Cooling coffee mocktails from the tropics
As we move out of the holidays, and into warmer January afternoons that only promise to get hotter, we have been thinking about concocting cooling coffee mocktails to soothe ourselves.
Given Beachville's coastal situatedness, we thought of course of using coconuts in some form, and of tapping into the sugarcane bounty we see following the Pongal harvest.
These mocktails have come out of experimenting with these two elements that we were sure our Chennai palates would take to instantly, and they did!
The recipes that follow work wonderfully as mocktails if you are playing host at evening gatherings, and just as well if you want to quickly make yourself a refreshing cooler on a hot work day.
Recipe 1: Karumbu Kaapi
Ingredients:
Filter Coffee Decoction: 60 ml or 4 tablespoons
OR
Espresso shot : 40 ml
Sugarcane juice: 60 ml or 4 tablespoons
4-5 Ice cubes
Grated ginger : small sliver (optional)
Process:
- In a cocktail shaker or jar with a lid, add all the ingredients listed above and shake until well combined.
- We use Beachville's Espresso Blend and Filter Coffee Blend to brew our coffee for this recipe, but a filter coffee decoction made with the Kelagur Heights beans or an espresso using the Ethiopian Guji would work just as well too!
Recipe 2: Karumbu Kaapi made creamy
This recipe takes off from the previous one, but turns it into a creamy cold coffee with the addition of coconut milk
Process:
- Follow the instructions for Karumbu Kaapi, but without the addition of ginger.
- Once you shake and pour, top it off with 40ml or 4 tablespoons of thick coconut milk.
- If you are using homemade coconut milk that tends to be thinner, you can add 6-7 tablespoons of it.
Recipe 3: Iced Coconut Coffee
Inspired by the infamous Vietnamese coffee that uses condensed milk as the sweetener, this iced coffee recipe gives a coconuty twist to it. The result is a mildly sweet, richly textured yet very cooling beverage that carries coffee flavours while being a great refresher.
Ingredients:
Espresso shot: 40 ml
OR
Filter Coffee Decoction: 60 ml or 4 tablespoons
Sweetened Condensed milk: 10 ml or 2 tsp
Thick coconut milk: 40 ml or 4 tablespoons
(Use 6-7 tablespoons if using thinner coconut milk)
5-6 Ice cubes
Process:
- In a cocktail shaker or a jar with a lid, add all the ingredients listed above and shake until well combined.
- Alternatively, you could use a mixie jar and blend the condensed milk, coconut milk and ice cubes to a slushie consistency, and top it off with the espresso/filter decoction while serving.