Maybe I too, shall practice the words of the All Father and "experiment" with different icecreams in my coffee. Lord knows Starbucks already holds the reining championship belt in this matter. IMO, of course.

I've been using Kirkland Premium vanilla for my espresso milkshakes and affogatos. It is amazing. I guess they have to build Costcos across the pond.

https://www.costco.com/Kirkland-Signatu ... 52870.html

Well well, Illl be excused for the rant but WTF!

Now if James Hoffmann doesnt like a proper affogato then maybe he should first make sure he actually had the real proper thing and if still doesnt like it then have something else.
Lets say that Mr James Hoffmann doesnt like Tiramisu', he can make up his own variation like a tons of Italians have done but that wouldnt be the "ultimate" or the "best" or any other superlative, just his variation, based on his taste and period.

First of his issues: its Affogato or gelato Affogato, its the icecream that is drowned, and in this case the name is Affogato al caffe'. "Affogati" are a whole type of dessert of its own, indicating icecream drowned in a liquid, be it liquor, chocolate or coffee
Asking for an "Espresso" Affogato in Italy would be silly... maybe because he sees it in menus that have been written to appease tourists or thats what english use... boh

The traditional recipe is gelato alla vaniglia (and cream gelato has eggs in it) with traditional variations of using hazelnut or chocolate (golden rule: never icecream of the same flavour to the liquid).
The idea that egg in the gelato messes with the coffee: big meh! First get tasters that had that since they were kids (its not a coffe with milk and if they expect the taste to compare to that because thats what they are used to they would obviously find something strange in it) then dont just make up some botched crappy icecream and use that, have some artisanal gelato prepared by someone that knows what they are doing. And last dont judge a quantity of eggs in good gelato for coffee using an egg custard as measure, its way different. Its like judging sugar in coffee putting a whole tablespoon of it in an espresso. Plus custards are tricky too, there is the properly made one and the botched scrambled egg taste one, noone knows what he made.
In gelato the equipment and all the other ingredients have the same importance, the gelatiere is the chef behind it, then add what kind of coffee you will be using given whats going on with the 3rd wave etc... noone knows what those people tasted.

This is a forum of "coffee people", well there are "gelato people" too, and exactly as you would not expect the best espresso being made from someone that didnt have some practice, the same comes to be for gelato. Being a "gelatiere" is not easy and you can taste the difference between a pro and someone that wings it.
Get a gelatiere to see that video and they would react like any of you seeing someone posting a video of a pressurized fakespresso made with some bad preground and casting a judgement on "espresso". A gelatiere would be very picky about the quality of the gelato down to the degree at which its chilled and the kind of glass or cup used, and in their case there would be a proper barista preparing the coffee since icecream can be delivered to a coffee place.
And for how good can be some high quality store gelato there is an abyss between those and high quality artisanal gelato.

Mr Hoffmann might be a great barista, he sure knows coffee but I doubt he is also a great gelatiere. I dont think his word can be called gospel in general and even less when it starts spanning outside the coffee itself only because its something that goes with it, and botching it. Whats next, an ultimate "cappuccino cornetto" where he will become a pastry chef too?

The Costco premium vanilla was a private label prior to Kirkland. I can't recall the name offhand. But the Kirkland is exactly the same iced cream, so I think they just cut a deal to private label it.

FWIW, I'm not a vanilla ice cream fan at all; as a matter of fact, I think it's a waste of a flavor...kind of like taking a shower with a raincoat on...but I digress. Adding espresso to vanilla ice cream makes it coffee flavored ice cream, and for that, it is wonderful. Better than any Haagen Das, B&Js, or even the old Fruzen Glädjé if you can remember.

And you can top it with espresso flavored whipped cream...

Balthazar_B wrote:Makes a lot of sense, Antonio, and I should include a good gelato in the mix if I'm taste comparing. And as you and JH suggest, getting the temperatures right overall can be an important part of the experience -- both flavor and mouthfeel -- so I'll pay attention to that factor.

I get your point about there being a range of tastes with eggs, and I would like nothing better than to enjoy an affogato made with custard ice cream...but now I'm *really* curious to discover if there is in fact a significant difference between Philly and custard ice cream as an ingredient, and which style/flavor I personally prefer in an affogato.

Part of the affogato with a warm liquid is the play between cold and hot when you taste them, if one chills the hot liquid that is lost.

For the eggs, you need the good stuff, sometimes you taste the egg-y in an icecream, its not nice, compare it to some offtastes in a coffee. Chefs are really particular with custards because a bit of that egg taste will ruin anything you put that in, you cant cover it in any way, its a throw away custard or simply a bad tasting product. (whom in the forum likes portuguese tarts knows how bad it can be if done wrong) so bring that to coffee...
A cream gelato doesnt have to be custard, there is the "custard" taste gelato which is much different than a pastry custard in egg quantity and a vanilla gelato has even less egg than a custard gelato. But egg is always present, In gelateria the starting point for gelato is called "yellow base" go figure, Italian traditional eggless icecreams will end being some Sicilian types of icecream or sorbets and for a gelatiere turning to those because they cant make a gelato without that pudding taste is considered cheating.

And also add where you come from, if you are used to just milk an eggless icecream might seem best for you, you have to get used to both first.

To judge these things you have to be as picky with the other ingredients as you are about the coffee you add to them...

BTW: one of the ways you can judge an artisanal "gelateria" by taste is to get the fiordilatte to taste if its delicate milk and cream tasting and the custard taste to be sure its not egg-y. If those are good and fresh then the rest is probably also good

I found his observation that "eggs mess with the taste of coffee" interesting. I really like the paring, at least in the context of fried eggs. I wonder if I'd feel the same as his taste testers with regard to the ice creams he produced. It's quite possible that he measured their dislike of his particular recipe rather than the presence of the eggs.