The gourmand coffees

Who doesn’t know coffee? It’s a universal drink, but also historical,  whose preparation methods have evolved over time.

The extraction techniques are usually two types:

1. maceration, characterized by prolonged contact of the coffee powder with water;
2. percolation, in this case the water passes through the coffee and quickly falls into a container.

The oldest techniques belong to the first type, while the more modern ones belong to the second. Espresso, moka, filter coffee and other similar methods belong to it.

In 1840 James R. Napier conceived the Coffee Siphon, composed of two glass elements superimposed separated by a filter; the water, placed in the lower ampoule, is brought to boiling, making its ascent into the upper chamber, where the extraction from the coffee powder takes place. Once the heat is eliminated, the water begins to descend into the lower ampoule while the filter retains the dust.

It’s very popular in Japan, so much so that it is the main specialty served in the Cat’s Eye coffee in the 1981 Japanese manga and anime of the same name.

Cold brew or cold drip is obtained using the Toddy invented by the American Todd Simpson in the 1960s.

What’s (greedy) gourmand coffee? It’s a classic coffee (espresso, mocha or filter coffee) with an element of strong aromatic character, preferably sweet: not for classic coffee lovers!

Among the gourmand coffees there are certainly the Espressino, the Marocchino, the Mocaccino and the Bicerin, however recently the category has been enriched by some new entries.

Most common on the web is the espresso on a dark chocolate bar, it may be also white or milk, depending on your taste.

You can also obtain a hazelnut coffee with a spoonful of hazelnut cream, but also pistachio or custard and even on ice cream: vanilla or chocolate?. However, if you use a mascarpone cream, the correct name (with a cat tongue or other cookie dipped into it) is “decomposed tiramisu”.

Now, just let your imagination run wild ... obviously the taste of the added element will alter the traditional one of coffee.

Some of these recipes can be found in the Italian book Giuseppe Mazzarella, « Il marketing nel bicchiere – L’arte di vendere emozioni » , edited by Morrone Editore.

Italian recipe

Booktrailer