Here in New York, most of the leaves have fallen off the trees but there always seems to be more to rake up. After an hour or two out in the cold air raking and sweeping a warm beverage is a great way to warm up. If you are tired of coffee, tea or hot chocolate here is a great recipe for spiced apple cider. To serve as an after dinner drink add brandy or apple brandy after heated.

Ingredients for Spiced Apple Cider

• 1 quart apple cider
• ground allspice
• ground ginger
• optional – brandy or apple brandy

Pour the apple cider into a small or medium sized pot. Add 1 pinch of allspice and about 4 pinches of ginger. Stir to mix then heat using a low or medium flame. Stir it occasionally. Do not let it boil, just heat until very warm.

When warm pour into four mugs. We like to use glass mugs. If desired you can add 1 jigger (1.5 ounces) of apple brandy or brandy to each mug.

Spiced apple cider, with or without the brandy, makes a nice after dinner drink when entertaining. If entertaining, spiced apple cider is best served with a simple cookie. Try serving with a plain butter cookie or biscotti.

As much as I love a hot cup of coffee, I have to admit that some days it is just too hot for coffee. Days like that are perfect for iced coffee. It is not hard to learn how to make iced coffee. This simple recipe for iced coffee allows you to brew a glass in just a few minutes.

Brew a pot of coffee a little stronger than usual; for example use around 6 or 7 tablespoons coffee to 1 1/2 cups water. After it has finished brewing allow it to cool a bit and simply pour it into a glass filled with ice. Add a little milk or cream and sweeten to taste. I prefer to use a little whipped cream instead.

When making iced coffee it is important that the coffee be brewed stronger especially with this recipe since it will dilute when poured over ice. If you find your iced coffee is too strong, just add a little cool water to your glass.

If you are looking to save a little money, try using your leftover coffee. If you have coffee left over in the morning, pour it into a pitcher and refrigerate. When you are ready for a glass of iced coffee simply pour it into a glass with a little ice and milk. Since the coffee is chilled it will not dilute as much and will still have a nice flavor.

With summer fast approaching it’s time to start thinking about iced tea. Iced tea is no longer only tea with lemon flavoring. Many variations are possible. As we mentioned in How to Make Iced Tea freshly brewed iced tea is better than store bought. Iced tea with sparkling water is easy to make at home or in the office.

This sparkling raspberry iced tea recipe is a refreshing change of pace on a hot summer day. Use freshly brewed tea which has cooled to room temp or is chilled. As with most iced teas, it is best to use only chilled ingredients to prevent excessive dilution when pouring over ice. This raspberry tea recipe uses sparkling water. Since the ingredients are in proportion, our sparkling raspberry iced tea recipe can easily be doubled or halved.

Ingredients for Sparkling Raspberry Ice Tea

• 2 cups chilled sparkling water
• 2 cups chilled raspberry juice
• 2 cups of freshly brewed tea (room temp or chilled)

In large pitcher mix all ingredients. Pour into glasses filled with ice. If desired you can garnish with slice of lime or lemon, a raspberry or sprig of fresh mint.

Iced tea is a refreshing drink any time of the year. With our basic iced tea recipe it is easy to brew quality iced tea. Iced tea brewed fresh at home has a far superior taste to bottled iced tea. We did a little research to find the origins and history of iced tea and were surprised to find that it most likely began right here in the United States. According to the Joy of Cooking by Rombauer & Becker, iced tea was first served during the Saint Louis World’s Fair in 1904. Due to sweltering temperatures, hot beverage sales were very bad. A gentleman by the name of Richard Blechynden had a tea concession in which he had invested a lot of time and money. Desperate for sales he began to offer iced tea to the public. It quickly caught on and sales were brisk. Iced tea has since become the beverage of choice during hot summer months as well as year round.

Iced tea is simple and fast to make at home. As with all tea it is best when brewed fresh at home. For variety add a strawberry, lemon or orange slice or sprig of mint. Follow the same general brewing guidelines as for brewing hot tea. In general the only difference will be in the strength of tea brewed. When brewing tea for use as iced tea you will generally want to make it double the strength of hot tea to allow for dilution when served over ice cubes. Remember use clean equipment and start with fresh good tasting water. Review additional brewing tips at How to Brew Tea. Below is our simple recipe which can easily be adjusted to make more.

Basic Iced Tea Recipe

• 2 teaspoons loose tea or 2 teabags per cup of boiling water
• boiling water
• Optional – one of the following – sprigs of fresh mint; lemon slice; orange slice or strawberry
• Optional – sugar to taste

Boil desired amount of water. Add boiling water to your tea and let steep (about 5 minutes for black teas or 3 minutes for green teas). Strain and allow to cool to room temperature. Pour into glass filled with ice. Add sprig of mint, a strawberry or slice of lemon or orange. Sweeten with sugar to taste.

As a general guideline for one quart of boiling water you will need 6-8 teaspoons of tea or 6-8 teabags. We suggest starting with 7 and if desired, increase or decrease amount of tea in the next brew. If the resulting brew is too strong, simply dilute with a little fresh water. We prefer using loose tea but quality tea bags will also yield a quality iced tea. Some tea companies will have tea blends specifically created for iced tea.

Spice up your tea with a hint of anise. Once you know how to make anise tea, you’ll find it a nice way to add variety to your tea break. This is a quick and easy recipe to add a little extra to your regular or decaffeinated tea. The anise seed gives even the most ordinary tea an extra bit of flavor. I find this recipe a good way to make use of some tea that is not as fresh or flavorful as I would like. Anise adds a licorice flavor. Anise tea is actually a mix of equal amounts of tea and anise flavored water. You can use any type of tea, black tea is traditional but both black tea and green tea are good.

Ingredients for Anise Tea

• 2 teaspoons whole anise seed
• 2 cups boiling water
• 2-3 cups of tea, average strength

Boil two cups of freshly drawn water. Add 2 teaspoons of whole anise seed and boil 10 minutes. While anise seeds are boiling prepare 2-3 cups of average strength black tea steeping 5-7 minutes. Remember if using green tea steeping time is 3- 4 minutes. Time this so that as anise brew is finishing your tea is ready. Strain anise seeds out of the anise brew pouring the anise brew into tea. Discard the anise seeds. Mix your brewed tea and anise brew and serve. Makes about 4 servings.

Irish coffee can add a nice finishing touch to any special dinner. Irish coffee could be considered a flavored coffee but it is actually a standard coffee with added flavor; the flavor is added after brewing. This recipe for Irish coffee shows how easy it is to make. Irish coffee is a quick and easy after dinner coffee that can also make an ordinary meal elegant. Irish coffee is normally served after dinner with dessert. Often times it is served in place of dessert. We suggest that if you will be serving dessert along with Irish coffee keep the dessert simple and light. Irish coffee is also known as Irish coffee with whiskey.

Recipe for Irish Coffee

• 5-6 jiggers Irish whiskey
• whipped cream
• 5-10 teaspoons sugar
• fresh brewed pot of coffee

Brew normal strength or slightly strong coffee. As coffee is brewing gently heat 5-6 jiggers of whiskey until warm, do not boil. Place one jigger warmed whiskey into a 7 or 9 ounce coffee cup. Add 1 teaspoon sugar. Add freshly brewed coffee to within 1/2-3/4 inch from top. Stir until sugar is fully dissolved. Top with whipped cream. Serve immediately. This recipes makes 6-8 servings. Sugar can be adjusted to suit taste.

Spring has arrived and my thoughts start drifting to coffee and tea recipes for the summer. One of my favorite summertime treats is a coffee frost. I guess I had this on my mind when I met some friends the other day, somehow we got onto the subject of ice cream. I mentioned that while I don’t care for coffee flavored ice cream, I love drinking a coffee frost. I was surprised my friends had never tried one. Of course that meant I had to make a batch for us.

It is very easy to make a coffee frost, you’ll actually even use some leftover coffee.

Ingredients for Coffee Frost

2 cups cold coffee (a little strong is best)
about 1/2 to 3/4 pint ice cream – chocolate or vanilla
1 cup strawberries (washed and cut in 1/4’s) or 1 banana
Put coffee and fruit into a blender and blend at high speed until smooth. Should take less than a minute.
Add ice cream and blend at medium speed until smooth, takes about 15-30 seconds.

Pour into glasses and enjoy. If you like it slightly thicker add a little more ice cream. If you are entertaining guests, serve with a strawberry for garnish.

We all enjoyed our coffee frosts the other day. I prefer using vanilla ice cream and strawberries but vanilla and banana was preferred by my friends. If you are making the frost with chocolate ice cream try adding a little extra fruit when blending.

Chai tea is rapidly gaining in popularity in America. Chai tea is a spiced black tea with milk. It is very easy to make at home and when you make it at home you can adjust the spices to suit your taste. Chai tea is usually made with black tea, milk, spices and honey or sugar. Typical spices are ginger, nutmeg, cloves, peppercorn and cinnamon.

This is an easy to make recipe for Chai Tea. Unlike most directions for tea, this recipe calls for bring brewed tea back to a boil once the milk and other ingredients are added.

Ingredients for Chai Tea

• 2 cups water
• 4 black tea bags
• 2-3 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups milk

Bring 2 cups of water to boil. Add tea bags and reduce heat to a simmer. Do not cover but let simmer 2 minutes. Remove the teabags. Add the remaining ingredients – honey, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and milk and stir. Heat to a boil at low heat- that should take about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir rapidly with a whisk. Pour into 2 large warmed mugs and serve.

Experiment a little and try adding 2-3 pieces whole cloves, 2-3 whole peppercorn or cardamom. Filter them out before serving. This is a refreshing beverage on a cold afternoon.

This is an interesting recipe sent to me by Sheila. I tried it yesterday afternoon and it was delicious! A very nice change of pace. It does require a prep work so prepare the water ahead of time.

Ingredients for Water:

• 6 cups water
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 8 whole cloves
• 8 allspice

Put water and spices in pot and bring to boil. When water starts to boil lower heat and let water simmer for about 5 minutes. After water has simmered, you need to let the water chill until cool.

Ingredients to Brew coffee:

• 6 cups of spiced water
• 3/4 cup ground coffee

When you are ready to brew your coffee, strain spices from the water. Brew coffee as usual using the strained spiced water in place of plain water. You’ll need about 3/4 cup coffee grind but adjust this as desired. Remember you can always add a little warm water if too strong.

This is a nice dessert coffee. To fully enjoy the flavor, serve with a dessert that does not have an intense flavor, try plain pound cake.

A special thank you to Sheila for this recipe.

February 11th, 2008 · No Comments
I mentioned the other day that I was sipping a cup of homemade Cafe Mocha and several people contacted me. A couple wanted to know what a Cafe Mocha was and several others wanted to know how to make it at home. A cafe mocha is a coffee based drink with chocolate added. An authentic Cafe Mocha is a latte with chocolate syrup; whipped cream is an optional addition. In case there are novice coffee drinkers reading a latte is a coffee drink that is 1 part espresso and 2 parts steamed milk.

There are actually several ways to make Cafe Mocha. You can start primarily with a espresso, a latte or even regular coffee. Another variation using cappuccinno is more likely to be called a moccaccino.

How you make a cafe mocha will depend on what coffee brewing equipment you have. This easy version recipe for Cafe Mocha is great for anyone who only has a regular coffee pot and who does not have access to espresso. For this recipe you will need coffee, hot chocolate and powdered creamer or even a little regular cream or 1/2 & 1/2. Powdered creamer works great in this recipe because it make more of a latte base coffee beverage.

You will need some strong fresh brewed coffee, brew it a little stronger than normal. I like to use a rich and robust blend but any blend will be fine. As your coffee is brewing prepare some hot chocolate. Use your favorite recipe or even instant cocoa mix. You will be mixing equal amount of brewed coffee and hot chocolate so prepare desired amount.

When your coffee is ready add the creamer and stir. Take a large mug and mix equal parts hot chocolate and coffee. Stir until blended. If desired top with whipped cream. Now, sit back and enjoy.