Beverages

The Calypso coffee

1
Easy

Hot chocolate gets all the credit, and most of the attention, when it comes to warming winter drinks. But there is a lot to be said for a creamy coffee confection, and a spiked one in particular. I know – you’re thinking “Irish coffee” and “No, thank you”. But there’s so much more to the genre than this much maligned (and often badly made) version.

Coffee gets on so well with a host of other spirits – rum, vodka, creamy liqueurs – that it’s practically negligent not to introduce them (in a responsible manner, of course). A spiked affogato makes the easiest dessert, sip a hot white Russian in front of the fire, or savour the comforting spice of a calypso coffee in the perfect nightcap.

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Ingredients

Method
  • 3⁄4 cup brewed coffee
  • 2 T dark or golden rum
  • 2 T coffee liqueur
  • sugar, to taste
  • cream, for serving
  • a dash castor sugar (optional)
  • a drop vanilla extract
  • cocoa powder, for serving

Method

Ingredients

1. Brew coffee as usual and pour 3⁄4 cup into a cup or double- walled glass.

2. Stir in dark or golden rum and coffee liqueur such as Tia Maria or Kahlua. Sweeten to taste – the darker the sugar, the better the result.

3. Top with a layer of cream poured slowly over the back of a teaspoon. For a decadent note, lightly whip the cream with a dash of caster sugar and a drop of vanilla extract before pouring. Dust with cocoa and serve immediately. This drink does not appreciate being left to the cold – but then again, who does?

Find more cocktail recipes here.

Photograph: Jan Ras
Production: Bianca Strydom
Food assistant: Emma Morey

Jeanne Calitz

Recipe by: Jeanne Calitz

Jeanne Calitz is a freelance lifestyle writer based in Kommetjie, Cape Town. She's a voracious reader and a fan of hyper-seasonal cooking and well-made cocktails (spicy palomas forever!) When not writing, you'll find her busy in the garden or walking the family's two Schnauzers, awestruck by the fact that she gets to live near the ocean.

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