Which coffee to use in an espresso martini at home

Which coffee to use in an espresso martini when you haven't got a machine

Nearly every espresso martini recipe opens with 30ml of fresh espresso, which is fine advice if you own a machine and useless if you don't. Plenty of sheds have a coffee liqueur on the shelf and no espresso within a kilometre of them, so this is about what to use instead and what each option does to the drink.

The short version is that the coffee matters more than the vodka does, and instant is not automatically the wrong answer.

What the coffee is there to do

Two jobs. It brings the bitterness that stops the drink being a sweet brown cocktail, and it brings the oils and fine solids that make the foam sit on top. A coffee with no body in it gives you a thin drink with a sad ring of bubbles, which is the commonest fault with a homemade one.

So what you're after is strong and cool, and not watery. Strong because you're only adding 30ml of it. Cool because hot coffee melts your ice and kills the foam before it ever forms.

Your options, best to worst

Stovetop or moka pot

The closest thing to espresso most people already own. It comes out strong and oily and it makes plenty in one go, so it's the one I'd reach for first. Brew it and leave it on the bench for 10 minutes before you use it.

Cold brew

Already cold, so half the problem is solved before you start. It's smoother too, because the long steep pulls less acid out. The catch is that it's often weaker than it tastes, so use a concentrate or push it up to 40ml and pull the other liquids back.

Plunger, made strong

Works, as long as you go heavier on the grounds than you would for a morning cup. A standard-strength plunger coffee will disappear in the drink. Use about double.

Instant

Honestly better than its reputation, and better than a weak plunger. Dissolve a heaped teaspoon in about 30ml of hot water rather than a full cup, so you get a syrupy shot rather than a mug. It won't give you the same oils and the crema will be thinner, and nobody at a barbecue is going to pick it.

Putting it together

The coffee liqueur is what carries the flavour, so that's where the quality lives. Still Spirits Coffee Maria is a rum-based one with a deeper chocolatey middle to it. That's one we keep in the shop rather than online.

• 40ml vodka, or your own clean neutral spirit
• 20ml coffee liqueur
• 30ml of whichever coffee you sorted out above, properly cooled
• Plenty of ice

Shake it hard for a good 20 seconds. Strain into a chilled glass and put three coffee beans on top if you're feeling flash.

If it comes out too sweet, more coffee. If it comes out harsh, that's the vodka rather than the coffee, so look at your base spirit before you blame the beans.

One thing worth chilling

Put the glass in the freezer while you make the drink. A warm glass takes the foam down within about a minute and it's the easiest thing on this whole list to get right.

The licence bit, said plainly

Owning a still is legal in Australia and so is buying one from us, and that's where a lot of posts stop. Distilling spirits at home needs an excise manufacturer licence from the ATO, and sorting that out is on you before you run anything through it. Flavouring a bought base spirit with an essence is a different job again and it doesn't need a licence at all.

Shop related products

• Still Spirits Cafelua 50ML. A coffee liqueur essence that is on the website, if you want one delivered.
• Edwards Essences Khaloola Essence. Roasted coffee, good with cream as well as in a martini.
• Edwards Essences Mia Taria Essence. Coffee and chocolate on a rum base, the closest thing to Coffee Maria that we list online.
• Still Spirits Cream Liqueur Base 400g. For turning any of them into a cream liqueur instead.

Did you know Still Spirits Coffee Maria is one of the ones we keep in the shop and not on the website, because a chunk of the range comes in under the supplier's own branding. Give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 and we'll check the shelf for you.

Brewhilder is our homebrew adviser and she'll help you pick between the coffee essences, or come in and we'll do it over the counter.

There's more in the Still Spirits range and the Edwards Essences range.

Read next

• How to make a flawless espresso martini with Still Spirits Coffee Maria
• Still Spirits Coffee Maria, what it does
• How to nail a homemade Irish Coffee

I drink my coffee strong enough that most people think I've made a mistake, so read my ratios with that in mind.

Cheers,
Candeece

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