This coffee drink diagram/illustration makes sense of all the espresso based coffee options available, in very simple terms. From the Latte to the Cafe Breve. Ingredients, and their approximate amounts. They are not perfect, but a good reference guide.

Created by Lokesh Dhakar

Via swissmiss Tags: coffee, espresso, espresso drinks, coffee types, espresso diagram

We were recently sent a coffee book by a publisher. Being coffee people, we were very excited to get it. The book is called I Love Coffee!: Over 100 Easy and Delicious Coffee Drinks by Susan Zimmer.

The book tells you about coffee, the many methods for brewing it, the global coffee trade, and of course, recipes. The first half of the book is educational, while the latter is recipe-oriented.

The educational section will tell you how to brew your perfect cup - via your chosen method - and how to prepare milk for the basic drinks. There you’ll learn about a basic Latte.

The recipe section is great for the visual-recipe-hunter, like me. Lots of fabulous pictures to inspire you. Some of them are over the top on sweetness - like the "Rolo" -Way Latte - others are more subtle in flavor. The recipe section focuses on specialty drinks, flavored with anything from mint to chocolate - both hot and cold.

I enjoyed reading through the book. It’s a quick read, everything laid out very simply, but quite interesting. We haven’t had the opportunity yet to make any of the recipes, but when we do, we’ll post a review and some pictures.

Tags: coffee book, i love coffee, coffee recipes, coffee education, about coffee

Now, here is something I have not tried: espresso with honey. Don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. I do like things sweet, after all.

Well, Coffee Kid Mark Prince did think of it. Seriously. Trying 15 types of honey to find the one that was perfect with espresso. His final choice: Volcano Island Honey.

Here is Mark’s recipe for the perfect honey espresso:

One heaping demitasse spoon (probably less than a teaspoon) of the honey, dripped into a preheated cup. Sit the cup in a bath of boiled water, so the honey melts. Prep your shot - I pull a very short double - about 45-55ml. Brew the shot right into the cup on top of the honey. They won’t mix, even though the honey is melted, so place the cup on a saucer, and stir with the demitasse spoon you used to dish out the honey.

Sounds amazing. Can’t wait to try it. Will need to figure out where in Vancouver I can get it done this way though :) Ideas?

Tags: espresso, coffee, honey, vancouver

Here are some ways to bring the warmth of Christmas together with, what else, coffee:

- toss some chocolate covered coffee beans into stockings as the best morning treat

- make a coffee cake the night before to nibble on in the morning

- try some coffee pancakes - just add 1 tsp instant coffee to your flour when mixing. Not the best coffee, but the flavour is there.

- Jazz up your coffee - add peppermint or gingerbread or eggnog syrup to your drip, your americano, your mocha, your latte or your whatever

- whip up some heated eggnot and toss it into your coffee, topping off with some yummy nutmeg

- Brew some spiced coffee

Spiced Coffee Recipe (french press)

6 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2-3 nutmeg, cut into halves

1. Add the nutmeg and cloves to your french press and brew along with your coffee

2. Pour finished brew into cups with a cinnamon stick each

And Merry Christmas!!

Tags: christmas, coffee, spiced coffee

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Christmas is a time for many yummy things. But, to me, it’s a time for peppermint. For peppermint Americano. Peppermint mocha. Peppermint hot chocolate. And peppermint steamed milk.

I keep some peppermint in the cupboard for just those occasions. I am topping off my latest steamed milk a la peppermint.

You’d truly be surprised how well peppermint goes with so many things!

I bet everyone out there has a favourite chocolate cake recipe. We have a few on Baking Low Fat so far (though feel free to add your own).

So, why not add something more punchy to that cake? Make it mocha!

How?

Instead of the water in the recipe, add in cold coffee. The stronger, the more flavour your cake will have.

That’s it! Enjoy.

Technorati Tags: cake, baking, mocha, chocolate, food, recipe, recipes

3 cardamom pods

1/3 cup whole dark coffee beans or 1/4 cup dark ground coffee

2 cups hot water

1 tablespoon sugar or maple syrup, or to taste

Ice

1/4 cup evaporated milk or half-and-half

Grind cardamom pods with coffee beans (or mix together ground cardamom with ground coffee) and brew with 2 cups hot water to make very strong coffee. Add sugar or maple syrup and let cool. Pour into two glasses filled with ice. Add evaporated milk or half-and-half and serve. Makes 2 servings.

From Badgett’s Coffee eJournal

Technorati Tags: thai, coffee, iced coffee, recipe, recipes, cardamom

From Bakingsheet:

Fill up one large cup (16 oz.) with ice and pour strong, cool coffee (add a shot of espresso if you have it) over ice to the top of the cup. Pour this into a blender. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp cocoa powder, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 2 tbsp sugar. Blend until smooth.

Makes 2 servings.

Technorati Tags: recipe, mochaccino, frappucino, iced coffee, coffee

A great resource for copycat recipes to Starbucks beverages.

Includes such recipes as the Java Chip Frappucino and the Caramel Macchiato. Now, I cannot say I like all Starbucks beverages, or whether these are great reproductions, but it’s an impressive compilation nonetheless.

I stumbled across this today as I was thinking about making an iced coffee of some sort. It was good. Just ice and coffee. The only change I would make would be to prechill the coffee before blending.

Technorati Tags: starbucks, frappucino, recipe, coffee

We’ve officially launched our 5th blog: Baking Low Fat.

I love to bake. Don’t know if it’s the ingredients, the process, or just the satisfaction of eating the goodies, but I love baking far more than cooking. However, for health reasons, we try to be really healthy in the kitchen. I’ve found it quite hard to accomidate my love for baked goods into a healthy lifestyle. Baking is not really a low-carb diet, but I’m not a low-carb kind of person. Happen to love my carbs.

Fortunately, I have come across a couple of hard-to-get cookbooks and constantly search the web for tons of recipes and tips. So, I am able to enjoy the yummy baked goods without all the fat. Luckily, there are some easy ways to take out the oil and butter without sacrificing the flavour.

So, this blog is to share what I’ve learned. And, bonus, it’s a Drupal blog. So, you can share your recipes and ideas too. Subscribe to the blog, and join the community of healthy bakers.