Kona Coffee Liqueur

Making your own coffee liqueur is fun, easy and rewarding.  It is also a great project to do about a month before the Christmas holidays and give as gifts to family and friends.

We like to collect pretty bottles through the year.  You can find many in yard or garage sales.  After a while, you will start noticing pretty bottles everywhere!

Kona Coffee Liqueur

2 cups finely ground Kona coffee beans (strong, full-bodied blend such as French Roast or espresso)
3 cups boiling water
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon glycerin (*)
4 vanilla beans, split   
3 cups vodka

Combine ground coffee and water in a bowl and mix thoroughly.  Strain immediately through cheesecloth into a saucepan.  Add the sugar, both granulated and brown, and heat for 5 minutes on low heat, stirring constantly, just until mixture begins to steam, do not let it come to a boil.  Remove saucepan from heat and let cool. 

Stir in the glycerine and vodka and pour into clean glass jars.  Add vanilla beans making sure to include the seeds, seal and store in a cool dark place for at least 30 days before using.

Decant into individual gift bottles, tie a pretty ribbon on the neck and tie a card with the recipe if you wish.

(*) Vegetable based glycerin (95.5% USP Kosher)  can be used in food applications.  You can find it in most pharmacies. 

YIELD: 1-1/2 pints

SOURCE: "Coffee... the Frisky Berry!," Come Join the Feast column by Sonia Martinez for the Hawaii Tribune-Herald of Hilo, Hawaii, February 2003

Comments

[Sarah HB]

Sounds good to me!!!

[Sonia]

Thank you, Sarah, it is..........!
I have in the past used this coffee liqueur when making a Tiramisu dessert...Delish!

[Gret]

Sonia, This is a little differnet from the one we used to make. It sounds great and I will try it. It is even good on ice cream, especially chocolate or coffee. What is the purpose for the glycerine?

[Sonia]

Hi, Gret. Yes, this one is a bit different than an earlier version I used to make. I like it. BTW, I should also have mentioned in the article that the amount of vodka can be reduce and use an equal amount of dark rum for the coffee liqueur. Jamaican dark rum is especially a bit 'sweeter', if you know what I mean.

As to the use of glycerine, it acts as a food preservative and also gives liqueurs that are (due to their nature a bit thinner, giving them a bit more body or 'viscousness'. Makes it a bit smoother, like when you sip on B&B or Drambuie......

They recommend never use more than 1 tablespoon per quart. I find that 1 teaspoon for this amount of liquid is perfect.

[Sandra]

Sounds really good; by any chance can you use Splenda instead of sugar? I’m going to be making some fancy bottle bags for the holidays. I don’t have decorative bottles.

[Sonia]

Sanda, I have never used Splenda when making the liqueur so have no idea if it gives it a different taste or not. Since Splenda has brown sugar now, and it does taste like the 'real thing' I would assume you can. Especially since the liquid is not boiled but only heated enough to steam.

Let me know if you try it and how it turns out.