#coffeemixology

[ken-hacca]

Phiền em có thể cười một cái không Cà phê anh quên cho đường rồi...😉😉 #coffeelover #arabicacoffee #coffeemixology #sgcuaanh #HacCa (tại Ho Chi Minh City) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0Sf332gJTet_hKmr9uDPkYIX_mnsMZZaLlh3w0/?igshid=1oav0qfu4ua9e

[fanofchris]

My morning ritual: @luckygoatcoffee Cold Brew concentrate, @publix Greenwise PLAIN soymilk and a splash of @coffee_mate Sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer. Pour over ice. It tastes similar to my favorite "Tally Bomb" at Lucky Goat. Love this part of my day!! It wakes me up and gets me ready for work. #coffeetime #coffeeismydrugofchoice #onecoffeeaday #coffeemixology #beatsstarbucksanyday #humpday #iwakeupat11am 🍀🐐☕️👍🏻😍 (at Ellie's Flea Market and Relaxation Cafe)

[maxhartung74]

Coffee experience in Asia. #morningcoffee #coffeeaddicted #coffeeinasia #coffeemixology #threecups #starbucks #starbucksjapan #instacoffee #instalife #lifestyle

[masterbarista]

Coffee Mixology at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival #SOBEWFF

With the South Beach Wine & Food Festival this weekend (goodbye NYC Feb. gloom, ciao Miami Beach!) I wanted to share two of the coffee drinks I’ll be mixing up for illy.  For those who can’t make the festival, try these recipes at home for a summer preview.  And for those attending this weekend, make sure to stop by.  Whether here, there…or anywhere…follow me on Instagram @MasterBarista for live updates during the event!

Steep & Crafty

Tito’s Handmade Vodka with hazelnut and cold brewed illy MonoArabica Brazil

Ingredients:

0.75 oz. hazelnut syrup (or caramel syrup)     

1.25 oz. Tito’s Handmade Vodka                                                   

6 oz. MonoArabica Brazil, cold brewed (New to cold brew? Learn more here.)

Fill a 10 oz. latte (or similar) glass with ice, add ingredients, stir and enjoy!

Cask Away

Jim Beam praline coffee with cold brewed illy MonoArabica Brazil

Ingredients:                                                                       

0.5 oz. praline syrup                         

1.5 oz. Jim Beam Bourbon                                               

6 oz. MonoArabica Brazil, cold brewed    

Fill a 10 oz. latte (or similar) glass with ice, add ingredients, stir and enjoy!

[masterbarista]

Coffee Mixology: Part 1 My Early Days of Coffee Concocting

The holiday season’s sweet decadence gets me thinking about my early days experimenting with coffee drinks.  I’ve cre­ated upwards of 150 cof­fee drinks over the years, none more memorable than my first, and per­haps sim­plest prepa­ra­tion.  The key was start­ing with a pre­cise goal in mind, crit­i­cal to any culi­nary exper­i­men­ta­tion.  My objec­tive was to cre­ate a beau­ti­fully bal­anced, deli­cious iced espresso.  I was still liv­ing in Italy, so espresso was the only viable option.  I was grow­ing tired of the cold cof­fee served at bars (Italian for “cof­fee shop”), almost always an unbal­anced, oxi­dized, nearly ran­cid liq­uid mixed with water and sugar, cooled over an overly long period of time in the fridge.

Identifying slow cool­ing as the main flavor-sapping cul­prit, I stole a page from the bartender’s play­book and filled most of a metal shaker with ice, tossed in a just-pulled dou­ble shot, stirred in a drop of water – about 10 per­cent of the drink’s total vol­ume – and a hint of sugar.  If it sounds Martini-like, you’re on the right path, with apolo­gies to the shaken-not-stirred lean­ings of a famous Mr. Bond.

I started exper­i­ment­ing with the whole gamut of ingre­di­ents, from usual sus­pects like choco­late and cocoa (albeit in a vari­ety forms) to wilder cards such as almond milk (the real thing, made with fresh almond paste from Sicily and water), coconut milk and water, ice creams, even jams and mar­malades.  And for later-day enjoy­ment, with a host of adult liba­tions, from vodka, to rum, tequila to whisky, cof­fee liqueurs, cream liqueurs, and many others.

All that recipe R&D paid off hand­somely when I got involved in barista com­pe­ti­tions, going up against and get­ting inspired by the profession’s mas­ters.  After five years on the cir­cuit, fully bat­tle tested, I won the Italian Barista Championship in 2008 thanks in part to “The Trinity,” with bev­er­age inven­tion shar­ing equal weight on the score­card with qual­ity of espresso pulling and cap­puc­cino mak­ing.  My idea was to cre­ate a three-layered drink that could show­case coffee’s basic tastes (thus, “Trinity”): a base layer of yogurt for acid­ity, a mid­dle strata of espresso for bit­ter­ness, and a top coat­ing of bit­ter and sweet from espresso kissed by a milk-persimmon foam.

Stay-tuned for part two on coffee mixology tricks of the trade, coming soon…