Tuesday, June 22, 2010

A Refreshing Pick Me Up Dessert For A Warm Summer Afternoon.


 Finally, the warm weather has hit Sonoma. After a long wet Winter and Spring, it's finally warm during the day and cool at night (good for the grapes). Nothing is better after a hot spicy Indian luncheon on the deck than a tall, cooling, Vietnamese Iced Coffee. Pair it with some fresh fruit, you've got heaven in a glass.
 I love the sound of ice cubes in a tall glass, the sound the long iced tea spoon makes is like little tinkling bells. No wonder this drink was thought up in a tropical climate. It's the perfect beverage to sit around with, making lazy conversation but then it has the added benefit of the three fun food groups, fat, sugar, and caffine!!
 There is enough buzz coming off of a glass of this stuff to power me through the rest of the afternoon through infinity and beyond. This is the original Red Bull.
  The little devices that sit on top of the tall glasses are Vietnamese coffee makers. We have a set of four of them and they can be found cheaply in any Chinatown shop. They're basically a small version of a French drip, and any ground espresso works great with them.

Here's what to do.
  In the top of each coffee maker place 2 Tbs of ground espresso coffee.
  Then in the words of the immortal Pat Hobby "Boil some water, lots of it!"
  Fetch 2 tall iced tea glasses. In the bottom of each glass place 2 Tbs of sweetened condensed milk.
  Fill each glass full of ice cubes
 When the water is boiling, pour it into the little coffee makers  and let it slowly drip through the ice into the layer of condensed milk below.

 When all the coffee has dripped though, remove the coffee maker from the top of the glass and stir the whole mixture well with a long iced tea spoon. It should look like this, and taste like slightly melted coffee ice cream. Yum!

  Sip slowly and enjoy.
  These drinks are one of the best and easiest desserts to serve on a summer day or evening. They're fast, fun to watch brew, filling and delicious. The only trick to them is limiting yourself to only one per day.

12 comments :

  1. That is so cool! I have to get those little puppies. I started drooling when I saw all that cold and tasty ice coffee (it is a bit HUMID and hot here and I am waiting for it to rain). I want to be you.

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  2. Yes, that iced coffee has my name on it. I dunno if I can wait patiently till all the coffee drips into the glass..But I bet it is well worth the wait.
    Checked out the Vietnamese single-cup coffee makers and they are indeed cheap.4 bucks a piece. I should buy that.
    http://www.quickspice.com/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/scstore/cookwarecoffeemaker.shtml?E+scstore

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  3. Now that is my idea of refreshing!

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  4. mmmmm....! Love that iced coffee. And now we know how to make it at home. Thanks!

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  5. I have this as well.... works a treat!

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  6. Vietnamese iced coffee is the best! It tastes like a coffee milkshake, but it's really rocket fuel in disguise. I always order one when we go out for Vietnamese, but I have yet to make it at home, mostly because I know I'd make it every day if I could, and would never ever sleep again. :)

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  7. I just love iced coffee. This looks wonderful. I'm going to buy the coffeemaker and make this delicious treat.

    Thanks for sharing,
    Joanne

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  8. @Janis...our best friend a certain mr Irving Ong got us hooked on these years ago out in Monterey Park..he then bought us the coffee makers so he could come over and we'd always have Vietnamese coffee. I think I'm going to pick up a few more as 4 is not enough

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  9. @cool lassi, yes this coffee demands patience but after a good lunch/dinner it's nice to sit and ruminate a bit.

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  10. @isabelle,
    yes the trick here is discipline..I did have one one of the evenings that the Lakers played in the finals..i will never do that again as I was up all night.."thinking". It created restless mind. However, one in the afternoon for me..does the trick.

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  11. sounds tasty! i love an iced coffee drink in the warm afternoon. this one sounds delicious!

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  12. I have got to have one of those little gadgets, to cool!

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