Tris of coffee for summer 2018

Article by Michele Sergio published on IL ROMA on 24 June 2018

When the heat arrives in the beautiful country, everyone is trying to fight it: those who can flee from the cities to cooler places, those forced to stay there are equipped with fans and air conditioners; all wear light clothes, eat less heavy foods, consume in quantity fresh drinks.
You give up a jacket with the summer heat, a more tasty lunch, a glass of wine, even a walk but, you know, never a good coffee, imagine, then, if a Neapolitan can never abdicate his coffee! Yet it is summer and the desire to cool off with a refreshing drink joins the desire of the beloved coffee. This is how over the last few years many variations have been created for the classic ‘tazzulella’ and café that have, at first, sought and then been able to satisfy taste and need, passion and necessity, taste and warmth!

The summer versions of the Neapolitan espresso are thus born, which can also be replicated in the home.

And then the cold coffee! Served especially by customers in the cremated version, it has been evolved into variants that, over time, have become established in Italian restaurants, becoming true must-haves. Not everyone knows that these coffees can easily be made even in our homes in a few minutes. So let’s see what they are and how they are prepared.

Shakerato Coffee – The term shakerato derives from the shaker, an instrument used by barmen to mix the ingredients to prepare cocktails. After the Second World War many barthender began to offer their customers a coffee prepared shaking coffee, ice and sugar together. Using this procedure, a creamy and cold drink is obtained that maintains the taste of traditional coffee. It is possible to make it at home like this: pour two cups of coffee, 4 teaspoons of sugar and 4 ice cubes into the pan of a blender / kitchen grinder. It takes less than two minutes to mount it all. It is preferable to serve it in a cocktail glass.

Crema Caffè (or Grandfather’s coffee) – Proposed in the early 2000s, Grandpa’s coffee immediately had a great commercial success. Today it is an unmissable classic of the Neapolitan coffee shop. The secret of his statement is in its simple and genuine ingredients: cream, coffee and sugar. The result is a cold coffee cream that contrasts summer heat. If you want to taste it at home, prepare it by pouring into an ampoule / jug ml. 170 ml of liquid pastry cream, 30 grams of powdered sugar and 2-3 cups of coffee (I recommend: Neapolitan blend!) And whisk the whole with the aid of an electric whisk for a few minutes. When a cream is obtained, it will cool in the fridge for about an hour, before pouring it into a glass beaker and maybe decorating with a small biscuit.

Almond Coffee – Of Lecce origin, almond coffee is spreading also in our city. Obviously our excellent barthender could not make improvements to the Apulian recipe. If the original version involves pouring a teaspoon of almond milk into coffee made with mocha, the Neapolitan recipe is different and includes almond milk ice cubes added to the coffee in a glass. So: prepare coffee with mocha, let it cool and when it is lukewarm pour it into a normal glass (from water); pour 4-5 ice cubes of almond milk into the same glass.