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The other week I was invited to an excellent and very informative Tia Maria event at Chapter 72 in Bermondsey, London, where we had a coffee cocktail masterclass and learned to make some rather tasty cocktails  using Tia Maria, a sweet liqueur with a strong coffee accent and, somehow, a quite complex aromatic structure.

what’s in Tia Maria?

Coffee: Roasted, full-bodied, and rich in taste, 100% arabica blend
with notes of cacao and tobacco
Madagascar vanilla: adds a subtle sweetness and delicate scent
Jamaica Rum:  rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane byproducts.  This gives Tia Maria its full body and deep composition.

Some tips I learnt about making cocktails

Stirred drinks are made by chilling the mixing glass first. Discard the ice used for chilling, then add the ingredients and fresh ice. Stir, and make sure you taste as you go to dilute it to the perfect point. The result is a stirred drink.

Shaken drinks follow the same principle as stirred drinks but involve shaking the ingredients vigorously in a cocktail shaker. In blending, the liquid and solid components are broken down and mixed to create a smooth and silky foamed texture.

Always use fresh ice from the freezer—if it has already started melting, the drink will taste thin and watery.
Using the principles I learnt at the cocktail masterclass, I made this delicious Brazilian coffee cocktail employing a blend of cachaça and Tia Maria to give the cocktail an aromatic and smooth mouthfeel.

batida de café recipe

Ingredients:
Make:  1 serving
1 jigger of condensed milk, 30g
1 jigger Brazilian agua ardente or Cachaça or Vodka, chilled
1 jigger of Tia Maria, chilled
1 shot of espresso, chilled, no sugar
1-2  large ice cubes

Method:
1) Start by chilling the glasses and the alcohol.
2) Blend all ingredients for one minute to create a smooth, foamed texture.
3) Serve in chilled glasses.
* jigger =  measure a single (25ml) and double (50ml) unit

batida de café

some images of the Tia Maria event and cocktails we sampled:

Tia + Tonic = Tia Maria + espresso + tonic water

Tia Mint Frappe = Tia Maria + espresso+ fresh mint + fresh milk

Tia Espresso Martini  =  Tia Maria + espresso + vodka + sugar syrup

Ice Corn Frappe=  Tia Maria + espresso + milk+ popcorn syrup

Pin for later

Disclosure: I was invited by Tia Maria  to attend this event and I was given a bottle of Tia Maria to carry on the party at home and make cocktails.