Are you a homemade liqueurs lover or do you simply want to try your hand at a new coffee recipe? You are in the right place, in this article we explain how to make coffee liqueur at home.
It is a simple recipe, for which only four ingredients are needed: water, coffee, sugar and alcohol. The result of this preparation is a pleasant drink that can be enjoyed on its own or used in many sweet recipes. Home-made coffee liqueur is a treat to offer to guests or to consume on its own, either in the cold or room-temperature version.
Thanks to the digestive properties of caffeine, it can be served after meals to stimulate digestion and have an extra touch of energy.
In addition to ice cream, it is a real gem for gourmets, to whom we also recommend the coffee liqueur version with dark chocolate.
A well-packaged bottle of coffee liqueur is also a welcome and original thought during the holidays, as a gift for friends and relatives. Preparation is not demanding, as it only takes twenty minutes to obtain over a litre of liqueur.
Moreover, it is a drink suitable for all coffee lovers, even those with special dietary requirements: homemade coffee liqueur is gluten-free, lactose-free and free of ingredients of animal origin.
Those who wish to customise the taste of coffee liqueur can experiment with different variations, adding cinnamon, vanilla or star anise to the recipe.
Considering that the basic ingredient is coffee, it is essential that the extract is delicious and intense.
Continue reading our recipe and discover how to make homemade coffee liqueur.
Ingredients of liqueur coffee
Very few ingredients are needed to prepare homemade coffee liqueur, namely water, alcohol, coffee and sugar. In fact, one of the aspects to pay attention to is the dosage of the products, which can affect the final result.
The perfect doses for one litre of coffee liqueur are:
- 500 millilitres of water;
- 450/500 grams of coffee;
- 450 grams of sugar;
- 250 grams of pure alcohol.
In the coffee liqueur recipe, ground coffee powder, soluble coffee, espresso or coffee prepared with a traditional Moka coffee maker can be used. For us coffee experts, the best choice is espresso, which gives a stronger and more intense aroma to the drink.
In case you prefer powdered coffee, vary the preparation method slightly. Basically, instead of using ready-made coffee, you combine water with coffee powder and bring the ingredients to the boil slowly, two or three times. Finally, you strain everything and proceed with the normal preparation method, which you will find described in the next section.
If you plan to flavour the coffee liqueur, get some spices of your choice or dark chocolate. The flavours that go best with coffee liqueur are aniseed, cinnamon and vanilla, of which one stick is enough.
How to prepare liqueur coffee
First of all, before preparing the homemade coffee liqueur, you need to get the necessary utensils: a large pot, the coffee machine, a glass container, a strainer, some glass bottles, a plastic spatula or a wooden spoon.
Once you have all the necessary utensils, it is time for the coffee.
The coffee extract should be prepared in advance and left to cool in a small glass bowl. Clearly, if you want to drink a good coffee, you should do so with the right machine, because the drink should not have any burnt, bitter or watery taste. To prepare coffee liqueur, you need an extract that is rich in flavour and has optimal organoleptic notes.
When the coffee has cooled down, you can proceed with the rest of the recipe.
The cold coffee should be poured into the saucepan together with the sugar and placed on the cooker to heat over low heat to melt the sugar. The drink should be stirred continuously with a wooden spoon or spatula so that the sugar dissolves quickly.
Once the sugar has dissolved completely, the drink can be removed from the heat. The sweetened coffee should be left to stand in a bowl for at least ten minutes before adding the alcohol.
The alcohol should only be poured in at the last when the coffee is completely cold. Then the resulting drink should be poured into bottles with the help of a strainer so that no residue is formed.
The bottles should be closed immediately and stored in the dark for about a month. Yes, we did indeed write one month! For the aromas to become uniform and the coffee to mix with the alcohol, a period of thirty days is necessary.
For proper storage of the homemade coffee liqueur, it is essential that the bottles are perfectly dry and clean.
Additions to coffee liqueur: flavourings can be added to give the coffee more distinctiveness
What we have given you is the basic recipe, but you can customise the coffee according to your own taste. First of all, you can vary the dosage slightly, so that the liqueur is more or less sweet, or the alcohol taste has a greater level of intensity.
In addition, you can indulge in different flavourings; the classics are aniseed, cinnamon and vanilla, but everyone can follow their own preferences. For those with a sweet tooth, an excellent mix is obtained with dark chocolate.
To flavour coffee liqueur, spices must be added during preparation. In particular, the cinnamon or vanilla stick, or the star anise berry, should be boiled in the saucepan together with the sugar and coffee. After letting the mixture cool, the spices must be removed to avoid contact with the alcohol. If you prefer coffee powder, you can insert the flavourings into the water while extracting the coffee from the powder.
Dark chocolate is a delicious touch of flavour for coffee liqueur. The ingredient should be melted directly into the hot coffee before continuing with the recipe.
Storage
An important tip is not to prepare tons of coffee liqueur at the same time. The drink should be stored for a maximum of three months, after which it may lose its taste.
The bottles should be stored in the pantry, away from light and heat sources. Depending on taste, home-made coffee liqueur can be served at room temperature or cold. In the latter case, it should be placed in the freezer or refrigerator and consumed on the spot.
Now that we have explained how to make coffee liqueur at home, we would like to let you in on a secret: coffee liqueur should be made from the highest quality espresso. The best way to extract coffee is with the Pontevecchio lever coffee machine, which combines integrity of taste with tradition.
Discover the right coffee machine for you and indulge in all your coffee-based culinary fantasies.