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Last Updated: Jul 2nd, 2008 - 21:15:22 |
(NewsUSA) - 'Tis the season to toast the holidays, and creative hot beverages are the trend.
According to Laura Everage, food writer and former editor of Gourmet Retailer, people are becoming more interested in experimenting with new flavors.
"Making a holiday gathering a special affair doesn't need to take much effort, just a bit of creativity," Everage says. "The little touches are what truly stand out, and they don't need to be exotic or expensive."
With just a few extra ingredients, such as flavoring syrups, cocoa, cinnamon sticks, specialty liquors and whipped cream, coffee can become the talk of the party.
"Coffee is delicious with amaretto, Kahlua and other liquors. But remember that many people are looking for non-alcoholic options, so offer special coffee drinks made with non-alcoholic syrups in a variety of flavors such as vanilla, almond, hazelnut, caramel, peppermint or Irish cream," Everage says. "Hot chocolate or hot cider with mulling spices are also perfect non-alcoholic options."
Everage offers these tips for special holiday beverages:
* Make coffee ahead of time and use a vacuum carafe that keeps it at the perfect serving temperature for hours.
* For best tasting coffee, grind coffee beans right before brewing. The Capresso CoffeeTeam Therm is the first and only drip coffee maker with a built-in
conical burr grinder and a stainless steel vacuum carafe.
* The simple addition of whipped cream to hot coffee adds a great holiday touch. Sprinkle cinnamon on top.
* Create a coffee bar with a selection of flavoring syrups that can be added to freshly brewed coffee. If you have an espresso maker with a milk frother, use chocolate milk to make frothy hot chocolate.
* Instead of a filling dessert after a big meal, create decadent coffee drinks such as a Black Forest Coffee and serve with chocolate truffles or holiday petit fours.
* With holiday parties often lasting well into the night, brew up some decaf for the ride home and serve it in a thermal mug as a gift.
For holiday beverage recipes, including Almond Caffe Mocha and Spiced Coffee, log on to www.capresso.com.
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