“To me, the smell of fresh-made coffee is one of the greatest inventions.” ~ Hugh Jackman
Coffee is the sole contributor for my sanity on most days.
I am the stereotypical girl who can’t do without her coffee, and I need coffee a certain way, and I get extremely pissed off if it’s not that exact way.
And it MUST be hot!
I always choose a hot cup, and rarely ever go for a cold one. Despite now living in a city that is obsessed with cold coffee, I still choose a hot cup, regardless of the sweltering temperatures outside.
BUT (there’s always a but!) there was one time in the streets of Bali, two years ago, we came across a cute little café, and we ducked in for a drink. We ordered a cold concoction of coffee, and I a hot cappuccino.
While mine came with a beautiful frothed milk design (a bear!), the other came in a WOW state!
A tall, long glass, iced coffee, toasted almonds, whipped cream, and an enhanced vanilla taste. Freshly brewed Balinese coffee is awesome, no doubt, but this drink lingered on my taste buds far longer than I would’ve expected.
I left my cappuccino untouched, and drank his instead!
It’s been two years but the taste is still as vivid. And for a non-iced-coffee drinker, that’s a big deal!
Here, I’ve tried to recreate this recipe as closely as possible, and although incredibly simple, I believe the key is the right measurements – after the six attempts! I have tried using real vanilla pods, but in vain. The best is a good quality vanilla essence. I’ve been lucky enough to be gifted a great coffee machine that freshly grinds coffee beans each time you press the button for an espresso. But no fret if you don’t have one – I suggest invest in a French press and get good ground coffee (there are a ton of amazing websites that deliver fresh Indian coffee grounds and beans, and you can even choose the grind size!). If that’s a hassle, then of course instant is the way to go!
I like my coffee slightly bitter, so I go for less brown sugar. However, the sugar quantity is up to you – more, less, brown, white, sugarfree. Note that the whipped cream has sugar in it and the vanilla essence is sweet too.
If you don’t have whipped cream, beat some powdered sugar into plain cream and put in a dollop or two.
The Recipe
Serves Serves: 1 | Prep Time: 20 mins | Cool Time: 3 hours
Ingredients
- 1 cup coffee (or the amount you need for your tall glass)
- 3-4 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla essence
- 1 tbsp almond flakes
- Few dollops of whipped cream
- Few ice cubes
Instructions
- Stir the sugar into the hot coffee till it dissolves.
- Once cooled, place in the fridge to chill, minimum 3-4 hours.
- Heat a non-stick pan on high flame. Place the almonds on the pan and let toast for a few minutes, until colour changes into light brown.
- Remove and leave to cool down.
- In a tall glass, place some ice cubes and pour the coffee in.
- Stir in the vanilla essence.
- Put in the whipped cream on top and sprinkle the toasted almonds on top.
- Serve immediately.
