Specialty Coffee Site

If you really want to impress your dinner guests after a great meal, try serving them this Alexander espresso drink. Since it’s an espresso, it’s a fairly small drink, but the cinnamon and of course the brandy make it “fancy”. The drink is so yummy it can take the place of dessert, or you could of course serve it after.

Alexander Espresso

photo credit: andrew steinmetz
1 c Cold water
2 tb Ground espresso coffee
1/2 ea Cinnamon stick (3″ long)
4 ts Creme de cacao
2 ts Brandy
2 tb Whipping cream, chilled
1 ea Grated semisweet chocolate
Break out your espresso machine for this one or just make really strong coffee w/ a small amount of water. Break cinnamon stick into small pieces and add to hot espresso. Allow to cool for 1 minute. Add creme de cacao and brandy, and stir gently. Pour into cute demitasse cups. Whip the cream, and float some cream on top of each cup. For looks, garnish with grated chocolate or fancy chocolate curls. Multiply proportions by six and it’s perfect for a party.

Tags: alexander espresso, alexander espresso recipe

Hubby has been asking me what I want for Christmas and all I really want is a good espresso maker. Preferably one of those machines that also steams up milk. I just love the idea of waking up on a Sunday morning and being able to whip up a nice Cappuccino or Cafe Creme without having to leave the house. Yes, it would be an extra appliance sitting around the kitchen counter, but I think it would be well worth it and not having to run up to the coffee shop for my (almost) daily fix would quickly pay for the machine.

My dream machine is one of those heavy stainless steel ones that pressure steams the perfect cup of espresso, but honestly, I’d even settle for a cheap plastic model or even one of those old fashioned stove top peculators. Anything to get this delicious, aromatic black gold into a tiny cup.

photo credit: simone.brunozzi

And you have to love those little espresso cups. Just too cute and the perfect size for that quick afternoon pick-me-up. Caffeinated deliciousness!

Tags: espresso maker

My husband is from the south and love a good sausage gravy. It took me years to perfect making this southern specialty and I never could get the color and flavor just right. That is until one of hubby’s aunts shared her secret with me. The secret ingredient to good southern gravy is coffee… who knew. You can’t really taste it, and you just add a splash of it in with the milk, but it makes a world of difference.

It still amazes me how versatile coffee is. You can drink it, freeze it, cook with it etc.

Back to the sausage gravy though. Here’s how I make it.

Get a pack of good raw breakfast sausage. Jimmy Dean is ok, but my favorite by far is Neeses Sausage with extra sage.

You can make sausage patties and fry them up, or just sort of crumble it up like ground beef. Take the cooked sausage out, but leave all the fat and drippings in the pan. Add one or two large spoons of flour to the pan and turn down the heat. Move the flour around (it will turn into a thick paste) and just cook it for a few minutes. The longer you cook it the darker your gravy will be. Just be careful not to burn the four.

Next add a splash of coffee and some milk to the pan. Stir constantly and work out all the lumps. Bring the mixture to a boil. It will quickly thicken. When it has reached a good gravy like consistency, turn of the heat and fold the cooked sausage back in.

If you fried your sausage in patties, break them into chunks before returning the sausage to the gravy. Spoon over hot biscuits and of course serve with a good cup of coffee.

photo credit: Navin75

Tags: breakfast gravy, sausage gravy

I thought I’d share another great coffee recipe with you today. If you drink as much coffee as I do, you need a little variety in there every once in a while. Here’s one that gives you a bit of an exotic flair. It’s a strong, yet sweet coffee that will really wake you up. I love this as a quick afternoon pick-me-up.

Turkish Coffee Recipe

3/4 cup of water
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of pulverized Coffee
1 cardamom pod

1) Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan.

2) Bring the mixture to a boil and then remove from the heat.

3) Add the coffee and cardamom.

4) Stir well and return to heat.

5) When the coffee foams up – remove from the heat and let grounds settle.

6) Repeat twice more, pouring into cups – allowing the grounds to settle before drinking.

Tags: turkish coffee, turkish coffee recipe

Here’s another great specialty coffee recipe I like. It’s got a nice little kick to it and is really very simple to prepare. I love this one in the afternoon or at night. If you’re worried about not being able to sleep at night because of drinking coffee late, you can easily prepare this with decaf coffee.

Mexican Spiced Coffee

3/4 cup of brown sugar (firmly packed)
6 cloves
6 julienne slices of orange zest
3 cinnamon sticks
6 tablespoons of coffee (NOT instant)

1) In a large saucepan, heat six cups of water with the brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, and cloves over moderately high heat until the mixture becomes hot. Make sure not to let the mixture boil.

2) Add the coffee, bringing the mixture to a boil.

3) Allow it to boil for three minutes, making sure to stir it on occasion.

4) Strain the coffee through a fine sieve and serve in coffee cups with orange zest.

Tags: mexican spiced coffee

A friend who has observed my coffee obsession for a while now asked me the other day how many cups of coffee I drink in a day. To be honest, I had no idea until I set down and added it all up. Here’s my breakdown

Morning - 3 to 4 large cups

Afternoon - 2 cups

After dinner - 1 cup

That’s on an average day. On a bad day the numbers go up throughout the day. If we go out at night, we often visit a local coffee shop and depending on how long we stay, you can add 2 to 3 extra cups there.

Coffee is my main drink. I’m not much into soft drinks, water juice or anything else. If I’m really thirsty I’ll drink a glass of water here or there, but for the most part it’s coffee all day long.

How about you? Have you thought about how many cups of coffee you drink in a given day?

Tags: how many cups of coffee per day, how much coffee

Coffee on it’s own is great, but every once in a while I’m in the mood for a specialty coffee drink. One of my favorites is a Viennese Coffee, also known as Cafe Vienna. It’s really easy to make a mix for this yourself. I keep a tub of this stuff in sitting in my pantry. Here’s the recipe

Viennese Coffee Mix

2/3 cup of dry instant coffee
2/3 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of powdered nondairy creamer
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
Dash of ground allspice
Dash of cloves
Dash of nutmeg

Mix all of the above ingredients and then put the mix in an air-tight jar or tub. I like to use a tupperware container for this.

To fix a cup of this delicious coffee drink, add about 4 tsp of the mix to a cup and add 1 cup of hot water. Mix and enjoy. Of course you can vary the strength of the drink by adding more or less mix.

Tags: cafe vienna recipe, viennese coffee recipe

I’m one of those people who simply can’t function without a steady stream of coffee in my system. I can barely get my eyes opened in the morning before I sip my first cup. In fact, I usually end up setting my coffee maker up the night before, so all I have to do is press a button in the morning.

Some people say a caffeine addiction is bad, but heck, it works for me.

Here’s one of my favorite sayings… I found it on a cross stitch pattern of all things. I actually bought the kit, but have yet to finish it.

The saying goes:

Given enough coffee, I could rule the world!

Love it

Here’s a picture of what the finished cross stitch is supposed to look like. I’ll have to break down and try to finish it one of these days. It would look great in my office. Until then, my oversized coffee mug will have to do as far as coffee decorations are concerned.

Given Enough Coffee I Could Rule The World - Cross Stitch Image

Tags: coffee cross stitch, coffee decoration, coffee quote

Cuppy’s Coffee is offering an extra sweet temptation for this Valentine’s Day. For the month of February Cuppy’s Coffee customers can enjoy a French Kiss Latte. Available in all sizes, the French Kiss Latte is a blend of Caffe D’arte espresso, milk, white chocolate and vanilla.

The Featured Drink Program is new for 2007 and is aimed at creating customer interest by offering each selection for 4 weeks only. After the month is over, a new drink will appear on the menu board.

The featured drinks are selected from recipes submitted by franchisees and corporate employees. Cuppy’s Coffee customers may also submit their drink recipes for consideration on the new Cuppy’s forum at forum.cuppys.com.

Drink recipes considered to make the featured drink list are tested at the corporate office and approved through Cuppy’s Coffee in-house marketing department before they are announced to the public.