What is Irish coffee and how is it drunk?

Irish Coffee is a classic coffee drink, combining hot aromatic coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar (usually brown) and lightly whipped cream on top. It is known worldwide for its warming distinct flavour coffee ideal for cold days or as a dessert and after-dinner treat. The homeland of Irish coffee is Ireland, where the brew is very popular in cafés and pubs. The tradition of serving the drink has spread around the world, including Poland.

How to prepare Irish coffee

In order to prepare tasty irish coffee follow the steps below:

• Heat the glass: first heat the glass  by filling it with hot water and then emptying it.

• Add the sugar to the coffee: pour the hot coffee into a glass, leaving some space at the top. Add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves.

• Add whiskey: pour good quality original Irish whiskey into coffee with sugar and mix well.

• Add the whipped cream: carefully spoon the whipped cream onto the surface of the drink. You can do this by layering the cream with the back of a spoon so that it rests gently on the surface of the coffee.

• Serve immediately after preparation: Irish coffee It tastes best when you drink the hot drink through a cold layer of whipped cream.

Irish coffee: additional tips

To achieve the perfect taste of Irish-style coffee, the whipped cream should not be mixed with the rest of the drink. This allows you to enjoy the different flavours, which are layered.

You can lightly sweeten the whipped cream, but in traditional recipes it is left unsweetened. To enhance the decoration and taste of the infusion, you can sprinkle the drink with a little grated nutmeg, chocolate powder, cinnamon, grated orange peel or cocoa. The key is to maintain the right proportions of coffee, whiskey and sugar to achieve the perfect balance of flavour. The choice of sugar species is also important. Coarse demerara or muscovado (a.k.a. Barbados) sugar is recommended.

To prepare irish coffee preferably use a strong black coffee, which perfectly balances the sweetness of the brown sugar and the rich flavour of the Irish whiskey. It could be, for example, a classic espresso, americano, french press coffee or by the drip filtration method. If you need further information on how to select ingredients for Irish-style coffee, speak to our experts at Story Coffee!