coffee

Turkish Coffee

Credit: Merve

Ingredients

1 tbsp Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi Turkish Coffee
1/4 cup water
1 cardamom pod


Directions

Mix coffee and water in a Turkish coffee pot (cezve). Break open the cardamom pod and add the seeds to the pot. Heat on high heat until boiling and foamy. Pour half the coffee mixture into a cup. Bring the remaining half of the coffee mixture to a boil again, then pour that into the cup as well.


Notes

A Turkish coworker taught me how to make this over a video call, and then we enjoyed our coffee together! It’s the only coffee I can drink with no cream or sugar. It’s especially fun to sip it in a double-walled espresso glass.

 
 

Greek Frappe

Credit: Ken's Greek Table

Ingredients

1 tsp (rounded) Nescafe instant coffee
2 tsp (rounded) sugar
2 3/4 oz water
1 oz milk
6-7 ice cubes


Directions

Mix coffee, sugar, and 3/4 oz water in the bottom of a glass, and froth with a milk frother for 30 seconds. (You can also shake this in a mason jar.) Add ice cubes, remaining water, and milk.


Notes

This is quick, refreshing, and well-balanced. Fantastic! I can’t decide if I want to sip it from a straw or the glass. There’s a thick foam on top, and I stirred it up so it was mostly mixed into the drink with a thin layer on top. And it’s so fun to use instant coffee :-) I have no idea how I came upon this recipe but so glad I did!

 
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Espresso Martini

Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Ingredients

1 oz cold brew coffee concentrate
3/4 oz 100 proof vodka
3/4 oz Kahlua
lemon peel


Directions

Shake and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Express a lemon peel over the glass.


Notes

This. Is. It. Ugh, single-word sentences, that’s the 100-proof vodka kicking in. Now I get why you need the stronger vodka—it cuts through the sweetness of the Kahlua. The lemon peel is a reminder of how well citrus and coffee pair. I made two of these at once, but next time I’d make them individually to ensure adequate foam levels. Stellar.

Here’s a video of the cocktail’s creator, Dick Bradsell, making the drink—originally called a Vodka Espresso. He shares the origin story as well. :-)

 
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Irish Coffee

Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Ingredients

2 tsp brown sugar syrup
1 1/2 oz Irish whiskey
3 oz coffee
1 1/2 oz heavy cream, lightly whipped (technique below)
Serve in a traditional Irish coffee glass


Directions

Fill glass with hot water until it heats up, then dump out the hot water. Heat up brown sugar syrup, whiskey, and coffee, then add to glass. For the whipped cream, pour heavy cream into a mason jar and shake for 15 seconds, then gently spoon it on top of the drink.


Notes

This is just perfect, and the easiest Irish coffee I’ve made. Apparently sweetening the cream is a faux pas, and it turns out you don’t need to! The whipped cream technique is from Mr. Morgenthaler’s The Bar Book.

 
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PX Sherry Mudslide

Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry
1 1/2 oz St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur
1/2 oz heavy cream
1/2 oz whole milk
1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
1 cup ice
4 drops saline solution


Directions

Blend until smooth, then serve in a chilled collins glass.


Notes

Wow this is good. I might reduce the ice a bit so it’s thicker, but the flavor was spot on. My first time trying Pedro Ximenez sherry and St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur—a win for both!

 
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Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate

Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Ingredients

8 oz coffee, coarse grind
32 oz cold water


Directions

Add 16 oz cold water to the coffee grounds in a large container, stir to moisten the grounds, and let sit for 30 minutes. Add the remaining 16 oz water, stir again, cover, and let sit for 24 hours. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, then run the resulting liquid through a coffee filter.


Notes

Running it through the coffee filter is key. I ended up with between 20-24 oz concentrate.

 
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Red Eye to Oaxaca

Credit: Barfaith

Ingredients

1 oz Montelobos Espadín Mezcal Joven
1 oz Amaro Sfumato Rabarbaro
1 oz cold brew concentrate
orange peel and Luxardo cherry garnish


Directions

Shake and strain over a large rock of ice. Express the orange peel and garnish with the spent peel and cherry.


Notes

So, this was unexpectedly awesome. I say unexpected because I don’t much care for mezcal. However, the Montelobos is a good starter mezcal, and the smokiness of Amaro Sfumato Rabarbaro pairs so well…and I do love my amari! We drank this the night before going on our first cruise (Dice Tower 2020!!) and all we had on hand was instant espresso but it still worked! Now we have some cold brew coffee concentrate from Trader Joe’s.


Update

This is best with Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s cold brew coffee concentrate.

 
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Cereal Milk Café au Lait

Ingredients

2 oz cereal milk
6 oz coffee


Directions

Froth hot cereal milk in a mug, then add hot coffee.


Notes

When I started drinking this hot, it tasted like a nice mug of milk and coffee, but I couldn’t taste the cereal milk unless I spooned froth off the top. However, when it cooled down a bit, the Corn Flakes came though. It’s also a nice proportion of fat, as this cereal milk is 1 part cream, 4 parts milk. In the future, I’d save the cereal for drinking in mixed drinks with alcohol that enhances the flavor—such as American Honey, Mellow Corn, or maybe even Biscotti liqueur—as I think coffee mutes the flavor too much.

 
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Cafè Corretto

Credit: Brad Thomas Parsons, Amaro

Ingredients

1 espresso
1/2 oz Amaro CioCiaro


Directions

Add amaro to espresso and enjoy.


Notes

This was such a happy moment. We had dinner with friends, who fortunately have an espresso machine. I’ve never been a huge fan of espresso as it’s too bitter—I typically have coffee with soy milk. I only added 1/2 oz of amaro since I don’t like drinks too boozy—however Brad Thomas Parson’s Amaro recommends equal parts espresso and amaro.

I can’t think of a more perfect pairing! Looking forward to trying amaro in coffee.

 
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American Honey Coffee

Ingredients

1 oz Wild Turkey American Honey Liqueur
3 1/2 oz coffee
float whipped cream on top (see: Irish Coffee for how)
Serve in a traditional Irish coffee glass


Directions

Fill glass with hot water until it heats up, then dump out the hot water. Add liqueur and coffee to glass and gently stir. Float whipped cream on top.


Notes

I first tried the Kentucky Coffee recipe from Spruce Eats and found it way too bitter and boozy. When I made this with just the American Honey liqueur, it was marvelous. The orange notes from the liqueur come through beautifully, and it was sweet enough without any sugar syrup. (This liqueur would also make a super-easy hot toddy I imagine.)

 
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