What is the Meaning of Affogato Coffee and How to Drink It Properly - Should You Eat the Ice Cream First?

When it comes to Italy's national desserts, besides Tiramisu - which means "take me away" - there is another dessert known as Affogato, said to have "breathtaking deliciousness" and meaning "drown me." What the two desserts share is espresso: Tiramisu adds espresso plus coffee liqueur, while Affogato involves pouring espresso over vanilla-flavored ice cream to enjoy together.

The Origin of Affogato

The original Italian meaning of the word Affogato is "drowned" or "breathtaking/choking." Why would Italians - who typically dislike adding anything to their espresso - make an "exception" by pouring espresso over ice cream?

Legend has it that Affogato began when someone accidentally poured freshly extracted espresso onto ice cream, or perhaps a madcap barista invented it in a moment of spontaneous experimentation! It was named Affogato because of how the ice cream (gelato) appears to drown in the espresso. Others say it was named because the drink is so delicious it takes your breath away!

Strictly speaking, Affogato cannot be considered a coffee product. Describing it as a "coffee dessert" might be more appropriate.

How to Make Affogato?

Making Affogato is mainly a matter of pouring espresso over ice cream, letting the hot coffee melt the ice cream and form a rich foam on top. You can also add cocoa crumbs, almond crumbs, or cookies to taste. The interweaving of hot and cold textures lets you experience the rich, mellow flavor of espresso alongside the soft, smooth sweetness of vanilla ice cream.

For the espresso, you can use an espresso machine, a moka pot, or a portable espresso machine. The espresso machine's advantage is a beautiful golden crema and fuller, more uniform extraction; its disadvantages are the higher price and fussier cleaning. The moka pot and portable machine are simple to operate and ideal for home use, though they produce slightly less crema and a somewhat thinner flavor.

For the espresso in an Affogato, FrontStreet Coffee recommends our "Sunflower Warm Sun Blend." This blend uses 70% Honduras Sherry beans and 30% Yirgacheffe Red Cherry beans, producing an espresso with whiskey aroma, gentle berry sweetness and acidity, vanilla cream, and nut caramel. Paired with vanilla ice cream, it tastes like a tiramisu-flavored Affogato!

There is no fixed ratio of coffee to ice cream; it all depends on how much coffee you like. In Italy, Affogato is traditionally served with 1 scoop of ice cream paired with about 2oz of espresso.

How to Extract Espresso?

If using an espresso machine, FrontStreet Coffee suggests 20g of very finely ground coffee to extract 40g of liquid, with an extraction time of 25-30 seconds as a reference for flow rate (SOE not applicable).

If using a moka pot, FrontStreet Coffee suggests filling the powder chamber with very finely ground coffee level to the top, then adding water to the lower chamber without exceeding the bottom of the pressure relief valve.

If using a portable espresso machine (Star Granule), FrontStreet Coffee suggests 18g of very finely ground coffee and 95°C hot water to extract 40ml of coffee liquid.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Espresso beans generally come in two kinds: the blends most cafes use first, and the single-origin espresso known as SOE. Blends exist because mixing beans from different origins combines their strengths - if one bean is smooth but shy in aroma, another aromatic bean can fill the gap, making the whole better balanced.

For a traditional-style Americano or latte, choose the FrontStreet Classic Blend or Commercial Blend, both built on the old Italian formula with a touch of Robusta added, yielding butter, nut, spice, dark chocolate, and toast aromas, a wild and thick body, and a burst of golden crema that makes latte art effortless. The Signature Blend - FrontStreet's longest-serving espresso, nearly ten years on the menu - pairs Brazil Cerrado with Colombia Huila for that most familiar, classic espresso flavor, while FrontStreet Coffee's Black Cocoa Blend combines a large share of Brazilian coffee with Yunnan small-bean coffee for chocolate, caramel, and ripe plum notes, perfect for specialty coffee drinks as well as lattes.

If you prefer SOE and high sweetness over acidity, the FrontStreet Costa Rica Blackberry SOE is a barista favorite: a honey-processed Costa Rican single origin whose sticky-mucilage drying imparts blackberry aroma and clean sweetness; at a medium roast it makes a refreshingly sweet-tart Americano and a latte with cranberry cookie, raisin, and nut flavors. And for a low-acid, budget-friendly SOE, the Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon at a medium-dark roast delivers butter cookie, macadamia, and toast aromas from the espresso machine.