Archive for the 'Espresso Coffee' Category
A strong cocktail with rum and brandy, and lots of espresso . You’ll be the hit of your next party if you serve Cappuccino Royales for everyone. Found on the coffeeteabout.com site.
Ingredients:
* 1/2 cup half n half
* 1/2 cup espresso
* 2 tbs brandy
* 2 tbs white rum
* 2 tbs creme de cacao
* Sugar
Preparation:
Whisk cream until frothy. Split espresso between 2 mugs. Add 1 tbs of each liqueur into each mug. Top with whipped cream, and add sugar to taste.
Serves 2
Until next time, happy brewing.
A friend related an amusing story the other day. He had a box of camping supplies that he hadn’t opened in several years. In it he found an unopened bag of gourmet coffee.
He opened the bag. His comment was, “It smelled like coffee, but not good coffee.”
So just a reminder – coffee has shelf life, about two weeks once you open the bag. Even a sealed bag will experience some degradation in the quality of the coffee, but you can expect to get about 9 months of shelf life for an unopened bag.
Note that whole coffee beans will hold up better than pre-ground coffee. So grinding your own beans is always the freshest possible choice.
Until next time – happy brewing.
One of the pleasures of a good espresso coffee is the proper crema, that layer of foam that sits at the top of the drink. Getting a great crema at home can be very difficult on a home espresso maker. Here are a few tips from The Joy of Coffee, an excellent book by Corby Kummer.
You need fresh beans for the espresso. You won’t get any crema if your coffee bean are not fresh.
Your crema is off-white and dissipates too quickly – underextracted espresso. Try the following: make sure the water and the everything the water passes through is hot. Do a dry run with only water to heat your espresso maker and consider tossing the first cup as it will likely be subpar. Try a finer grind on the coffee. Try tamping harder and stopping the brew sooner.
If the crema is dark and burnt looking means the espresso is overextracted. Try a coarser grind. Ease up on both the amount of coffee and the tamping.
Until next time, happy brewing.
Isn’t trivia fun? Here are a few facts about Italian espresso coffee to drop at your next social gathering.
- Espresso is the only coffee drink that is never made in bulk. The preparation process guarantees a single cup at a time production. Therefore, like snowflakes, no two cups of espresso will never be the same, even made on the same machine.
- While espresso has more caffeine per volume than brewed coffee due to its serving size a double shot will have the same caffeine as a 6 oz cup of brewed coffee.
- The first espresso maker patent was filed by Luigi Bezzera of Milan, Italy in 1901, pictured. It was a machine designed to make coffee faster, hence called the “espresso machine.” It would not be until 1947 that the current piston lever espresso makers would be introduced.
Until next time, happy brewing.
The source for this recipe is the excellent book by Corby Kummer titled The Joy of Coffee. Hope you enjoy.
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs, separated
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons Kahlua or other coffee liqueur
- 2/3 cup strong brewed coffee or Italian Espresso
- Dash of salt
- 2 cups heavy cream
Directions:
- In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks on medium speed, adding the ½ cup of sugar gradually until the mixture is pale yellow, about 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle the gelatin over the ¼ cup coffee liqueur in a small bowl and let stand to soften, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Heat the coffee in a small saucepan; do not let boil. Whisk the coffee into the yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, just until it simmers. Add the gelatin mixture and stir until thoroughly blended and dissolved. Set aside until cool and slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.
- With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with the salt until soft peaks form. Slowly beat in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
- Using the same beaters, whip the cream with the remaining 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur until soft but distinct peaks form.
- Fold the meringue and the whipped cream alternately into the coffee mixture, beginning and ending with the cream. Spoon into dessert dishes, cover and chill thoroughly, at least 4 hours or overnight.
Yield: 6 servings.
Until next time, happy brewing!
In 1957, a Greek representative of the Nestlé corporation lacking hot water for his cup of instant coffee used cold water and a shaker to mix his coffee on his break. This happy accident birthed the first Café Frappé. Fast forward and add a few additional ingredients and you have a national Greek drink that has spread to other countries and across the Atlantic to the U.S.
Greek frappés start with a spoonful of instant coffee (spray dried is preferred), mixed with water, sugar and sometimes milk. These ingredients are mixed vigorously in a cocktail shaker. Ice is added, although there is strong disagreement whether you add it before or after shaking. The result is a cool coffee drink with a frothy foam head.
Several companies have created packaged frappe mix. Add ice and coffee, then shake.
While instant coffee is traditional, espresso coffee is often substituted. Experiment, your taste buds will tell you what works for you.
Until next time – happy brewing.
Gourmet coffee, has often been the subject of artists and pundits. Here are a few samples.
“I believe humans get a lot done, not because we’re smart, but because we have thumbs so we can make coffee.”
~ Flash Rosenberg
“Ah, that is a perfume in which I delight; when they roast coffee near my house, I hasten to open the door to take in all the aroma.”
~ Jean Jacques Rousseau
“In Seattle you haven’t had enough coffee until you can thread a sewing machine while it’s running.”
~ Jeff Bezos
“Ah! How sweet coffee tastes! Lovelier than a thousand kisses, sweeter far than muscatel wine!”
~ Johann Sebastian Bach
Coffee Cantata
“For lo! the board with cups and spoons is crowned
The berries crackle, and the mill turns round …
At once they gratify their scent and taste
And frequent cups prolong the rich repast…
Coffee (which makes the politician wise
And see through all things with his half-shut eyes).”
~ Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
The Rape of the Lock
Until next time – happy brewing.
A winter chill may still hang in the air, but spring will soon be here. Here’s a recipe to try out during the first warm spring day.
Cinnamon Caramel Coffee
Ingredients:
- 6 tbs ground gourmet coffee
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup caramel dessert syrup
Preparation:
Add the cinnamon before brewing to give this recipe spicy touch. You’ll need to stir well to blend in the caramel syrup.
Mix the cinnamon into your loose ground coffee and then brew a pot of coffee by whatever method you prefer. Add the caramel syrup to the cinnamon-spiced coffee, and stir well until completely dissolved. Chill through in the fridge, and serve over ice cubes, with added milk or sugar to taste. The syrup makes this iced coffee pretty sweet as it is.
As an alternative to flavoring syrup try coffee flavoring syrup.
Source: www.coffeetea.about.com
Happy Brewing!
We all know about drinking gourmet coffee, but what about cooking with coffee? Yes, this wonderful elixir can be a welcome addition to foods outside the coffee pot.
Gourmet coffee can be used for everything from a spice rub to part of that delicious sauce you’re serving. Used judiciously the resultant dish may not even taste like coffee. Coffee can both complement and contrast the dish in question. And in the case of some deserts the coffee taste is intended to come to the foreground.
So whether it’s the secret ingredient in your marinade or that extra spice in your sauce, coffee can increase your culinary vocabulary and give you a refreshing cup after the meal as well.
Until next time – happy brewing.
Looking for that special coffee treat for Valentine’s Day? This recipe just might be the ticket.
St. Valentine’s Day Coffee Drink
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup of kona coffee.
- 2 cups of water
- 1 tbsp strawberry syrup
- 1 tbsp vanilla creamer
- fresh strawberries
- powdered sugar
Instructions:
- Brew the 2 cups of water with the 1/4-cup of Kona Coffee
- Pour into a glass
- Add strawberry syrup and vanilla creamer. Stir
- Garnish with fresh strawberries coated with powdered sugar
- Serve
Source: www.holidaycoffeerecipes.com
Additional Tip: Put some melted chocolate on the side for dipping the strawberries and feeding them to each other.
Happy Valentine’s Day!