Gourmet Party Coffee Recipes

Coffee, that delicious brew that starts the day with it's wake up aroma and completes the perfect meal with a gourmet flourish. Whether you start with gourmet roasted beans or supermarket pre-ground, you'll have a good time with these recipes to add a new twist to your cup of java...

For a nice change in the morning you might want to try an orange spiced coffee. Use the regular amount coffee but add a teaspoon of fresh, grated orange peel (eat the rest of the orange slices with your breakfast), 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and five whole cloves. Add everything together and brew the coffee. Place a slice of orange at the bottom or your cup. Pour in the coffee and add sugar and cream to taste. If you're not worried about calories, top the coffee with whipping cream. A sprinkle of ground nutmeg and cinnamon can be added. This is a great coffee to serve at a brunch.

For another different morning brew there's New Orleans Style Coffee - use a dark roast and add chicory or pick up a blended mix at a coffee shop. Serve it with equal amounts of warmed milk. Cafe Au Laite is the same recipe without the chicory.

You might also add a festive note with homemade espresso at brunch, or as part of a special after-dinner dessert. Here's more:

These mixed coffee drinks are best served in glass "cups" or 12 oz. wine glasses - but if you don't have glasses with handles, don't serve in regular glasses - they do get hot! A mug will do. Preheat the glass or mug with hot water. If you pour hot coffee into a glass that is not preheated, it will break.

Irish Coffee
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 jigger of Bushmills Irish Whiskey or 1 1/2 jiggers Bailey's Irish Cream
2/3 cup of coffee
1/4 cup of heavy cream, lightly whipped
Ground cinnamon

Add the hot coffee with the teaspoon of sugar and stir. Add the alcohol, and top with the whipping cream. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon. Do not stir. Strong coffee's are best for this recipe. Ask your guests if they want cinnamon before you add it. Some people don't like the spice and it will ruin the taste of the coffee for them.

Mint Cocoa Coffee
1 jigger of chocolate mint liqueur
Dash of shaved chocolate
Whipping cream (if desired)
Regular coffee

Brew your regular coffee, add the jigger of liqueur. Add some whipping cream if desired and sprinkle with shaved chocolate.

Coffee doesn't have to be meal time related. Try these for refreshing cool drinks any time of the day...

Coffee Milkshakes
1 pint of coffee ice cream
1 cup cold coffee
4 to 6 scoops vanilla ice cream

Make sure you start out with your coffee ice cream very cold. If it's too soft, you'll have an iced coffee instead of a milkshake. Spoon the coffee ice cream and coffee into a blender. Blend on high until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Pour into tall glasses, adding a scoop of the vanilla ice cream to each glass.

Frosty Mochas
1 cup of freshly brewed coffee
1 pint of vanilla ice cream, softened
6 tablespoons of chocolate syrup
1 cup cold coffee

Blend hot coffee and chocolate syrup in blender. Blend until smooth. Cool the mixture to room temperature. Pour the mixture into a medium bowl. Add the softened ice cream and cold coffee. With a rotary beater, beat until smooth. Spoon into tall glasses and serve immediately.

If you're worried about kids—or yourself—and caffeine, you can always substitute decaf and have just as tasty a treat!

Coffee connoisseurs smile every time a health benefit is added to all the good reasons to have one more cup.

This aromatic beverage, of late, has joined the ranks of powerful, disease-fighting antioxidants. It has also been credited with constituents that are beneficial to heart health, brain function, and more recently, to fighting dementia. Coffee has a bold, satisfying taste and is, of course, a staple at holiday parties. The better brands are partnering with the Fair Trade Foundation, says Tchibo, a European favourite. This support is directed to the improvement of working and living conditions for the growers of Arabica beans Brazil, Kenya, Colombia, and more.

From East Africa, prepare the strong, Kenya ground coffee and mix with hot milk. Top off with whipped cream and sprinkle with cocoa powder.

From high altitudes, prepare the mild-brewed Brazil ground coffee. Blend to taste with hot milk and sugar, topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

From East Africa, prepare the bold Kenya coffee and top it with a generous helping of hot frothy milk.

Latté Ipanema

Hot from the famous beach of Rio, prepare the mellow-brewed Brazil ground coffee and pour into a cup with an equal amount of hot milk.

Café Frio

From the mountains of South America, prepare the medium roast Colombia ground coffee and blend with equal parts cold milk. Add ice cubes.

Café Helado

For a Spanish ice cream dessert, prepare the medium roast Colombia ground coffee. Put ice cubes, vanilla ice cream and cold milk (optional) into an electric mixer and blend until creamy.