Brewin’ with Brandi: Cinnful Irish Latte
Continuing on our theme of Irish-inspired (read: Whiskey and/or Irish cream-inspired) recipes this month, Brandi has selected a rather interesting latte that features both Irish cream and a little spice.
Watch her craft it on the Saeco Exprelia — we even made her use the steam wand this time!
Ingredients
- 1/2 oz Monin Cinnamon syrup
- 1/2 oz Monin Irish Cream syrup
- 2 shots of espresso
- steamed milk
Directions
Steam your milk to your desired frothiness (what?!). Combine both syrups into your serving mug, pull shots and mix them together. Fill with steamed milk and enjoy.
Brewin’ with Brandi: Four Leaf Clover
Continuing her Gaelic-inspired theme this month, Brandi crafts a delicious cocktail replete with green sprinkles! Looking for the go-to cocktail for your St. Patty’s Day bash this year? Pretty sure this is it, love.
Ingredients
- Monin Dark Chocolate sauce
- ice
- 3 oz half & half
- 1 shot espresso
- 1 oz rum
- 1 oz chocolate mint liqueur
- Whipped cream and green sprinkles for garnish
Directions
Decorate your serving glass with chocolate sauce then fill it with ice. Add the half & half, espresso, rum and chocolate mint liqueur, then stir well to combine. Top it off with whipped cream and green sugar sprinkles for a festive flair!
Brewin’ with Brandi: Irish Coffee, GIGA-Style!
It’s March and so you know we have to get on the ol’ Irish bandwagon. 
While Brandi previously crafted an Irish coffee that didn’t actually use Irish whiskey (blasphemy!), she wanted to make sure to incorporate Jameson’s into this version. And instead of doing any of the heavy lifting herself, she drafted her favorite new robot — the Jura GIGA 5 — to craft it.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons Irish whiskey
- 3 oz. coffee
- 1 1/2 oz. semi-whipped cream
Directions
Add the sugar to the bottom of your serving glass. Heat the whiskey a bit and then add to the sugar. Pour coffee into the cup and then topped with semi-whipped cream. Enjoy!
Brewin’ with Brandi: Espresso Tiramisu
While traditional Tiramisu usually incorporates ladyfingers soaked in espresso, Brandi’s approach is distinctly more deconstructed. Using the Jura Ena Micro 1, she whips up a delicious drink that could be used in a variety of formats …
Ingredients
- Vanilla pudding or custard
- Shortbread cookies – broken into bite-sized chunks
- 1 1/2 oz of espresso (we used Lavazza’s Crema e Aroma)
- Monin Caramel sauce
Directions
Coat the inside of your serving glass with the pudding or custard until it’s well covered. Pull your espresso shot(s) directly into the glass and then float shortbread on top. Drizzle with caramel sauce and get serious!
The Reluctant Barista: Jura GIGA 5 and the Secret Menu
There is something so intriguing about a secret menu. Starbucks has one. In-N-Out Burger has one. And now, the Jura GIGA 5 Automatic Coffee Center does too. After a hot tip from Kat that there was indeed a secret menu, I decided to play detective. I found these new recipes through my favorite machine testing method called ‘random button pushing.’ You won’t find this covered in the Jura user manual (unless you happen to look at page 20…). The Reluctant Barista has some delicious insider information to share.
The initial screen shows what you might come to expect from a superautomatic menu: Ristretto, Espresso, Coffee, Hot Water, Cappuccino, Latte Macchiato, Milk, Milk Foam. From these simple settings you can further customize the coffee dosage, water temperature, water volume, milk volume and milk foam. The Jura GIGA 5 does not come standard with an integrated milk carafe, so I used a Jura Cool Control Automatic Milk Cooler and the included hose that came with the GIGA 5 to make a bevy of milk-based beverages.
Last week I made my go-to drink, a foamy hazelnut latte and was happily surprised by how hot the drink got. Monday morning I had the GIGA 5 pour me a double cappuccino. I needed it! After the caffeine kicked in, it was time to explore uncharted territory. There were 12 more “secret” recipes once I twirled the rotary dial on top. I have to admit, these recipes perplexed me. Were they chosen by an Italian espresso aficionado? Were they chosen by the Swiss manufacturer? Who mixes lemonade and espresso? They did not seem to be targeted to Seattle taste profiles, or at least not my particular taste. However, I did try the recipe for ‘Winter Magic Coffee.’ This turned out to be what I would describe as a Nutella Latte. It was so popular with the SCG Crew that I ended up making 5 drinks back to back.
Sadly, there was no barista gnome inside the Jura GIGA 5 to prepare the drinks. You need to provide your own ingredients. From home I brought my treasured Nutella and used Monin Honey Sweetener although it was sweet enough without it. The GIGA 5 walked me through each step with a series of easy to read screens. I especially liked the final step of each drink I made when the GIGA 5 screen simply said, ‘Enjoy!’
The Jura GIGA 5 “Secret” Drink Menu:
- Marocchino – espresso, Monin Dark Chocolate Sauce, chocolate powder
- Pepresso – espresso, Monin Dark Chocolate Sauce, mixed peppercorns (Watch Brandi make this recipe)
- White Cool – espresso, carbonated lemonade, ice cubes
- Gourmet Latte Macchiato – espresso, evaporated milk, Monin Irish Cream Syrup (non-alcoholic) or Bailey’s Irish Cream (alcoholic)
- Irish Coffee – coffee, brown sugar, Irish Whiskey (alcoholic), whipped cream on top
- Café Melange – coffee with whipped cream and chocolate shavings on top
- Viennese Coffee – coffee, vanilla ice cream, Monin Vanilla Syrup and chocolate shavings on top
- Winter Magic Coffee – espresso, Nutella, honey and a pinch of ginger and cardamom on top
- Shakerato – espresso, lemons, sugar, ice
- Mango Lassi – espresso, yogurt, mango puree
- Red Cool – espresso, carbonated lemonade, Campari (alcoholic), ice
- Summer Fire – espresso, Monin Coconut Syrup, lemon pepper
Thank you GIGA 5 — we will enjoy!
Brewin’ with Brandi: Cupid’s Kiss
Happy Valentine’s Day! How about treating your sweetheart and yourself to a delicious cocktail today in celebration? Check out Brandi’s lovely recipe, incorporating both chocolate and strawberries.
Ingredients
Please note: As seen in the video, our original amounts were a little shy of a full, glorious serving, so we’ve doubled the recipe below for your enjoyment.
- 1 oz. of Monin Strawberry syrup
- 2 oz. Irish cream liqueur
- 2 oz. espresso
- 2 oz. half & half
- For garnish – chocolate sauce, fresh strawberries, chocolate sprinkles
Directions
In a shaker, combine espresso, strawberry syrup, Irish cream liqueur and half & half. Shake until well mixed and chilled. Decorate your martini glass with chocolate sauce drizzles and a fresh strawberry. Strain cocktail mixture into glass and serve with a fresh strawberry on the rim. Deliver with a kiss!
Brewin’ with Brandi: MintBerryMint Cream Soda
When it came down to it, we couldn’t decide if this was a Mintberry Cream Soda or a Berrymint Cream Soda so we decided to combine the two into one lusciously-monikered, refreshing soda. Watch Brandi mix it up!
Ingredients
- 1/2 oz. Monin Raspberry syrup
- 1/2 oz. Monin Peppermint syrup
- 1/4 oz. Monin Vanilla syrup
- 8 oz sparkling water
- fresh mint and raspberries for garnish
Directions
Fill a large serving glass with ice. Add all syrups and then top with sparkling water. Give it a quick stir, then garnish with fresh mint and raspberries!
AeroPress Vertical Tasting of Velton’s Brazil Condado Estate
The flexibility and creativity that surrounds the AeroPress knows no bounds. Seriously: For as many AeroPress lovers there are out there in the world, there’s an equal amount of preferred preps.
So we put the question out to the class: What is your favorite AeroPress prep? And then we recreated these sometimes meticulously crafted brews, tasted them and discussed how they compared in the cup. Using Velton’s Brazil Condado Estate, we were able to experience several different dimensions of this luscious single origin coffee. So that was pretty tight.
Brewin’ with Brandi: Pepresso!
When you invest in a Jura GIGA 5, you get a little tiny elf-sized barista inside who will pop out and serve up your favorite drinks. And that tiny elf-sized barista just happens to be named Brandi. Watch as she crafts a delicious drink, featuring chocolate, espresso and freshly ground pepper. Wow!
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoons Monin Dark Chocolate sauce
- Freshly ground pepper (to taste)
- shot & a half of espresso
Directions
Coat the bottom of your glass in chocolate sauce. Add pepper and then pull shot over chocolate and pepper combo. Give it a little stir and enjoy!
Brewin’ with Brandi: Hong Kong Tea
One of our favorite meals is a spicy, steaming bowl of Vietnamese pho soup complemented by an iced coffee. Some folks prefer iced tea instead, so we worked up this delicious recipe featuring tea, milk and everyone’s most treasured substance: Condensed milk. Oh my. Watch Brandi literally whip this up.
Ingredients
- 4 oz milk
- 4 – 5 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (to taste)
- 8 oz iced black tea
- ice
Directions
Pour cold milk into a frother that can make cold, frothed foam (we used the FrothTec). Start the machine and, once it begins to froth, slowly add each tablespoon of condensed milk (more or less depending on how sweet you like your tea). When frothing is complete, fill a tall serving glass with ice and add tea until it’s about 3/4 full. Top off with frothed milk and serve!