Affogato

Affogato means drowned. It is a scoop of vanilla gelato with a hot espresso poured over it, and it is served in Italy as a dessert rather than a coffee. There is nothing else to it, which is exactly why the two ingredients have to be good.

What you need

• 1–2 scoops of good vanilla gelato or ice cream, well frozen
• A single or double shot of espresso, pulled fresh
• A small glass or bowl, chilled

How to make it

1. Chill the glass in the freezer for a few minutes. This buys you time before everything melts.
2. Put the gelato in the glass.
3. Pull the espresso and pour it over immediately, while it is still hot.
4. Serve straight away, with a spoon. It is meant to be eaten as it melts.

The ratio

One scoop to one shot. Two scoops to a double. More coffee than that and it becomes a cold soupy drink rather than a dessert with hot coffee running through it.

Dose and yield, so the numbers below are unambiguous

Throughout these recipes, a double shot means 18 g of ground coffee going IN and about 36 g of liquid espresso coming OUT, in 25–30 seconds. That 1:2 ratio by weight is the modern specialty standard, and 18 g is the usual dose for a 58 mm double basket; anywhere from 17 to 20 g in is normal depending on your basket.

The two numbers are different things and it matters: the grams of coffee you grind are not the grams of espresso in the cup. Weigh both if you can.

The traditional Italian figures are smaller. The Istituto Nazionale Espresso Italiano certifies a SINGLE at 7 g ± 0.5 of coffee producing 25 ml ± 2.5 in the cup, in 25 seconds ± 5, at 9 bar and 88°C — so a traditional doppio is around 14 g in rather than 18. Both are correct; they are different traditions, and the modern one is what most specialty cafés and home machines are built around.

What makes the difference

• Gelato, not soft-serve. It needs enough fat and density to hold up for a minute against hot coffee.
• Real vanilla. With two ingredients, artificial vanilla is half the drink tasting artificial.
• A dark, sweet, chocolatey coffee rather than a bright acidic one. Sharp fruit acidity fights vanilla; caramel and cocoa notes agree with it.
• Pour at the table. Half the pleasure is watching it happen.

Variations worth trying

• A dash of amaretto, Frangelico or dark rum alongside the espresso.
• Chopped toasted hazelnuts on top.
• A pinch of flaky salt, which makes the vanilla taste more like itself.

Which coffee to use

Anything on our shelf works, but milk drinks reward a coffee with body and sweetness over one built for delicate florals — the milk will bury the top notes either way. Check the tasting notes and the process on each product page; a natural or a honey-processed lot usually cuts through milk better than a light washed one.