testing 1, 2, 3: cafe frappe

For the hectic summer mornings when you're strapping on your shoes, rummaging for your keys and forced to forfeit your coveted cup of coffee, don't even fret. It may take a little planning, but a homemade iced coffee frappe could be just the thing to revive your manic Monday.

Since the days have gotten warmer, I've fallen hard for the Espresso Frappe down the street (found at Columbia Heights Coffee in DC). However, in my current financial state, I cannot justify paying $3.63 for the creamy goodness. (Although I already have, too many times to count...) Many of you may also be addicted to the Starbucks trademarked, Frappuccino, which can be even more expensive. The photo above, featuring three authentic Greek Frappes, is brought to you by Robert Gourley via flickr. It's DIY time, folks.

I'm on a mission to make my own fabulous frappe- a recipe that I can make a batch of, freeze it and then transfer to the fridge before I want it the next day. After some conscientious web searching, I found a few different recipes to try, nay, to test.

This is a test, and I invite anyone to try these recipes (or others) and report back with your favorites and why. I will be judging the recipes based on these criteria: cost of ingredients, ease of assembly and the ultimate-taste. This post will include the recipes, and later this week I will share my verdict.

Cafe Frappe Uno
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup cream
1/2 tsp cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbs coffee substitute or 1 tsp instant coffee
(optional additives: nutmeg, cinnamon, coconut extract, hazelnut syrup, etc)

Mix all in a blender, then add about 2 cups crushed ice (or 3 cups cubed). As the drink gets thick, like a milkshake, stop adding ice and enjoy.

Cafe Frappe Due
1/2 cup cold strong coffee
or 1 teaspoon instant coffee and 1/2 cup cold water
2 cups cold milk
1/4 - 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups ice
(Flavorings can be added.)

Put all in a blender and blend till a consistency you like.

Cafe Frappe Tre
3 tbs sugar
1 cup 2% milk
2 cups ice
2 small scoops vanilla ice cream
(Add chocolate for mocha flavor.)

Blend until ice is completely crushed.

my first time: coffee cupping

I've been surprised how many coffee drinkers I know have never heard of the ritual of coffee cupping. It just goes to show how little we caffeine addicts really know about our precious brews. My friend and I went to a free cupping hosted by Counter Culture Coffee's regional training center in DC. It was a neat experience: informative, challenging and satisfying.

After a short introduction about the nature of cupping, CCC's representative Alex, explained how the process worked. Each person received a cupping form on which we were to mark our reactions to the six different stages of the cupping. Here you can find each step and its purpose. CCC uses the following categories: fragrance, aroma, break, brightness, flavor and aftertaste. During the cupping, participants are asked not to talk about the coffee so as not to influence each other's taste buds.
Throughout the cupping, I discovered that my sense of smell and taste proved to be at a loss for words. (And I was certainly shown up by the baristas who do this sort of thing for a living and were able to extract flavors like cedar, steamed broccoli and fig from their palates.)

We tasted three different coffees from Burundi, Colombia and Sumatra. Overall, the Colombian La Golondrina roast was my favorite during the cupping process, but the Bwayi Lot #8 from Burundi coffee was better brewed in the cup. You can read the complete cupping notes from last week at the CCC DC blog here.

If you're into coffee (or have done any other kind of tastings before), I recommend cupping. Especially with Counter Culture Coffee because their coffee is delicious, their employees are knowledgeable and the cuppings are free.