Warming Coffee that Speeds Up Your Metabolism – Recipe According to the Five Elements Theory
INGREDIENTS (SERVES TWO):
- 2,5 cups water
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 4 cloves
- 1 cardamom seed
- a pinch of himalayan salt
- a few drops of lemon juice
- natural ground coffee
-
1 teaspoon coconut paste
- 1 teaspoon honey
Buy In winter we all try to find some extra sources of energy, and it’s not only the cold weather but mostly the lack of sunshine. I’ve always found autumn and winter hard. That’s why I try to make my daily diet as diverse and colourful as possible. After all, we eat with our eyes, and what we eat affects the way we feel. Sometimes, however, it doesn’t seem to be enough and we still lack energy. But I have a solution: coffee prepared according to the five elements theory. It’s a perfect companion on a grey, gloomy winter day, as it will warm you up, give an energy boost and even strengthen immunity thanks to all the spices it contains. And the taste? Perfect.
Preparation
I poured water into a pot and boiled it. Then I added all the ingredients in the given order, keeping a two-minute break after each one. At the end I stirred in the coconut paste. You can also add some honey.
The two-minute break is the whole method
Adding everything at once and adding it in order with a pause between are two different drinks. Each spice gives up its aroma at its own rate: cinnamon and ginger need several minutes in hot water, cloves and cardamom release quickly and then turn medicinal if they sit too long.
Following the order in the list means cinnamon has been in the pot for eight minutes by the time the coffee goes in, and the cardamom for two. That is why the drink tastes layered rather than like a single spice mixture. Keep the water at a bare simmer rather than a boil during those minutes, because a hard boil drives the volatile oils off instead of into the water.
The coffee is brewed in the pot, not poured in
Ground coffee goes into the spiced water and cooks with it, the way Turkish coffee is made, which is why the recipe calls for natural ground coffee rather than instant. Use a medium grind rather than espresso-fine, or the drink turns muddy and the grounds refuse to settle.
Give it two to three minutes off the boil, then take the pot off the heat and let it stand for another two so the grounds sink. Pour slowly and stop before the last centimetre. If you want it clear, a paper filter works, though you lose some of the body the coconut paste is there to complement.
Salt and lemon in coffee are not a mistake
Both look out of place in the list and both are doing something. A pinch of salt suppresses bitterness, which is useful here because the coffee has been cooking rather than briefly brewed, and boiled coffee is more bitter than filtered. It does not make the drink salty at a pinch for two cups.
A few drops of lemon lift the spices and stop the whole thing tasting heavy. Add it at the end, off the heat, and do not overdo it: this is a drop or two, not a squeeze.
The coconut paste goes in last
Stirred into the drink off the heat, the coconut paste melts and gives the coffee its body and a soft finish, which is what the milk would do if there were any. It will separate if you add it to a boiling pot, leaving an oily film on the surface.
Honey, if you use it, goes in after the coconut paste and after the pot has stopped steaming. Honey stirred into something boiling loses its aroma and tastes simply of sugar.
Quantities and when to drink it
Two and a half cups of water make two servings, so halve everything for one and expect a mug rather than an espresso cup. The spice quantities are for that volume, and cloves in particular do not scale gently: four for two cups is right, eight would take over.
It is worth making fresh rather than reheating, since the spices keep extracting in the pot and a second warming makes them bitter. If you would rather have warming winter drinks and meals planned into the week with a shopping list, that is what the Diet & Training by Ann app does.
Warming spiced coffee
Ingredients
Method
- Pour the water into a pot and bring it to the boil, then lower the heat to a bare simmer.
- Add the spices in the order given, keeping a two-minute break after each one.
- Add the natural ground coffee and cook for two to three minutes off the boil.
- Take the pot off the heat and let it stand for two minutes so the grounds settle.
- Stir in the pinch of salt and a few drops of lemon juice.
- Stir in the coconut paste, and add honey once the pot has stopped steaming.
Notes
Frequently asked questions
Because each gives up its aroma at its own rate. Cinnamon and ginger need several minutes in hot water, while cloves and cardamom release quickly and turn medicinal if they sit too long. Following the order means cinnamon has had eight minutes by the time the coffee goes in and cardamom only two.
No, keep it at a bare simmer once the spices are in. A hard boil drives the volatile oils off instead of into the water, which is exactly what you are trying to extract.
Natural ground coffee, not instant, because it is cooked in the pot the way Turkish coffee is. Use a medium grind rather than espresso-fine, or the drink turns muddy and the grounds will not settle. Let the pot stand two minutes off the heat before pouring.
The pinch of salt suppresses bitterness, which matters here because cooked coffee is more bitter than filtered. The few drops of lemon lift the spices and stop the drink tasting heavy. Both go in at the end, off the heat, and both are small amounts.
Last, off the heat. It melts into the drink and gives it the body that milk would, but added to a boiling pot it separates and leaves an oily film. Honey follows it, once the pot has stopped steaming. Warming winter drinks and meals come planned into the week with a shopping list in the Diet & Training by Ann app.
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