OliveNation Hazelnut Extract, Rich Nutty Flavor for Cakes, Cookies, Ice Cream, PG Free, Non-GMO, Gluten Free, Kosher, Vegan - 4 ounces

Good flavor

I bought this for my coffee. It's very good. I wanted a less processed product. The flavor isn't that strong but it's real tasting. It's great with heavy cream.

I have previously reviewed Torani's "Classic" Hazelnut syrup (Sugar Free), which is excellent, and the newer version, which is so-so for my taste buds. The only issue with these is that whether you choose sugared or sugar-free versions, they all add sweetness as well as hazelnut flavor. That's fine for my morning coffee, because I like that sweetened anyway, but in other cases, I don't want the sweetness, or the item I am adding it to is already sweet enough. This adds hazelnut flavor without any sweetness. It is not as good as Torani Classic, IMO, but much better than the newer Torani or the SweetLeaf product, which I have also reviewed.

Even though it is a liquid it does not leak. It has a dark color and a strong flavor of hazelnut. It mixes very well in drinks and pancake batter. It is a very fine quality hazelnut for the price, and the amount will last you a fair amount of time, depending on the frequency of usage. For coffee drinkers, the small bottle can last you for about 4-5 weeks if you use half a teaspoon a day. The small bottle is not that big, it can fit easily in the cupboard.

Over the years, my wife and I both acquired a taste for "hazelnut" flavored ground coffee; especially that of the Melitta brand. Later on I eventually began to also prefer the flavor of relatively LIGHT roasted beans. However, I discovered that various brands of "hazelnut" flavored grounds are available only as slightly different shades of generally MEDIUM roast (darker than light roast). And we are now convinced that all of those various coffee brands are really offering ARTIFICIAL hazelnut flavor. This is not to say that artificial hazelnut has flavor inferior to natural hazelnut extract, because as the saying goes "With matters of taste, there is no argument." So I realized that if I wanted lightly roasted coffee a with a hint of hazelnut flavor, then we would have to flavor the coffee ourselves. In that case, we must add hazelnut extract to the already brewed coffee, just as is done at Starbucks and the many parking lot kiosks that serve freshly brewed coffee. I cannot speak for its other uses besides the flavoring of coffee. I can only report that when just 1 tsp of this product is added to a 1.7 liter batch of hot coffee, the result is an aroma and a taste that are both noticably stronger than we get from Mellita "hazelnut" flavored grounds. When I'm in the kitchen adding it to the morning pot of hot coffee, my wife can smell it wafting upstairs and into the bedroom (door open). She can tell whenever I've added this product to the coffee, without first tasting the coffee. However, truth be told, she does NOT prefer its flavor to Melitta's artificial hazelnut. She feels that it's flavor is unacceptable, but she never used the term "bitter" as other reviewer(s) have reported. I agree with her that it is not the same taste we were used to from Melitta. On balance though, I prefer both its aroma and flavor, keeping in mind that I have the ability to easily control its concentration in the coffee. The use of any liquid flavoring provides greater flavor control than when obtaining an already flavored food/beverage. Conversely Melitta's "hazelnut" coffee grounds must be blended (by us) with unflavored grounds in order to dilute its hint of "hazelnut" taste, which necessitates the shopping for and storage of a second (unflavored) coffee. I'll continue using this product whenever I prepare light roasted coffee. Conversely, my wife avoids using this extract when its her turn to make coffee, which consequently will be a brew containing at least half of its grounds as a darker roast (Melitta "hazelnut"). I'll conclude by saying that my wife and I both agree that this extract produces preferred aroma over artificial hazelnut. Where we disagree is about whether or not its taste is also preferred. If I were rating this extract only by my own preferences (not both mine and my wife's), then I would rate it 4 stars, instead of the 3 given in this review.

This is an update to my previous review of the hazelnut extract. After using it in cold, and especially hot, coffee, I really do like it a lot. It has a high-quality flavor. I originally thought the flavor wasn’t strong enough to just the cost. But after sticking with it, I’ve realized that it’s just an adjustment from the imitation hazelnut flavors I’d gotten used to in artificial creamers and pre-made fast food drinks.

I read the reviews and decided that at $10 I could afford to gamble on getting a good vs bad batch. Well, I lost. Batch Mloc: F-136, Loc: 5-3-3, Exp: 01/20/24, LOT # EHA8:28995 Bottle arrived with external cap seal intact. Bottle filled to about one inch below neck - did not measure - but appeared slightly low of expected fill level. Liquid had brownish tint. No sediment. Flavor somewhat of what I would expect if oak tree bark was briefly dipped into the alcohol. Speaking of which, alcohol being the first ingredient listed, I would expect it to have more presence. This didn't seem more than about 20 proof. Not that I want a high alcohol content or taste, just that as the top ingredient listed I would expect a detectable alcohol 'burn' from an undiluted sample. Odor direct from bottle somewhat faintly of vanilla and ?? metallic chemicals. Just to confirm it did not require heat to fully activate the flavor, I added 3 drops to a half cup of hot water. In this diluted form there was no identifiable odor other than slight mustiness and no direct taste. Left a slightly dry pucker to lips and tongue as an aftertaste. To date: Unfavorable taste reviews seem spread mostly evenly throughout the year (with more in Dec and Jan - as expected for Xmas sales) and only April and October having no complaints. As a yearly breakout, this is harder to factor - not knowing the total yearly sales. So is the yearly increase of unfavorable reviews from 2018-2020 due to a higher % or just more total sales? (2013-3017 relatively consistent in # of complaints). So it's your choice on risking $10. PS Remainder of bottle did not seem to work as effective drain cleaner either

I originally bought this to make a sugar free, grain free hazelnut torte. The recipe for it looked pretty labor intensive and I didn’t have enough time to make it for my Christmas party, so I decided to make a chocolate hazelnut cheesecake. I got a lot of great reviews, and people could tell right away that it was hazelnut. I am going to use it next for a chocolate hazelnut buttercream to pair with chocolate cupcakes. I almost didn’t buy this because of the reviews I read about the off flavor and not getting a full bottle. When I see more than one review with the same complaint, I tend to shy away from the product, but I also didn’t see anything else that looked better so I took my chances and I’m glad I did.