Found some Kona beans in the shed freezer last month. I had put about 5lbs of them in a couple Food-saver bags when we left KCMO and just plain forgot about them. Anyhow, and I figured it would be a good Christmas gift for the neighbors to go along with some of the sauces the DW and I normally make and preserve for gift baskets.
I took about a 1/2lb (or so) of the beans and ground them up. Added about a 1/2 gallon of water, 5-6 Arbol Peppers, 1 vanilla bean and 5lbs of sugar and brewed (simmered) it on the stove for about 2 hours.
Most recipes out there omit any use of a pepper. In my taste there was always a spicy kick to the brand name stuff and this was how I figured it was done. The recipes also use instant coffee mixed with simple syrup and reduced so when you add vodka it's viscosity isn't too thin.
I, however, decided to try and ferment the mixture so I placed everything in a glass jar. Unfortunately, after sitting in the jar for over a month, the fermentation process did not take place. I don't think I had enough organic matter (coffee grounds) in relation to syrup so yesterday I strained off the coffee grounds. I decided to use part of the more common recipe and added close to 2liters of 100 proof low quality vodka. No sense in wasting good vodka since it was only there for the alcohol kick. Hehehe
I have to say it's not bad. Even though I had to add the vodka, it still has a decent syrupy consistancy, a very nice spicy kick (courtesy of the peppers) and a good strong coffee flavor (the Kona beans really added to this IMHPO).
Every now and then I do enjoy a White Russian so it's even more to my liking than the brand name stuff (and not because I made it.
) It's my opinion that even the brand name stuff you buy these days is more syrup than flavor/taste. Definitely a bit higher alcohol content than the 20% by volume the real stuff has but what's to say it wasn't that way in the original form.
The liquor is in the tall bottle, third from the left in the pic below.
I ended up with almost 2 gallons of the stuff. With a total cost around 25bucks.......not bad considering that a liter of the brand name stuff sells for 43bucks at our local ABC Store.
The DW won't touch anything remotely close to coffee or even Mocha in flavor so I'm not sure yet if it will pass. So, I guess, now all I have to do is see what the neighbors think of it. They have all said they like Coffee Liquor so......... Chindon!
Home Made Coffee Liquor 
) and the bottle on the far left has olive infused vodka (or vodka infused olives) all depending on how you look at it
. Can't tell you the offers I have had from folks to take just the olives off my hands.
