The arrival of real summer weather over the last few weeks has made the Foods Matter office realise how lucky it is! It lives in a large Victorian house in north London, with a large, very green and very protected garden which, although not very productive, is extremely organic and positively teeming with wildlife, squirrels, foxes, birds and two resident, one semi-resident, and three visiting cats… And, the icing on the cake, a small professional expresso coffee machine, named Giorgio Gaggia!
So coffee break time has been a classy affair recently – tall glasses of frosted iced coffee, sipped through straws, on one of our sunny patios… As a result we have done a deal of experimentation with dairy-free iced ‘Giorgio’s.
The simplest, which I have decided is probably my favourite, is just equal amounts of expresso (2 shots) and unsweetened soya milk with lots of knobs of ice but even that has several variations. Coconut or almond milk instead of soya gives a whole new exotic flavour – a dash of soya or oat cream makes it that much richer. (Funnily enough, we did not think that the oat milk, delicious though it is for most other purposes worked in the coffee.)
If that is too bitter and you need to sweeten it, just add 2 teaspoons of your favourite sweetener to the hot coffee before adding the ‘milk’.
If you prefer a frapp texture, use crushed ice rather than knobs and mix all well together – alternatively, whizz the mixture with some ice in a liquidiser or food processor for a minute or two.
Then, of course, you could also add a knob of ‘ice cream’… Almost any vanilla, or chocolate flavours (see the Foodsmatter ice cream tasting table for suggestions) will be good, but avoid flavours with ‘bits’ in them as they will get stuck in your straw! Either whizz with the milk before adding to the coffee or whizz the whole lot together with the ice which will give you more of a milk shake texture.
Micki Rose (who has written so many excellent skin and nutrition articles for us) sent us the recipe below and, a month or two ago, sent us a load of brilliant alternative milk recipes, many of which would work a treat in iced coffee.
So – enjoy…. And now on to iced tea….
Micky’s Cold Cappucino (a la Greece)
On the odd occasion, I love a cold coffee when the weather’s hot. Brew a (fair-trade, organic) decaff espresso, add a little Zylosweet or agave syrup if you like and let it cool; a couple of ice cubes will help. Crush some ice in your blender, or use a rolling pin with the ice in a tea towel, and pop into a long glass. Froth the espresso if you can, then pour over the ice and enjoy. Or you can do this with your favourite fruit tea. Very continental! A real treat on a hot day.
