Making Kahlua

Last week, I had the opportunity to learn how to make kahlua with my friend’s Dad, Carl.  He’s been making this delicious coffee liquor for years and is a real pro!  He’s actually working on a custom recipe for a Kona Coffee shop in Hawaii.

Here’s how to make kahlua:

Making Kahlua

1. Mix water and fine ground coffee in a crockpot.  You want a bold style coffee.
2. Heat on high until you reach 145F.  Stir occasionally.  I used the commercial method.  Make kahlua while watching TV, every time there is a commercial, get up, check the temperature and then stir.
3. Turn off the heat and cool slowly.
4. Filter through a cone strainer.
5. Then filter through a paper filter into a pitcher.
6. Add white sugar (we omitted fructose sugar).
7. Add crème de cacao.
8. Add everclear.
9. Add vanilla extract.
10. Add almond extract.
11. Stir and bottle.

Let sit overnight before tasting.

Here is the batch breakdown:

I made my first batch on my own using Stumptown Coffee Roaster’s Holler Mountain Coffee.  It honestly turned out pretty good.  The first time I sampled it there was a little bit of “heat” (a la alcohol burn) in my mouth afterwards.  However, putting it in coffee solves this problem.  I emailed Carl and asked him for suggestions to counter act this and he said to either add water to water it down or add a bit of sugar.  I’m going with the second option, adding a bit of sugar always saves the day!

For those readers who aren’t local: Stumptown Coffee Roasters is an independent coffee roaster based here in Portland, Oregon.  Stumptown is one of the many nicknames of Portland, Oregon.  The city was called Stumptown in the mid-19^th century, when our city’s growth forced land to be cleared quickly to accommodate the growth, but the tree stumps were not immediately removed.  Holler Mountain is Stumptown’s most popular organic blend with directly traded coffees.  Fully washed coffees from Central and South America bring floral fruit notes and semi-washed coffee from the Aceh Province of the Sumatra Island of Indonesia adds a syrupy sweetness and a viscous body.  This carefully constructed blend combines elegant Central and South American coffees and darker toned, earthly Indonesian coffees.

Have you ever made kahlua?  How did it turn out?  What coffee would you suggest I try next?

Funny story:  For those who don’t know me in “real life” I sometimes look A LOT younger than I actually am.  I went to a liquor store before making this batch of kahlua and was looking around for Everclear and was asked by the manager of the liquor store, “Are you looking for something in particular?”  When I responded, “Yes, do you sell Everclear?”  I got, “Do you even know what Everclear is?  Are you 21?”  I laughed and then explained I was making kahlua and showed my ID.