Orange Cinnamon Coffee
A pot of black coffee with fresh orange and warm cinnamon steeped right into it, bright on the nose and spiced on the finish. Everything goes into the French press with the grounds, and there is no syrup at all.
At a glance
- Coffee : water
- 1:15
- Active time
- 5 min
- Total time
- 9 min
- Makes
- 2 mugs
- Serve
- Hot
- Kit
- French press
Ingredients
Note: Peel the zest with a vegetable peeler, pressing lightly so you take only the orange layer. The white pith underneath is bitter.
Method
-
Zest, cinnamon and grounds
Put the coffee, orange zest strips and broken cinnamon stick in the French press. Twist the zest over the press first so its oil sprays onto the grounds.
-
Pour and steep
Pour in the hot water, stir, put the lid on with the plunger up, and steep for four minutes.
Steep 4 minutes -
Press and pour
Press slowly and pour straight into mugs. Add a little brown sugar if you like, and a fresh strip of zest twisted over each cup.
Why this works
Orange flavour lives in the peel, not the juice. The zest is full of tiny oil glands holding limonene and other aromatic compounds, which smell bright and sweet. The juice is mostly water, sugar and citric acid, and in coffee it just adds sourness. Steeping zest in the press puts the aroma into the coffee without making it acidic, which is why there is no juice in this recipe.
The French press suits flavoured coffee for the same reason it suits coffee: everything steeps fully immersed in hot water for four minutes. The orange oils and the cinnamon's cinnamaldehyde dissolve partly into the coffee and are partly carried by the coffee's own oils, which the press's metal mesh lets through. A paper filter would trap a good share of them.
Twisting the zest before it goes in breaks the oil glands and sprays the most volatile aromatics straight onto the grounds. Avoiding the white pith matters because it contains bitter compounds, limonin and naringin among them, which would add an unpleasant bitterness on top of the coffee's own.
A medium roast works best. Very dark roasts taste smoky enough to bury the orange. A light, fruity coffee can be lovely too, if it already has citrus notes of its own.
Variations
- With clove: two cloves in the press with the cinnamon.
- With milk: a splash of warm milk and a teaspoon of honey per mug.
- Spiked: a splash of orange liqueur in each mug.
- Iced: brew it at double strength and pour over ice with a slice of orange.
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Questions
How do you make orange flavoured coffee?
Steep fresh orange zest with the coffee grounds, in a French press or a pour-over. The oils in the zest carry the flavour.
Can I use orange juice in coffee?
It adds sourness rather than orange flavour. The zest is where the aroma is.
Why is my orange coffee bitter?
Too much white pith on the zest. Peel lightly so you take only the orange layer.
Can I make this in a drip machine?
Yes. Put the zest and broken cinnamon in the filter with the grounds. The flavour will be a little lighter than a French press.