La chumeca: A cocktail with a very special flavor
There are infinities of coffee cocktails, but only the most special ones remain engraved on our palate. One of them comes from a famous hacienda in Costa Rica, and among the most common comments from those who have the opportunity to taste it, they call it “very special.” We do to Chumeca cocktail, a wonderful drink designed for all tastes.
We know you're dying to know what it is that makes it so special. Well, it all owes it to its ingredients, especially the coffee from the Tarrazú canton in Costa Rica. It is capable of providing a cup with fruity notes, with flavors that remind us of honey and jaboticaba wine. The latter comes from a purple or black fruit, white pulp and sweet and sour flavor, it is common in countries such as Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina.
You may think that recreating it is complicated, starting with the coffee, but don't worry. Because, in Incapto Coffee, we have Costa Rican grains and it is the Cartago Aquiares coffee. A product that is characterized by its caramel, almond and fruity sweetness notes, which you can find in our catalog.
As it is a cocktail with a lot of personality, today we will take care of revealing interesting facts about it. Starting with the origin of its name and we will even teach you how to prepare it, without having to spend a lot of money.
Why is the coffee used so different?
The name of the cocktail is given by the family coffee farm La Chumeca, which is located in the canton of Tarrazú, Costa Rica. Therefore, the coffee used to make this magical cocktail is harvested on these lands.
Its producers are fans of experimenting with new methods, including anaerobic process. This consists of fermenting the coffee cherries, placing them in a tank, it can be before or after pulping. And later, they are immersed in water. Allowing various microorganisms to act. These turn out to be more homogeneous and easier to control.
The coffee that is normally used to make the Chumeca cocktailIn addition to being fruity, it is also characterized by its velvety body and spices. As if that were not enough, it provides notes of yogurt, something that is due to lactic acid.
Getting a coffee with all these characteristics may turn out to be an impossible mission. However, in Incapto Coffee, we not only offer one Costa Rican coffee that could work for this recipe. Since, we have grains from Ethiopia, specifically the Sidamo Nansebo coffee, an option that has the approval of our specialists for this preparation.
How to make your own La Chumeca cocktail?
On this occasion, we will teach you how to make a new version of the La Chumeca cocktail, which is not far from the official line, since it has some slight changes. It is about the preparation that presented Isaac Montero, national champion of Costa Rica, in World Class. By the way, a contest similar to World Barista Championship (whose participants come from all over the world).
Now, as we explained a few paragraphs above, jaboticaba is a round fruit, dark in color and very acidic, but at the same time with a sweet touch. It is one of the ingredients of this delicious drink. On the other hand, we must also include carao honey in our recipe (it is an extract from a fruit called Cassia grandis) which is very common from southern Mexico to Bolivia.
If we investigate a little about its flavor, carao honey reminds us a little of chocolate and cherry. Getting it can be a bit complicated, so you could replace it with carob (an energetic fruit, with high levels of sugar), honey or berry syrups. Thanks to these ingredients, a balance can be achieved with the almond notes, typical of black label whiskey.
What are the exact quantities?
Since you know most of the ingredients that we should use. The time has come to reveal the exact quantities so that your drink turns out like that of a professional.
-Add 25 ml of anaerobic coffee from the La Chumeca farm, medium roast, made in a AeroPress. Remember that you can replace the coffee with Sidamo Nansebo or Cartago Aquiares, both from Incapto Coffee
-Use 50 ml of Johnnie Walker Black whiskey
-25 ml of Johnnie Walker Double Black whiskey
-Place 1 bar spoon of carao honey. If you don't have it, you can substitute it with berry syrups, any other honey or carob.
-Pour 25 ml of jaboticaba wine. Because it is a tropical fruit, you can replace it with a fortified wine, for example Port.
- Lastly 3 drops of bitter banana liqueur
Preparation
Once we gather all the ingredients, we proceed to make our La Chumeca cocktail. The first thing we must do is prepare an espresso with the pouring method into an Aeropress. Experts recommend using 20 g of finely ground coffee, with about 40 ml of water. Now you should shake gently, it is important that you do not overlook moistening all the grinding and letting it rest, for at least, a minute and a half.
For the drink to be a success, the coffee must be very concentrated. That is why we recommend preparing it first and letting it cool a little.
Once the previous step is finished, it is time to mix all the ingredients, specifically, in a shaker full of ice. If you do not have one, you can use a glass with a lid and check before blending it manually to ensure that the drink does not spill.
Make sure that everything cools and mixes perfectly. It is advisable to strain it twice, and finally serve it in a Martini glass, and that's it!
Don't overlook the last details
Following the recipe to the letter does not guarantee that your drink will be completely special and much less attractive. That is why you cannot ignore a good decoration, for example, there are those who place about three eucalyptus leaves joined with clothespins. This is something personal and depends on each person's tastes.
If you made this cocktail for a special occasion with friends and family, you can accompany it with some appetizers or a bruschetta including a strong cheese.
As time goes by, the coffee industry continues to surprise us with interesting creations, such as in this case the La Chumenca cocktail. An extremely exquisite drink, which in addition to enlivening a pleasant time with our loved ones or alone, is capable of surprising our palate. So, we invite you to recreate it and discover how very special it turns out to be.
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