Dessert pairing is an important and tasty finish to a meal. And what best occasion to try out some unique & heavenly desserts than the Holiday season! This Christmas, make your parties stand out by serving your guests' coffee styled desserts brought to you by Araku Coffee. Our Coffee Mentor, Sherri Johns from Portland has whipped up some excellent dessert hacks and drinks that will keep everyone coming back for more!

DESSERT HACKS: Try these hacks for a quirky new take on classic desserts!

Araku Premium Coffee To Make Your Christmas Party Shine

1) Tiramisu: We recommend using Araku Selection for this hack. Brew Araku Premium Coffee in a French Press and let it cool. Take pre-made tiramisu and scoop individual portions into martini glasses. Before serving, pour 1-2 ounces of the Araku Coffee brew atop each serving of Tiramisu. Voila! That’s a tiramisu you’ve not had before!

2) Marbled Cheesecake: If you are baking the cheesecake, simply take a one-ounce serving of brewed Araku Coffee and gently drizzle it into the cheesecake mixture once it’s in the pie shell just before baking. Use a knife to spread the coffee in a zig-zag pattern into the cheesecake mixture. Bake as recommended. Slice open to see the marbled effect the coffee creates! Looks as delightful as it tastes!

DRINKS & RECIPES: Think of coffee as an ingredient and yourself as the barista du jour.

1) Hot Christmas Beverages

Coffee Mixology is all about creating a harmonious balance between tastes. Combining flavors has a lot to do with first impressions and lasting finish. It is very important that our coffee is brewed properly and compliments the other flavors. Remember, too many flavors will make the drink muddy so don’t over-complicate it. An easy rule of thumb is to identify existing profiles of the brewed coffee. In case, we are using Araku Signature Coffee Beans with notes of red fruit and dark chocolate, we would need ingredients with complementary flavors. For Araku Selection with notes of dark chocolate, toffee, and sugarcane, our ingredients might vary a little.
There are no strict rules. Feel free to experiment and mix and match. Do a taste before the guests arrive! The choice of garnish and serving glass is up to you!

Prep required: Use a standard French Press and take coarse ground coffee (we prefer Araku Signature) and water in a ratio of 1:15. This means that for every 1 gram of coffee, you need to add 15 grams of water, which roughly converts to about 3 tablespoons of coffee for every 1 cup of water. Use pre-heated fresh filtered water. Only heat the water until it starts rippling, don’t let the water boil as it will lose oxygen. Preheat the French Press by pouring a little water into it. Repeat the same for your serving cups.

Add measured our coarse coffee powder into the French Press. Pour hot water atop in a swirling motion using a kettle to dampen all the ground coffee. Fill to match the prescribed ratio. Place the lid on top without pushing down and wait for 4 minutes for coffee to be fully infused. After 4 minutes, gently press filter through the ground coffee to the bottom of the press.
You now have freshly brewed coffee ready to create your very own signature beverages!
Here are a few of our tried and true favorites. We call these Araku Christmas morning specials! Nothing spreads Christmas cheer better than cinnamon, maple syrup, and gingerbread. Curl up under the blanket and enjoy steamy, hot cups of Araku with a Christmas-y twist!

  • Peppermint Patty: Pour the brewed Araku Signature Coffee in a serving glass of your choice. Add a splash of dark chocolate and peppermint syrup, and mix well. Garnish using a candy cane as a stir stick.
  • Dutch Coffee: In 6-ounce preheated mug, use 5-ounces of Araku Selection Coffee, add 1 teaspoon of powdered milk chocolate, one ounce of hot milk, and mix well. Float atop, one cinnamon stick dipped in a dab of butter.
  • Smores Coffee: Pour the brewed Araku Selection into a serving glass of your choice. Add chocolate syrup, gingerbread syrup, and marshmallows on top, or top with a dollop of whipped marshmallow cream.
  • Cinnamon Cheer: After brewing Araku Selection in a French Press or a Moka Pot (for smaller portions) take 1 tbsp brown sugar or jaggery, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground cloves, and 1 tsp ground cardamom. Place all dry ingredients along with the ground coffee powder in the dampened coffee filter, blend them, add water and brew as usual! Pour two-ounce servings into demitasse cups with just a dollop of whipped cream. Garnish with cinnamon powder or add a cinnamon stick for decoration.

2) Alcoholic Beverages

To any brewed Araku Premium Coffee, add a shot of Baileys Irish Cream, Whiskey or Kahlua, or Peppermint schnapps. Any of these will complement any Araku Premium Coffee and warm you up on Christmas Eve!

  • Irish Coffee: Officially known as “Irish Coffee”, the Irish Whiskey & Coffee drink was invented in San Francisco. The story behind this goes that an Irish Barkeeper opened a bar on Fisherman’s Wharf and Irish soldiers would often come to his bar to warm up, and he would serve them a mix of Whiskey and Coffee. This is how “Irish Coffee” was born. To 1 shot of Irish Whiskey, add 1 cube of sugar or jaggery, some hot brewed coffee, and mix well. Add whipped cream to garnish.
  • Romance: If you’re a non-traditional coffee and alcohol drinker, try this creative beverage. Once a winning combination in a coffee and spirits barista competition in New York, we like to call it Romance, because it’s the perfect romance between Araku Micro Climate and Cabernet. Add equal parts of brewed Araku Micro Climate and Cabernet, plus a splash of melted chocolate and framboise (Raspberry liquor) and mix well. Serve at room temperature in a brandy snifter glass. Swirl the glass and appreciate the aromatics, and sip. The flavors of the natural process Microclimate blend well with the complexity of the cabernet, highlighted with raspberry finish.
  • Sparkles in the Morning Brew some Araku Grand Reserve Coffee Powder in a Moka Pot. Add to it equal parts Champagne and 1 small dose premade simple syrup (equal parts of sugar and water fully dissolved), and serve in champagne flutes with a strawberry or raspberry on top.
  • Araku Martini: Brew some Araku Grand Reserve Coffee Powder in a Moka Pot. Serve it in a martini glass, and add one shot of your favorite Vodka. Sprinkle a couple of coffee beans on top.
  • Araku L’Orange: You would need a Cold Brew Equipment for this one. Use 40 grams coarse grind of Araku Selection Coffee, and place in the filter basket of the Cold Brew Bottle. Pour 500ml of filtered water into the jug and top with the lid. Let it sleep on the counter for 8-12 hours. Strain orange liqueurs or Grand Marnier and add to the brew. Serve in tall glasses on the rocks with orange rind garnish.

Let these recipes inspire your creativity and guide you on your Araku Coffee Journey. At Araku, we believe that coffee is fun and seriously playful and what better occasion to explore this playful side than the Holiday Season? Whether it’s for a party or a quiet Christmas morning with your family, these recipes will add to your Christmas Cheer and brighten your Holiday Spirits!