flavored coffee can greatly impact the taste of the finished product. Green coffee beans contain different compounds which contribute to their flavor, including sugars and other carbohydrates, mineral salts, organic acids and aromatic oils.

A bean’s flavor is a function of many factors such as its specie, strain, growth area, climatic conditions, latitude and altitude, soil, processing and finally the roast level. The name of the coffee beans usually indicates their country of origin, along with additional information, such as the region, country or the classification grade of the beans, or the roast degree in commonly acknowledged terms. For instance, “Sumatra Lintong” denotes a specific growing region (Lintong) in Sumatra; “Kenya AA” designates AA beans, the highest grade of beans from Kenya; and “French Roast” is a blend of beans which are roasted very dark in the “French style.”

Flavored coffees can comprise of one kind of bean, like Kenya AA, which has distinctive taste characteristics of high winey acidity that can further enhance and empower certain chocolaty flavors if used with flavoring. Other flavorings may be elevated by a blend of beans from various regions designed to project a unique flavor base.

If flavoring is added to beans which have too mild a roast, the coffee lacks significant flavor characteristics and a flat-tasting coffee results. If the roast is too dark the flavoring is overshadowed by the taste of the beans. For example, a french vanilla flavor will be lost on a French Roast bean because the robust quality of the bean will overwhelm the sweet creamy tones of french vanilla. The perfect roast color for flavored coffee is medium to brown.

The most common coffee beans used for flavored coffees are Arabica, as they are characteristically milder and more flavorful than the harsher Robusta beans.