Coffee

08.16.09 Coffee test size

2 Tbsp Crushed Coffee (Organic Bolivian Blend Medium Dark Roast)
6.25oz. Fris vodka

Research on this infusion yielded very murky results. The only thing that people seemed to agree on was that this infusion takes a very short time, ranging from 12 hours to 5 days.

We ultimately decided to treat the infusion like regular coffee, using 2 Tbsp of coffee per 6 oz (6.25oz, to be exact) of vodka. The general consensus on the internet was that the beans should be crushed, and not ground. Lissa crushed the beans ~10 at a time, by putting them into a pyrex measuring cup and pressing them with the bottom of a glass.

The beans were then added to the vodka (@2:15pm).

There was a debate about whether or not to add 1/4 tsp sugar. Some websites suggested to add it because it would act as a catalyst to help the coffee flavors mix with the vodka. Ultimately, we decided not to add the sugar, but thought it would be fun to do a side-by-side experiment some day with and without sugar.

Here are some interesting links we found along the way:
Bitterness and overextraction

Coffee infusion technique
Espresso infused vodka

We will be testing this ~12 hours after it was started, and every ~12 hours after that, until we determine that it is done. We expect the infusion to be bitter and that it will need to be mixed with something to make it palatable.

16:00
Lissa felt that it had a coffee flavor, definite vodka taste still and needs more time. No bitterness yet.
20:15
Lissa sampled this one again. It is starting to smell very nicely of coffee. It tastes like coffee, but the flavor is not yet as strong as she would like it to be. However, there is a touch of bitterness at the end. We decided to remove the beans and re-infuse with a new batch to hopefully add more flavor without adding bitterness.

08.17.09 A bit more infusion

9:15 pm. Lissa just added another 2 Tbsp of crushed coffee beans to the infusion. She'll check again in 2 hours to see how its progressing. It may be done then.

11:15 pm. Lissa tasted the infusion and decided that it was done. It tastes more like coffee. However, the second round of infusion seems to either not helped the flavor or made it slightly worse. Chilling the infusion does help the flavor though. As we suspected, this is a bitter tasting infusion and will be best used with other mixers.

Recipe

750 ml vodka

1/2 cup crushed coffee beans

Infusion time: ~6 hours, to taste

Best when chilled