Brown Sugar Coffee
Brown sugar behaves differently to white in coffee. It still has molasses in it, which brings a faint bitterness and a caramel depth that white sugar simply does not have — so it adds flavour, not just sweetness. Shaking the espresso with it aerates the shot and chills it fast, which is what gives this drink its texture.
Brown sugar syrup, first
- Combine 100 g dark brown sugar with 100 ml water in a small pan.
- Warm gently until dissolved. Do not boil — boiling drives off the molasses aroma you are paying for.
- Add ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon if you like it spiced.
- Cool and bottle. Keeps three weeks in the fridge.
What you need
- A double shot of espresso — 18 g of coffee in, 36 g in the cup
- 20 ml of brown sugar syrup
- 120–150 ml of cold milk, or oat milk
- A cocktail shaker, or a jar with a tight lid
- A tall glass of ice
How to make it
- Pull the double shot.
- Put the hot espresso, the syrup and a scoop of ice into the shaker.
- Shake hard for 10–15 seconds. It will feel cold through the metal and the shot will foam up.
- Fill the glass with fresh ice and strain the shaken espresso over it.
- Top with cold milk. Oat milk is the usual choice and suits the molasses particularly well.
Why shake it
Shaking does three things at once: chills the espresso instantly so it stops extracting and going bitter, whips air into it for a light foamy head, and mixes the syrup through completely. Stirring does none of them.
The ratio
20 ml of syrup to a double shot, then milk to taste. Start there and adjust — brown sugar reads sweeter than white at the same weight.
Common mistakes
- Shaking with the ice you will serve over. It part-melts and waters the drink down. Use fresh ice in the glass.
- Boiling the syrup and driving off the molasses.
- Light brown sugar. Use dark for the depth.
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.