Kahlua Coffee
Hot coffee with a measure of coffee liqueur and a float of lightly whipped cream. It is two ingredients plus cream, and the coffee liqueur does the sweetening, so there is nothing else to get wrong.
At a glance
- Coffee : liqueur
- 4:1
- Active time
- 2 min
- Total time
- 3 min
- Makes
- 1 mug
- Serve
- Hot, with cream
- Kit
- Heatproof glass
Ingredients
Note: No sugar needed. The liqueur is sweet. If your coffee is very strong and bitter, a teaspoon of sugar helps the cream float.
Method
-
Warm the glass
Rinse a heatproof glass or mug with hot water.
-
Liqueur and coffee
Pour in the coffee liqueur, then the hot coffee, and stir.
-
Float the cream
Pour lightly whipped cream slowly over the back of a spoon so it sits on top. Drink through the cream.
Why this works
Coffee liqueur is coffee extract, spirit and a lot of sugar, usually around 20 percent alcohol. Stirred into hot coffee it does three jobs at once: it sweetens, it adds alcohol, and it doubles the coffee flavour with a darker, more caramel note than the brewed coffee alone. That is why this drink needs nothing else.
The four to one ratio keeps it a coffee rather than a hot liqueur. Coffee liqueur is sweet enough that much more than 35 ml in a mug turns syrupy. The brewed coffee should be strong, so its bitterness balances the liqueur's sugar.
The cream floats for the same reason it does in an Irish coffee. The sugar in the liqueur makes the coffee denser, and lightly whipped cream, full of air, sits on top. Whipped too stiff and it sits like a lid. Not whipped at all and it sinks. Drinking through it gives cold cream and hot sweet coffee in each sip, and the cream softens the alcohol.
It is the simplest of the spiked coffees and the base for most of the others. Add whiskey and brown sugar and it is close to an Irish coffee. Add brandy and crème de cacao and it is a Keoke coffee. Add tequila and cinnamon and it is a Mexican coffee.
Variations
- Iced: coffee liqueur and cold brew over ice, with a splash of milk.
- With Irish cream: 20 ml of each liqueur, for a creamier, sweeter drink.
- With vodka: 15 ml of vodka added, for a hot espresso martini of sorts.
- As a punch for a crowd: see cold Kahlúa coffee punch.
Contains a measure of liqueur. Not for children, drivers, or anyone avoiding alcohol.
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Questions
How much Kahlúa do you put in coffee?
About 35 ml, a generous single measure, in 140 ml of hot coffee. More than that makes it syrupy.
Do you need sugar with Kahlúa coffee?
No. The liqueur is sweet. A teaspoon of sugar helps the cream float if the coffee is very strong.
How strong is Kahlúa?
Coffee liqueurs like Kahlúa are usually around 20 percent alcohol, about half the strength of whiskey or vodka.
Can I use another coffee liqueur?
Yes. Any coffee liqueur works. Those made with real cold brew tend to taste less sweet and more of coffee.