Espresso! My Espresso! An Ongoing Internet Novel

One Hundred and Fifty chapters has got to be some sort of milestone to the numerologists in the audience. The added data point is that this website is over 16½ years old certainly deserves some sort of celebration. Here's a tasty way to raise a glass! -ED

There are just so many things you can do with the coffee bean. From a simple pour-over to espresso, then there's Turkish, drip, perc, press, cowboy, and cold brew. You can even just eat roasted coffee beans. But cold brew is the fastest growing segment in terms of brewing techniques and once you try it you will know why.
I have just recently started making cold brew. As I described in my review of the Cold Bruer which I discovered at the Seattle SCA exhibition, I had no intention of adding another brewing method at home, if for no other reason then I am running out of storage room. But one sip at their booth and I was hooked... in a good way.
I had been enjoying the cold brew coffee straight for the first few weeks. A sip right from the bottle is quite refreshing. And then I thought, what else can I do with this? Then it came to me- for some time I had thought about Kahlua. Specifically, making homemade Kahlua. Cold brew is perfect for this because the cold water extraction method creates a brew that is very smooth and virtually acid-free. And it is so very easy that you don't even need a recipe.

The ingredient list of real Kahlua reportedly is 100% Arabica dark-roasted coffee, vanilla, caramel, sugar-cane rum, and high fructose corn syrup. I think it would be fairly easty to match that, and maybne even do better:

INGREDIENTS

• Two parts cold brew coffee
• Two parts Vodka – We have been drinking the Kirkland Vodka and have found it very nice for the price.
• Sugar – how much sugar depends on your tastes. I cut the recommended amount from a recipe I found by half, so in this case, about one part would be plenty. Increasing the amount of sugar adds body, but to some extent masks the flavor of the coffee.
• Vanilla extract– Just a dash; one teaspoon should be plenty.

DIRECTIONS
I put the sugar in a sauce pan and add just enough water or cold brew coffee to allow dissolving the sugar over a low heat. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove the pan from stove and add the remainder of the cold brew coffee. Continue to stir to be sure that the sugar is as fully dissolved. Add the vanilla, and when the mix has cooled some, add the vodka and refrigerate.
To make it a bit different, add a teaspoon or two of a good chocolate or caramel syrup when dissolving the sugar. A good rum in place of the vodka might also be good.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Pour some over ice and add a bit of cream for a White Russian, or try two ounces straight in an espresso cup with a homemade biscotti!

CHEERS!

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