I love Coffee!

 When I was kid, I did not like coffee at all. That's probably a normal reaction for many kids - especially if their parents drink black coffee like mine did. I didn't really start drinking coffee until I turned 18, and even then it was usually the sugary drinks like Frappuccino's from Starbucks. Back then, coffee was an instant pick-me-up, and when my mom wanted me to do some major cleaning she would come to me with a hot cup of coffee with a huge grin on her face. I used to go to Starbucks daily, and on weekends sometimes I would go two or three times in a day. Then I had a baby, and the harsh reality was that I could not afford the luxury of my beloved lattes every day. I remembered at one point, my mom had an espresso machine that I had used before, so I bought one and started making my own lattes at home. Over the years I have had the pleasure of tasting different types of coffees, and learned how to make many of them myself. One of my favorites has always been Vietnamese coffee. It is a very strong brew mixed with condensed milk and then poured over ice. Pictured below is the brewing process. Unfortunately, this has to be a special treat as condensed milk has a lot of sugar and is not good for my diabetes. 

Next up: Cold-brew coffee. If I'm being honest, I don't care too much for hot coffee. I love iced coffee. I first tried cold-brew as a store bought thing, but $10 a jug (approximately one quart) is a hefty price tag in my opinion. So I googled a recipe on how to make it at home. In the summer I make one or two batches a week, and a batch fills about 2 one quart mason jars for a much lower cost of store bought stuff. An even better perk: I can choose my preferred coffee beans - Italian roast. The process is pretty simple, "brew" (soak) coarse ground coffee for about 12 hours and then strain. If it is too strong, you can water it down, but I love the bold flavor of it undiluted so I skip this step. For this, I love to mix it with a sugar-free syrup with milk - a flavored cafe-au-lait.

 

Finally, my newest obsession has been whipped coffee (aka Dalgona coffee). All you need is an equal amount of hot water, instant coffee, and sugar (I do 2TB of each). Whip it up with a frother and dollop over some ice and milk. It is like a melted coffee ice cream. It's rich, creamy, and just absolutely delicious. I can't believe I waited so long to give it a try! My favorite is using brown sugar, however, for reasons stated above that one is on occasion so I usually just use monkfruit sweetener instead. I am proud to say I also got my mom hooked on this stuff ^_^

I also adore mason jars! I have many different shapes, sizes, and colors of them, and a drawer full of lids and bands. Despite having so many mason jars, I have never in my life done any sort of canning or food preservation.... but I digress. This blog is about my love for coffee, and always being open to trying different types - this is just a small sample of what I've made at home.