It’s early in the morning and the enticing aromas of lavender, cinnamon and vanilla dance in the air, thanks to the spoonful of Spice n’ Nice flavoring I added to my espresso beans before grinding them.
Entrepreneurs Mariya Cherk and Risa Lin met and became friends while working for the same tech company. In August 2022, they launched their line of herb and spice mixes, with options including cinnamon apple, cardamom rose, lavender vanilla and vanilla chai. Each 50-gram container ($19.99) flavors 50 cups of coffee.
Lin serves as COO while Cherk’s title is CFO—chief flavor officer.
Like so many new businesses, their idea grew out of the pandemic. When Covid precautions meant that Cherk couldn’t hang out in her favorite coffee shops, she decided to become her own barista, ordering various syrups and flavorings online and making concoctions in her Falls Church home.
“My health started declining,” she says. “My hair was falling out and I was gaining weight. I realized these creamers and syrups had lots of sugar, preservatives, gums and other additives in them. It was appalling.”
So Cherk, who comes from a family of medical professionals in Ukraine, decided to create her own flavorings, heeding advice from her grandmother, who asked, “Why not use cardamom and rose like we do? You grew up on that!”
Spice n’ Nice flavorings are free of preservatives, but do contain birch xylitol, a natural sugar alcohol. The mixes can be used with a drip coffee maker, French press, pour-over dripper, Keurig, Nespresso or espresso machine. They can be added to other hot beverages, too.
Find them online, and at Junction Bakery & Bistro in Del Ray and Union Kitchen in Ballston.