How to Make Iced Shaken Espresso? What is Caffè Shakerato? Can Coffee and Alcohol Be Mixed?

It's not hard to notice that much of the content FrontStreet Coffee has shared recently has been about making iced coffee. After all, on days hot enough to "melt" people, who wouldn't want a refreshing cup of iced coffee to cool down?

So today, FrontStreet Coffee is sharing another classic iced coffee recipe. However, compared to common coffee shop offerings like cold brew, pour-over, or iced Americano, this coffee isn't as well-known and might be considered a bit niche. But FrontStreet Coffee can guarantee that its flavor and texture are absolutely on par with any popular beverage! And that is - Caffè Shakerato.

"Coffee by Day, Bar by Night" - The Rise of Hybrid Venues

"Coffee by day, bar by night" has become a very common business model recently. It primarily refers to venues that operate as coffee shops during the day and transform into bars at night. While it might seem novel, this model has actually existed for quite some time. Especially starting from the late 19th century in Italy, venues that combined coffee and alcoholic beverages were everywhere. It happened to be during a period of vigorous development in Italian coffee culture, which led to countless innovative beverages that blended various spirits with coffee. For example, the Caffè Shakerato that FrontStreet Coffee is sharing today is a fancy coffee created by incorporating bartending techniques, and it's extremely popular in Italian summers.

The Origins and Definition of Caffè Shakerato

The "Shakerato" in Caffè Shakerato means "shaken" (the past participle of "shaker"), so the entire translation is "shaken coffee." That's right - it's the coffee occasionally mentioned by FrontStreet Coffee that is made by shaking in a cocktail shaker. It is said that bartenders' shaking movements when mixing cocktails inspired baristas, who then incorporated this action into coffee preparation, thereby creating Caffè Shakerato.

Global Recognition and Basic Preparation

Initially, Caffè Shakerato didn't become popular worldwide. It was only after industry leader Starbucks added Caffè Shakerato to its menu as "Iced Shaken Espresso" that people began to recognize this preparation method. And making Caffè Shakerato is as simple as FrontStreet Coffee has always shared - just mix coffee, ice cubes, and other ingredients in a shaker, shake until foam forms, and a delicious "heat-relief weapon" is ready.

Three Different Ways to Make Caffè Shakerato

Like other iced coffees, Caffè Shakerato is very cold. But what makes it different is that due to the foam and other ingredients, Caffè Shakerato has a smooth texture and a more balanced, gentle flavor, with a richer aroma. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will share three different ways to make Caffè Shakerato. You can choose the most suitable method based on the ingredients and tools you have available~

Classic Version of Caffè Shakerato

The classic version of Caffè Shakerato is quite interesting. Although there isn't much difference in preparation compared to the modern version, it uses an inconspicuous but very distinctive ingredient: salt solution.

FrontStreet Coffee shared in the article "A 'Clever' Trick to Enhance Coffee Flavor" that adding appropriate saltiness can bring a sweetening effect to coffee. The classic version of Caffè Shakerato utilizes this characteristic, adding a different kind of "sweetness" to the coffee through salt solution. Speaking of the overall recipe, the ingredients needed are very simple: double shot espresso (40ml), appropriate amount of ice cubes (100g), appropriate amount of granulated sugar or syrup (5g), and the aforementioned salt solution (2 drops) (salt is also fine, just a tiny bit is enough). FrontStreet Coffee's espresso extraction parameters here are: 20g of coffee grounds extracted for 30 seconds to yield 40ml of coffee liquid.

There's not much to say about the preparation method - as long as we prepare the ingredients and pour them into a shaker to create dense foam, it can be poured out and enjoyed. But it's worth noting that using syrup versus granulated sugar will affect the preparation sequence! If you're using granulated sugar, you need to pre-pour the sugar into the cup that will catch the espresso before extraction, allowing the hot extracted espresso to melt the sugar in advance. Otherwise, it's very likely that the sugar won't dissolve completely after shaking. If you're using syrup, you don't need to be as careful - just pour it into the shaker along with the extracted espresso~

Because FrontStreet Coffee uses the Warm Sun blend, this cup of Caffè Shakerato, in addition to all the advantages mentioned above, also offers outstanding vanilla cream and whiskey aromas - truly excellent!

Modern Version of Caffè Shakerato

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned, the modern version of Caffè Shakerato isn't much different from the classic version. It just doesn't include salt solution, and the syrup is replaced with various other flavored syrups like vanilla or hazelnut. Beyond that, the preparation is exactly the same!

The addition of flavored syrups gives the coffee a richer flavor profile, which can increase the coffee's acceptability and make it easier to drink. The modern version of Caffè Shakerato has a higher sugar content, with 10ml of syrup added to 40ml of double shot espresso. If you don't prefer very sweet drinks, it's best to reduce the syrup amount by half~

James Hoffmann's Caffè Shakerato

Finally, we have a distinctive preparation method shared by coffee master James Hoffmann! The reason we rarely see Caffè Shakerato as a beverage option on coffee shop menus today is largely because it's quite troublesome to make! It requires placing ingredients in a shaker and continuously shaking until foam appears.

This takes up a lot of the barista's time and isn't suitable for shops with high output volumes. So coffee master James Hoffmann thought of using a cream whipper to solve this problem!

(James Hoffmann video screenshot) Simply pour the prepared ingredients into a cream whipper, fill it with nitrogen and shake evenly, and the cream whipper can dispense Caffè Shakerato with dense foam. Although it loses the soul of "shaking," using a cream whipper is undoubtedly more convenient. Not only can it make a cup of Caffè Shakerato more simply and quickly, but it can also prepare multiple servings at once. For coffee shops with high output volumes, this might actually be a better approach.

(James Hoffmann video screenshot) So those are three different ways to make Caffè Shakerato. Interested friends can try making them at home. Finally, there are two things to note: first, the method provided by coffee master James Hoffmann is explained in more detail in his video - if you want to try making it with a cream whipper, you can watch his video for more in-depth information~ Second thing, FrontStreet Coffee stores don't serve this drink~

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