I GUARANTEE! COFFEE BOMBS Will Make You Feel Sorry… If You Are Lucky Enough

A long time ago, when I was a teenager…

Wow! When did the time pass by so fast? I still feel like a teenager. Only thing is, my mirror says those times are gone. It shows me now, a woman, evidently more beautiful than the teenager (says my infinite ego), without any track of juvenile acne, with a completely different body and possessing a heart that has felt so many things in time. More than this… with a more developed mind which knows a lot of information that was unknown before.

Like for example… how to prepare a coffee…

A long time ago, when I was a teenager… one day a friend came to my house with a little box containing a light brown powder which our parents used to call Nescafe. We were home alone, our parents left for their jobs and we… we decided to do what we saw our parents doing with that powder.

Cups… teaspoons… sugar… everything appeared almost suddenly in front of us. One Nescafe and another sugar teaspoon were added to each empty cup. Now… the favorite part… put a small quantity of hot water and start mixing… after a while the mix changed its color and became a lighter cream.

We tasted it… Mmmm… Yammy… but it’s too little. We need more!

Another two full teaspoons landed inside the cups. Mixing… mixing… the cream tastes so good. More, more… we will make a super Nescafe. The infusion procedure stopped when inside each cup were six teaspoons of coffee plus another six of sugar. It was looking great! Now… what’s missing? Some hot water, of course. The cups were filled…

OK… let’s taste our treasures. Mmmm, so good. So good! We drink it all while laughing and being proud of what we did while being home alone. Finally… we are adults… we drank coffee!

But… a few minutes later… what’s this feeling? Something was wrong with both of us.

Our hearts were racing like crazy! Scared, so scared… we don’t know what was happening. But we know the reason was the coffee. Not exactly the coffee itself, but the way we prepared it. My friend is scared, I can see this on her face very well. And as for me… I am terrified! I never felt something like this, before. I think this is my last day on this planet.

We needed several hours to calm down a little. We didn’t call our parents, being ashamed of what we did… stealing coffee and trying that kamikaze method of drinking it. We hung in there, alone… still home alone… looking into the others eyes and wondering what will happen with us.

Fortunately, nothing more happened. When we started to feel better, our hearts were still racing.

That was the day when my young mind learned several things:

• Don’t try to imitate an adult if you don’t have all the necessary details.

• Even if your heart and body are young, no matter how powerful you think they are, they can still be damaged.

• There are moments in life which will activate your permanent memory and you will never, never forget them.

• Never steal coffee!

• Never, never, never invent coffee bombs!

• A coffee is much more delicious and healthy, if you keep the perfect ratio.

You can choose to experiment until you discover the perfect ratio for your taste and health or… you can try what other people have experienced. I can’t try for you anything, but I can give you some recipes for preparing a perfect coffee. Even if I like all of them… of course I have my favorite… Turkish coffee! Especially that one prepared in the sand’s heat. Maybe one day I will give you that recipe also. 🙂

There are plenty of coffee recipes on lots of websites and blogs. One of the best I found is www.food.com.

1 – Hot Buttered Toffee Coffee

Servings: 1 Time: 3 min 4 ounces coffee mocha ice cream 6 ounces hot coffee 2 tablespoons butterscotch topping 2 teaspoons almond liqueur whipped topping 1 tablespoon toffee pieces or 1 tablespoon chopped chocolate-covered English toffee bar

Spoon ice cream into a large coffee mug; pour coffee, butterscotch topping and almond liqueur over ice cream. Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkle of toffee chips.

2 – Hot Buttered Coffee

Servings: 20 Time: 10 min 1/4 cup butter, softened 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon allspice 1/8 teaspoon clove Cinnamon sticks and whipped cream, optional.

In a small bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until crumbly, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla and spices. For each serving, stir 1 tablespoon butter mixture into 1 cup coffee. Garnish with cinnamon stick and whipped cream if desired. Cover and refrigerate leftover butter mixture for up to 2 weeks.

3 – The Governor’s Hot Buttered Coffee

Servings: 20 Time: 30 minutes 1/4 cup sweet unsalted butter 2 cups dark brown sugar, packed 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1 fluid ounce dark rum 1 fluid ounce heavy cream fresh brewed strong coffee (very hot) whipped cream

Cream butter and sugar; blend in spices. Refrigerate mixture until ready to use. Add a scant tablespoon of butter/spice mixture in a 10-ounce mug. Add rum and heavy cream. Fill mug with coffee. Garnish with whipped cream. Butter/spice mixture is enough for about 20 servings.

4 – Turkish Coffee 1

Servings: 2 Time: 5 minutes 1 cup water 1 tablespoon of extra fine ground coffee (powder consistency) 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom or 1 cardamom pod sugar (optional)

Bring water and sugar to a boil in ibrik. If you do not have an ibrik, a small saucepan will work. Remove from heat, add coffee and cardamom. Return saucepan to heat and allow coming to a boil. Remove from heat when coffee foams. Again, return to heat, allowing foaming and remove it from heat. Pour into cup, and allow sitting for a few minutes for the grounds to settle to the bottom of the cup. Cardamom pod may be served in cup for added flavor. Turkish coffee must always be served with foam on top. Do not stir after pouring into cups; the foam will collapse. Always use cold water.

5 – Turkish Coffee 2

Servings: 4 Time: 17 minutes 2 -3 tablespoons strong rich coffee (very finely ground) 4 teaspoons sugar (or to taste) 3 cardamom seeds (optional) or 1 sprig fresh coriander (optional) or 2 teaspoons rose water (optional)

To make really authentic ‘Turkish’ coffee you need a narrow-topped pot that can be heated on a stove. Pots like this are used to make coffee in the most expensive restaurants and on desert camp-fires. You can use any heat-proof pot, but be careful. Fill the pot with about ½ liter of water and place it on the heat. As the water begins to heat up, add the sugar, stir, and then top up with the coffee. When the water boils, let it begin to foam, but quickly reduce the heat before the coffee boils over. Repeat this three times. Remove from the heat and add any optional flavoring. Allow the coffee to cool for a minute, and then pour it into small cups.

6 – Turkish Coffee 3

Servings: 1 Time: 13 minutes 1 cup water (demitasse) 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar 1 teaspoon fine ground coffee (not instant)

Measure water and sugar in a small saucepan. Dissolve the sugar in the water by bringing the mixture to a boil stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in coffee. Return to heat and bring slowly back to a boil. When the coffee begins to rise up remove from heat. When foaming recedes return to heat and bring back to a boil. Repeat this procedure three times. The goal is to get maximum coffee flavor without over boiling. There should be thick sediment on the bottom and a brown froth on the top. Serve the coffee by pouring gradually into each cup to evenly distribute the sediment.

7 – Thai Iced Coffee

Servings: 4 Time: 5 minutes very strong black regular grind coffee, sufficient to brew 4 cups 4 tablespoons sugar 4 tablespoons heavy cream 2 teaspoons ground cardamom 1 teaspoon almond flavoring crushed ice

Add the cardamom to the ground coffee, and brew the coffee; when the coffee is brewed, add the sugar and almond flavoring, mix well and then let the coffee cool to lukewarm. Fill four 12 ounce highball glasses half-way to the rim with crushed ice and then fill two-thirds full with coffee; into each glass, stir about 1 tablespoon of heavy cream. To achieve a layered effect, hold a spoon on top of the coffee and pour the cream slowly into the spoon so that the cream floats on top of the glass over the coffee.

8 – Thai Iced Coffee – 12 Hour Brew Technique

Servings: 6-8 Time: 10 minutes 1/2 lb dark roast ground coffee 8 cups cold water 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

Stir together ground coffee and cold water in a pitcher until well combined. Let stand at room temperature for 12 hours. Pour coffee mixture through a large, fine wire mesh strainer into a Dutch oven or other large container, discarding grounds. Clean strainer; place a coffee filter or double layer of cheesecloth in strainer. Pour coffee mixture through lined strainer into a pitcher. Add vanilla extract. Cover and store in refrigerator up to 1 week, if desired. Stir together coffee mixture and sweetened condensed milk. Serve over ice.

9 – Coffee Imperial

Servings: 6 Time: 15 minutes 4 cinnamon sticks 6 cups strong coffee, freshly brewed 1/2 cup heavy cream sugar, to taste crushed ice whipped cream cinnamon

Add cinnamon sticks to hot coffee and let stand for 1 hour and then remove the cinnamon. Add sugar and the heavy cream, then chill. Pour mixture into tall glasses and fill with ice, top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

10 – Spiced up Yuletide Coffee

Servings: 4-6 Time: 15 minutes 1 1/2 cups water 4 whole cloves 1/2 inch cinnamon stick 4 green cardamoms, tips split 2 -3 teaspoons brown sugar or 2 -3 teaspoons granulated sugar or 2 -3 teaspoons sugar substitute whipped cream chocolate shavings cinnamon 4 -6 cups fresh strong coffee

In a small pan, add the water, cloves, cinnamon (broken up), cardamom, and sugar. Heat up to the boiling point for 3-4 minutes. Mix the coffee and the spice mixture, pour into cups and top with whipped cream. Sprinkle with the chocolate and cinnamon. Add more sugar if desired.

11 – Citrus Spiced Coffee

Servings: 4 Time: 10 minutes 4 tablespoons ground coffee 4 slices lemon peel 4 slices orange peel 10 whole cloves 1 quart cold water 8 teaspoons brown sugar

Place lemon peels, orange peels, and cloves in bottom of a coffee filter. Place the coffee grounds on top and then brew the coffee. Sweeten with the brown sugar or adjust to taste.

12 – Spiced Citrus Coffee

Servings: 2 1 1/2 cups coffee 10 whole cloves 2 slices orange peel 2 slices lemon peel 1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped brown sugar (optional)

Place spices and peel into a saucepan. Pour coffee over spices and simmer over low heat for roughly 5 minutes. Strain into cups and top with whipped cream. Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Sweeten with brown sugar if desired.

13 – Gingerbread Coffee (Press Pot)

Serves: 1 Time: 8 minutes 3 tablespoons coffee beans, coarse ground 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1 tablespoon molasses boiling water milk, hot

Put all ingredients, except water and milk, into a 12 oz. press pot. Add boiling water. Stir with chopstick or handle of wooden spoon. Put lid on pot and brew 4 minutes. Press plunger and pour coffee into large cup. Add hot milk to taste. To make with drip coffee: Brew coffee and stir in spices and molasses. Strain into cup.