Coffee flavoured cocktails – a growing trend

Coffee is one of the most popular drinks today and recent years have seen business boom and popular café chains spread across the globe. The latest coffee culture that has sprung up around franchises like Starbucks and media influence from TV shows like Friends and Sex in the City has meant that consumers want more coffee in their drinks, hot, cold or otherwise. In the spirits trade, mixing coffee flavours with alcohol is a trend that keeps on growing. For many years, long drinks have been combined with spirits and coffee syrups to be enjoyed on summer afternoons and recipes can be found from Irish coffee to new variations on the classic White Russian and everything in between. As well as the usual range of liqueur coffees you`ll find on any good dessert menu, the true taste of coffee has spread to the cocktail list at the bar. As consumers are starting to pay attention to where the main ingredient comes from and how it is sourced, suppliers and distributors of offshoots like coffee-based cocktails also need to respond to this. Coffee and cocktails usually go together one of two ways. Traditionally, a coffee flavoured spirit, such as Tia Maria or Kahlua is added to a milk-based blend of mixers, creating sweet iced drinks popular with old and young consumers alike. Variations can include Amaretto for a nutty dessert taste such as an Almond Latte, or cream and cocoa for the ever-popular mocha flavours of Mudslide. Popular names like Screaming Orgasm and Velvet Hammer are usually more potent, with the addition of vodka or Triple Sec in the mix. The alternative coffee-based beverages start with liqueur coffees which nowadays go beyond a simple shot of Irish whiskey; Spanish coffee involves Tia Maria and dark rum, whereas more daring customers might be looking for something like the Night in Florida drink, comprising of Kahlua, Frangelico, Grand Marnier and Irish Cream. On the chilled side, summer favourites like frappés and iced lattes go a long way to making iced coffee cocktails a thing of the moment. Add a Brazilian espresso with rum, condensed milk and cinnamon flavours onto the menu or offer coffee martinis with coffee bean decorations for the trendiest drinks around. Consumers in the UK are becoming more discerning with the quality and taste of their coffee and it`s important to keep abreast of the market and consider these developments in terms of alcoholic variations. Buying beans or quality grounds in from a reliable supplier (such as caffesociety.co.uk) and brewing the main ingredient fresh on the bar makes all the difference to serving an upmarket coffee cocktail that will bring consumers back for more.

1 August 2012 - Felicity Murray