Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain faoi Mhaise daoibh
Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year to you
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Of the plans of mice and men…
In the Italian story of The Simpleton, the hero Moscione meets with a young man called Hare’s-ear, who says, that if he lays his ear to the ground, without moving from the spot, and I quote: I can hear everything that goes on in the world, the plots and intrigues of court and cottage, and all the plans of mice and men. As wise as he is simple Moscione disregards all of the questions he may ask about all the happenings throughout the world and asks only of Hare’s-ear to: just tell me what’s going on in my own home at present.
Perhaps, here at cafe.ie, if we had asked the same question as Mosicone, for ourselves, we would have placed our questions about the world to one side and asked instead, questions closer to home; and avoided our year long absence. Alas (as they say in such stories) it was not to be. But (again, as they also say in such stories) fortune has been generous and we humbly announce our return for 2013, focused firmly on improving our coffee drinking experience here in Ireland . We hope you will be glad to see us back. And so…
A celebratory toast with coffee
To celebrate we cast around for a suitably seasonal “Coffee for Christmas”; had some great replies, with plenty of variants on that old standby the “Irish Coffee”… but preferring to savour our mountain dew in a purer form we chose a recommedation with a great Italian seasonal flavour, suggested by Phil Mason of the UK based tea and coffee catering suppliers: Edgcumbes. It’s called:
The Cappuccetto
If you know that cappuccino means a hood… you might guess that cappuccetto means a cap…
Here’s what Phil says: We have just sent out our quarterly newsletter and featured the following drink which you may wish to consider. A seasonal addition to a Winter menu. It’s not particularly complex, but for cafés busy with Christmas shoppers it is quick and easy to make, and tastes delicious.
And for those of you whom fortune has also blessed, and you have your own espresso machine, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t delight family and friends at home. The ingredients are simple, the instructions quite clear…
Ingredients
1/2 oz (1.5 cl) 1883 Amaretto syrup (search google)
2 oz (6 cl) espresso
3 oz (9 cl) cold milk
Cocoa powder
Instructions
Add the syrup to the milk and froth the mixture.
Pour the espresso into an 8 oz (24 cl) glass.
Add the flavoured milk, saving the foam for the top.
Garnish with cocoa powder.
And if cafe.ie might remind barristas 65° to 70°C is the ideal temperature for the frothed milk. This makes it easy to foam and naturally presents the drink at its sweetest. Anything hotter de-natures the proteins in the milk and spoils the combination of flavours.
Wow your customers…
So get it onto the menu and wow your customers with something different and seasonal. And best wishes from cafe.ie
Finally…
A word or two about Edgcumbes, here’s what they say of themselves. Click the image to go to their web site to learn more…
Our range of products and services, though wide, must be relevant to the individual needs of individual customers
We must work to increase the profitability and success of our customers, ensuring they have the best quality advice and products at all times
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