Homemade Tia Maria

The Lush: So, I am difficult to satisfy… I really enjoy Kahlua, especially in white-Russians, but, but… well, two things: 1) For me, it is way way too sweet, and 2) although I never think of it while I drink, it has lots of caffeine and that messes with my sleep (call me neurotic!).

What to do? When in doubt, visit the Google. It turns out that there are many coffee liquor recipes online. I reviewed several and narrowed down what seemed to me the relevant essentials:

► Strong coffee - extra strong because what you start out with gets diluted in the process.

► Strong alcohol – it needs to be relatively high Proof so as not to dilute the coffee too much.

► The higher the quality of what goes in, the better the result.

► It has to age – I was very sorry to arrive at this conclusion, but it was unavoidable.

I also learned from online recipes that Tia Maria is more or less Kahlua made with rum instead of vodka. Having a thing for rum and wanting to take advantage of the availability of 151 proof rum, I decided to start out with an attempt at home made Tia Maria. I made sure to get freshly roasted decaf beans from a local roaster.

Here’s what went into it:

2 1/3 C Decaf coffee, several batches of stove-top espresso from freshly roasted beans

1 1/6 C 151 proof rum, I used Cruzan (not sure what else is out there apart from Bacardi)

1/2 C Brandy, I used St Remy

1 Tbsp Vanilla extract, the best I could find

3 Tbsp Sugar (this is much less than any recipe I came across; I did not want it very sweet)

Mix the sugar into the hot coffee and let cool to room temperature. Add everything else and mix well. Pour into a bottle and store in dark cool place. Shake once a day for the first month.

Now what? How long will I wait? Recipes that call for aging vary in their recommendation from a month to 6 months (!). I have managed to wait a week so far, but must disclose that I only managed that thanks to having 4 quarts of stuff and only 3-quart bottles to put it in and designating the bottle with the little bit of extra stuff a tasting bottle. I have now tasted the last drop from the tasting bottle (delicious)… My goal was to wait at least the one month and I may be able to manage two, since I’ll be out of town for a while. I should add that even over the one week to date, time does seem to be making a noticeable difference; it’s getting smoother, the flavors blending. If I live long enough and don’t pilfer along the way, I’ll have a bottle of delicious, not too sweet, 54 proof decaffeinated coffee liqueur in a few very long weeks.