Soaking Coffee Beans In Alcohol

Brewing them is not the only use for coffee beans.

You can eat them, either as a snack (like those covered in chocolate) or for an energy boost.

You can even use them as an odor neutralizer!

If you are creative, you can come up with all kinds of great uses for them.

But soaking coffee beans in alcohol is not a new or crazy use. People have been doing this for ages!

And once you’ve tried it, you’ll see why.

Below we will tell you how to do it and give you some great ideas for putting it into practice.

 

Soaking Coffee Beans In Alcohol

Coffee-Infused Whiskey

Coffee and whiskey is not a new combination. Just think about Irish coffee. But there are many different types of coffee and many different types of whiskey.

Their origin and how they are processed results in great variation in flavor. As a result, they don’t always go well together.

Before you infuse your whiskey, you have to keep in mind that the aim of matching coffee and whiskey, is to complement each other. They shouldn’t compete against each other.

Think about the dominant flavors of both your coffee and your whiskey. If their basic flavors match, then you have a good start.

But that is not all. Coffee and whiskey have subtler notes. You also have to think about how the subtler notes of both go together.

The most common type of whiskey for soaking coffee beans is Bourbon. Its notes of vanilla, oak, and caramel pair naturally with coffee.

Dark roasts of coffee beans pair better since they have low acidity and nutty flavors.

A well-balanced whiskey that has fruity notes pairs better with a light to medium coffee roast. It is better to use Arabica coffee beans because they have more fruity components than Robusta.

It might sound overwhelming trying to pair flavors and notes of whiskey and coffee. It takes time and experimenting to find what adjusts to your palate

Luckily, you can just buy flavored ground coffee. In that way, you can get an idea about how the whiskey and coffee flavors would pair. However, this is not an alcoholic drink.

 

How Do You Soak Coffee Beans?

If this is your first time soaking coffee beans in alcohol, you will want to start with small amounts. Don’t use your whole bottle of whiskey.

If you don’t like the resulting flavor, you don’t want to have wasted a whole bottle of liqueur. You don’t need to use a fancy whiskey for this, but you can if you want.

Here is how you infuse coffee beans:

• Pour some whiskey into a small glass. Then add the coffee beans of your choice. The recommended ratio is 1.5 ounces of whiskey for every .25 ounces of coffee beans.
• Leave the coffee beans soaking for 24 hours.
• Drain, leave the coffee beans to dry, and save them.
• Try your coffee-infused whiskey!

 

Other Liqueurs

You don’t necessarily have to soak coffee beans in whiskey. You can use any other alcohol, as long as it’s flavored. And the flavor should match coffee’s notes.

 

Sambuca

Sambuca is an Italian liqueur with an anise flavor. It can be served alone or added to coffee instead of sugar to create a drink called caffé corretto.

Sambuca’s anise flavor pairs so perfectly with coffee, that in Italy it is common to drink a shot of sambuca with three coffee beans.

The sambuca is set on fire to toast the coffee beans and imbue a slight coffee taste. The Italians believe that the three coffee beans bring health, happiness, and prosperity.

Whether you believe that coffee beans in sambuca bring luck, or you simply want to enjoy an alcoholic drink with a hint of coffee, sambuca is a great way to go.

 

Rum Or Brandy

Rum and brandy are other liqueurs that can be enhanced by coffee beans. Just as whiskey, you can find apple brandy flavored ground coffee and butter rum flavored coffee.

Again, neither of these contain alcohol. However, they are a great wat to get an idea of how the combination of those liqueurs and coffee will taste.

 

Related Questions

How Do You Infuse Coffee Beans?

When you make coffee-infused alcohol, it means that you also have infused coffee beans. The way you infuse them is exactly the same way you would soak the coffee beans in alcohol.

After you have soaked and drained the coffee beans, leave them to dry and store them as you would normally do. Then you can grind them and brew them.

If you are trying to infuse your coffee beans, then you are obviously trying to brew coffee with some extra kick from the booze. You will still taste the coffee, but the caffeine will be minimized, because the alcohol will depress it.

 

Can You Brew Coffee With Vodka?

Yes, you can. This is different from infusing coffee beans in alcohol. Not only will the flavor be different, but this is a faster way to brew coffee with alcohol.

You can even do this with pre-ground coffee and cheap vodka. Again, if you don’t like the end result, at least you won’t have spent much on the ingredients.

To brew coffee with vodka, follow these steps:

• Mix 1 part ground coffee with 2 parts vodka in a glass or jar.
• Whisk until the coffee is completely mixed in.
• Pour it into a French press or filter the mix to get rid of the coffee grounds.

Brewing coffee with vodka will taste better if you use a dark roast. Of course, you can also experiment with lighter roasts.

 

Soaking Coffee Beans In Alcohol: Final Thoughts

Combining alcohol and coffee is not a new trend. You can find many cocktails and other recipes with these two ingredients.

If you want to bring the liqueurs you have at home to another level, soaking coffee beans in alcohol is an uncomplicated process that you can try.

And although trying to match different flavors and notes sounds fancy and only for experts, there’s no right or wrong, when it comes to soaking coffee beans in alcohol.

Just try. You might not like what you end up with at the beginning, but it is a matter of finding out what works for you. The goal is for you to enjoy a good shot at home.