3 minute read.

A famous philosopher once said, ‘A bad cup of coffee is most definitely better than none.’ I have two thoughts on this:

1. I have yet to have a bad cup of coffee (this could be down to desperation and a willingness to settle for anything containing caffeine – read: addiction )
2. There is a slight chance I made up that quote, (but in all honesty, only future generations can decide if they consider me to be a famous philosopher, so…there’s that).

Anyway…I’m crazy for coffee. I can’t start my day right without a steaming cup of this miracle beverage. It makes those dull and dreary early mornings go from drab to fab, and massively increases my tolerance levels of the rest of my species. I’m that person in front of you at Starbucks with the coffee order that sounds like a speech.  But I’ll also keep it simple – black with two sugars if you’re making it. As long as I get my recommended daily allowance of caffeine somehow, I’m…full of beans (I am…so…so sorry…that I’m more than likely still laughing 20 minutes after typing that terrible pun).

Now I’m sure we’re all aware of the espresso, the cappuccino and the latte. But did you know…and this may come as a shock to some…there’s other types of coffee and different ways to enjoy your morning brew?! and I don’t just mean the bulletproof coffee (um…coffee with butter) or the mocha (coffee with chocolate), or the Mocha (the coffee bean variety originating from Mocha which is not coffee with chocolate). But I mean like the following:

Kopi Cham (also known as Yuenyeung): Popular in Hong Kong and Malaysia, this is Hong Kong style milk tea (tea made with evaporated milk, or if you like it sweeter, condensed milk), and extra strong coffee. That’s two of the best hot beverages together in one cup. I’m told it’s supposed to be more tea than coffee, but a lot people have it more coffee than tea – just depends on your personal preferences.

Kaffeost: Popular in Sweden this is steaming hot coffee, served with a cube of cheese. Not gonna lie, this coffee and cheese combination sounded more than a little weird to me at first, until I remembered I love tiramisu which is basically coffee and cheese and also extremely delicious. Leipäjuusto or juustoleipä is a type of bread cheese which is baked (please note it’s definitely not like cheddar – I don’t recommend you try this with cheddar), cut into cubes and placed into a mug. Steaming hot black coffee is then poured over the top and the cheese absorbs the coffee without melting. You then scoop the cheese out with a spoon as you enjoy your coffee.

Egg Coffee (Cà phê trứng): When I heard about egg coffee, I imagined a boiled egg floating around in my latte and that…that…did not please me. But that’s not what this is. An egg yolk is beaten into condensed milk until its creamy and foamy like a cappuccino. Then you add the mix to freshly brewed coffee. Actually, not that bad.

Mazagran: Originated in Algeria, popular in Portugal. This would be great in summer when it’s hot, but you still need that caffeine kick. It’s iced coffee with lemonade. But you can adultify it with a shot of rum (not that I advocate giving caffeine to children but…you know what I mean).

Kopi Luwak (also known as the most expensive coffee in the world): It’s about £80 a cup(!) So, the coffee beans first need to be eaten by a civet cat. The civet cat it turns out cannot properly digest the beans which means they pass through the civet cat digestive track whole. The beans are then um…recovered…then processed. The acid/enzymes in the cat’s stomach alter the flavour making the coffee taste less acidic and smoother.

So, there you go, some new international coffee ideas for you to try!