Ingredients
The drink
- 150 mlweak black coffee
- hot
- 30 mlkirsch
- or 30 ml Trasch
- or 30 ml plum schnapps
- 1 teaspoonsugar, or to taste
Equipment
- a small thick glass
- or a small cup
- a coin, traditionally
Sometimes served with
- a slice of cake
- cheese and bread
- in a country inn
Directions
- Drop a small coin into the empty glass. Pour the hot coffee in over it. Add hot water until you can see the coin.
- Wash it thoroughly if you use one. Add a teaspoon of sugar to the glass.
- Stir it until the sugar dissolves. Most drinkers take it sweetened.
- Pour the schnapps into the hot coffee. Use about thirty millilitres of it.
- Stir it once round and no more. The coffee should be hot but not boiling.
- Let it stand a moment before adding the spirit. Serving it is done immediately.
- Serve it in a small thick glass. A handle is useful, since it is hot. Make each one of them to order.
Technique
- The custom is to dilute the coffee until a coin dropped in the bottom of the glass is visible through it, then add the schnapps; the point is not the coffee but a way of drinking spirit socially, with weak coffee carrying it and making it last.
- Trasch is a Swiss brandy distilled from pears and apples together and is a central Swiss speciality, while kirsch is distilled from cherries; both are clear, unaged, strong and dry, and aged brandy is not used.
- Swiss fruit schnapps runs around forty percent, hot drinks are absorbed faster than cold, and the coffee masks the taste, so several of these add up very quickly.
Substitutions
- Kirsch, Trasch or plum schnapps all work, and any clear unaged fruit brandy will do.
- Judge the dilution by colour rather than using a coin, which is a story more than a method.
Variations
- The drink has many regional names, including Kafi fertig and Kafi Trasch.
- Some inns pour considerably more spirit than others.
- It is taken sweetened by most drinkers and plain by some.
History
A Swiss rural custom of diluting coffee until a coin shows at the bottom, then adding kirsch or Träsch.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kafi Luz?
Kafi Luz is a cocktail from Switzerland: weak coffee spiked with fruit schnapps, drunk in country inns. A Swiss rural custom of diluting coffee until a coin shows at the bottom, then adding kirsch or Träsch.
How long does Kafi Luz take to make?
Kafi Luz takes 5 minutes of preparation and none of cooking. The recipe makes serves 1. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Kafi Luz?
Yes, within limits. Kirsch, Trasch or plum schnapps all work, and any clear unaged fruit brandy will do. Judge the dilution by colour rather than using a coin, which is a story more than a method.
What is the most important thing to get right in Kafi Luz?
Stir it once round and no more. The coffee should be hot but not boiling.
