Honduran Morning Coffee
Over two decades ago, I spent two memorable years with the Peace Corps, bringing potable water to my community, high in the coffee producing sector of western Honduras. Prior to Honduras, I didn’t drink coffee, even with the many all-nighters in college. However, all that changed with my service. You see, whenever I made a visit to a household for work reasons, I was typically offered a cup of coffee as a sign of hospitality. Since it was culturally offensive to turn down an offering, I acquired a taste for the unique way Hondurans make coffee. With the lingering taste of Honduran coffee on my palate, I tried to recreate my own version of this staple from memory, some twenty-three years later. Thus, the following recipe is consistent with the coffee I grew to love in rural Honduras. Now that I sip on it, I’m transported back to all the adventures I had in this picturesque country.
Ingredients
- 4 T. high-quality French roast coffee, like Peet's Major Dickason
- 2 2/3 cups water (I fill the water receptacle on my machine to 4)
- 4 T. whole allspice, add more or less, adjusting to your taste
- 2 T. white granulated sugar
- Note: if you go through a lot of allspice as I do, you may save money by buying allspice in bulk on Amazon.
Directions
- Step 1 To begin, if you need to grind your beans, do so now. Then, put a liner in your coffee pot filter if using and add 4 T. of ground coffee to the liner. I use 1 T. of coffee grounds per 1 water measure on my pot. This equals 2 2/3 cups water to add. Next, add 4 T. allspice to your liner and grounds. Since 4 T. of allspice imbues a strong yet smoky flavor to your coffee, feel free to adjust to your palate. You may need to experiment to get the right balance, adding more or less.
- Step 2 Finally, brew your coffee on your pot’s strong setting if your machine has the luxury of one. After the coffee is brewed, pour a cup for one person or two cups for two persons, adding 1 T. of sugar per cup.
- Step 3 Note: the sugar is key to cutting the bitter edge of the French roast coffee. I used to temper the bitterness of my coffee with the rich fatness of half-and-half cream, but I packed on the pounds drinking so much fat. So, I switched to coconut and oat creamers, sacrificing on the flavor. But now I have an alternative, which reminds me of my service in Honduras.
Here, the traditional cup of Joe is given a twist, with the unexpected complement of allspice and sugar to coffee. This is the customary way coffee was served when I was a Peace Corp Volunteer two decades ago in the coffee producing sector of western Honduras.
Nutritional Information: serving size: 1 1/3 cups, servings per recipe: 2, calories: 83, total fat: 0.3 g., saturated fat: 0 g., cholesterol: 0 g., sodium: 16 mg., total carbohydrate: 15 g., dietary fiber: 0 g., total sugars: 13 g., protein: 1.1 g., calcium: 86 mg., iron: 0.89 mg., potassium: 281 mg., magnesium: 26 mg., vitamin D: 0 IU, vitamin C: 4.7 mg., vitamin B-1: 0.1 mg., folate: 11 µg.