Having a dinner party? How 'bout a savory spicy lightly sweet cappuccino for dessert? (as opposed to coffee with a dessert) Recently did just that and they were a big hit. I call this an Indonesian White Rose. One of my recent signature drink creations, this one inspired by 2005 USBC Champion Phuong Tran's Crimson Sage sig' drink.


Indonesian White Rose
Ingredients for each double shot ~6oz drink

5" sprig fresh rosemary

3 to 3.5oz milk

Rounded teaspoon Sweet Ground Ghirardelli White Chocolate Drink Mix (not the stuff I've seen in grocery stores with coffee added)

Touch Indonesian white pepper (exact amount difficult to state measurement, but this morning weighed amounted needed as ~0.008 to 0.010 gram more or less to taste. Easy to over power so really just a touch!)

Double shot Light Full City Sumatra, a good lively one. Been using Sumatra Blue Batak Peaberry.

Building the Indonesian White Rose.

Start by going out back and cutting a ~5" sprig of Rosemary for each cap', this will be used to infuse the milk with Rosemary. Or buy fresh rosemary at a store:-) Two ways to infuse the milk.
(1) Measure out ~3.5oz milk portions for each cap into a large enough pitcher to hold all the caps milk. Lightly crush the rosemary sprigs and submerge in the milk. Refrigerate pitcher of milk with rosemary for 15 minutes then strain out rosemary, return milk to fridge. Now you'll simply use the milk for steaming.
(2) (This is how I tend to do it.) Pour 3.5oz milk into a 12oz chilled steaming pitcher, add a single 5" sprig of rosemary fully submerging and steam with the sprig in the milk! The heat from steaming amply infuses the rosemary very quickly. Remove rosemary, swirl and pour. But don't do this yet!

Prepare 12oz pitcher with 3.5oz milk for steaming, either pre-infused or with sprig. Place in freezer.

Measure the white chocolate and white pepper into pre-heated cap' cup.

Grind da Sumatra fo' da double shot.

Depending on your machine and preference actual shot/steam sequence may vary. With my HX Bric' pull blank cooling flush, build PF, grab milk pitcher from freezer, bleed steam wand, flash/flush-n-go starting pull ~202f and immediately start steaming the milk. Stop shot (while still steaming), finish steaming, gently stir shot to mix white chocolate and white pepper (don't worry crema won't be destroyed unless using stale beans;-), swirl and pour the milk. (if hot infused rosemary in the milk remove the sprig before swirl and pour)

I prefer steaming for each individually but of course vary whether steaming for a couple caps at once depending on your normal procedures.

Serve and be prepared for your dinner guests to be amazed at a delightfully different dessert cappuccino! I've actually seen some lick the inside of their empty cup:-)

Stay tuned for a MexiMocha with cayenne pepper and cinnamon stick infused milk...

Ok, I'll post again! I did say stayed tuned...

One of the ideas implemented in the above Indonesian White Rose is infusing the milk to layer flavors. Not my idea, picked it up from Phuong, but I like how it works! Used the same idea for a
Feisty Fiesta Mochaccino this time infusing the milk with a cinnamon stick.

Ingredients:

3" small diameter cinnamon stick

Rounded teaspoon Ghirardeli Double Dark Chocolate Powder

Touch ceyenne pepper. (about same amount as previous for Indonesian White Rose or to taste)

3 to 3.5oz milk

Doubleshot good LFC Mexican

Measure chocolate & ceyenne pepper into pre-heated cap' cup. Pour milk into steaming pitcher and add cinnamon stick. Grind da beans, pull the shot and steam the milk. Gently stir the shot to mix the chocolate & ceyenne with the espresso. Remove the cinnamon stick from the steamed milk and save, swirl and pour the milk, place cinnamon stick in cup sticking out as a stirrer and serve. One of Debi's favorites!

Ron_L wrote:This is not quite as elaborate as MiKe McKoffee's recipes (which sound great, BTW), but one of my favorite after dinner drinks is a "Dessert Machiatto". Its very simple, but quite good.

Simple can be quite good! Bottom line have fun with espresso as a culinary art!

A recent Turkish coffee with cardamom thread on Sweet Maria's home roast List inspired a bit of non-milk espresso fun.

Scheherazade Shot

Pre-heat demi, add 6 green cardamom seeds (Penzeys of course:-) and 6 drops honey. (used mesquite honey had on hand)

Pull double shot longish Normale (but not quite Lungo, ~2.5oz) into demi with cardamom seeds and honey. Gently swirl about 30 seconds to mix and infuse. (Don't worry, cremas not going away.)

Quite delish! Just don't gulp the shot or you'll get the seeds! I call it a Scheherazade Shot after one of my favorite pieces Rimsky-Korsakov's A Thousand and One Arabian Nights inspired Scheherazade. (I used my Summer Jam Espresso blend for the shot.)

NOTE: Scheherazade Shot previously posted on CG recipe forum 9/12...