The Bitter Sweet Taste of English Coffee

With a consumption rate of over two hundred million cups a day, ‘Coffee’ is at present, the most sought after and popular beverage in the world. The English are traditionally known to favour a soothing cup of tea in the morning. The 2008 edition of ‘Mintel Coffee United Kingdom’, however, reports otherwise, stating, on a daily basis over seventy million cups of coffee were recorded as being consumed in Great Britain. Furthermore, the 2011 edition reported a staggering £941 million spent on coffee drinking alone. In the year 2012, as reported in the ‘Allegra Strategies United Kingdom’, coffee shops all around England reached an income of £5.8 million.

Coffee making has become an art of its own. Baristas worldwide are discovering new methods of presentation and preparation. While experimenting with diverse ingredients, they attempt to optimise the extraction of that rich coffee flavour straight from the bean. The following recipe for ‘English Coffee’ is uniquely British, with a dash of ‘gin’ and sweetened with cream.

Ingredients:

• 5 oz of hot black coffee
• One teaspoon of ‘Triple Sec.’
• 1/4 oz of ‘Triple Sec.’
• 1/2 oz of ‘London Dry Gin’ (Or any other good brand of Gin)
• 1/3 oz of ‘Kahlua Coffee Liqueur’ (Or just a good coffee liqueur)
• 1 1/2 oz Whipping Cream
• White sugar
• An Irish coffee cup

Directions:

Pour the hot coffee, ‘Triple Sec,’ ‘London Dry Gin’ and the ‘Kahlua Coffee Liqueur’ into the Irish cup and stir well. Add the white sugar while stirring to sweeten as preferred. Gently glide the whipping cream over the liquid and add the remaining teaspoon of ‘Triple Sec.’

The above ingredients are sufficient to serve one person.

Apart from ‘English Coffee’ there are various coffee recipes available for coffee addicts to enjoy. Some of the most preferred coffee beverages in the United Kingdom are listed below.

Espresso

An Espresso has a strong taste and is made using aromatic dark-roasted coffee beans. This black coffee, if properly brewed would have a layer of thick brown foam floating at the brim of the cup. The sugar added to sweeten, rests on the foam before gliding to the bottom.

Variations include:

Espresso Macchiato: A touch of steamed milk

Espresso Corretto: A dash of cognac or grappa

Espresso Con Panna: Topped with whipped cream

Americano

Making an Americano is easy. Make it by adding a single shot of Espresso to a cup of water, so it’s more like a diluted Espresso. Served with a bit of milk and sugar, or topped with cream. Iced Americano is also popular.

Cappuccino

To make a cappuccino is by mixing frothy milk, steamed milk and espresso in equal portions. Serve it with a dash of cocoa powder or dark chocolate sprinkled over the froth.

Café Mocha

It is a type of cappuccino with chocolate powder or syrup added to it and served with whipped cream.

Caramel Macchiato

Caramel Macchiato is prepared using a blend of espresso, foamed milk and caramel. Vanilla is often added to increase the flavour of the coffee. Add sugar according to taste if it is necessary.