I can speak some pretty high praises about coffee. It gets you up in the morning, takes the edge off at night, often relieves me from a very deep hangover, there’s not much this little elixir can’t do really. And, when met by its good mate liquor, beautiful things happen, which often look a lot like espresso martinis and a big night out. But apparently coffee’s ability to kick up a cocktail doesn’t just stop at the martini.
Meet Matteo Fabbris, Brand Ambassador for Tia Maria and everyday coffee connoisseur.
Meet Fabbris
Beyond the cliches, we’ve come to trust Italians for many things, their understanding of coffee, great pasta and beautiful fashion to name a few. So when Italian born Matteo, originally from Genoa, a small city on the Ligurian coast not far from the Cinque Terre, explains that coffee and mint go well together, I’m more than inclined to believe him.
The brand ambassador for Tia Maria, Matteo and the coffee liqueur brand have recently teamed up with Rosebery based Welcome Dose Specialty Coffee to launch the Tia Maria + Coffee Project in Australia. The worldwide project comes off the back of an increasing interest in coffee based cocktails and aspires to give coffee drinkers the opportunity to sip on innovative coffee cocktails thanks to recipes crafted by renowned mixologists and expert baristas.
.“There’s an increasing love for coffee cocktails, which can be seen at world-class bars in key cocktail cities, while artisan coffee houses are now serving cocktails through the night as a café nightlife culture continues to emerge. The bartender and barista play a very similar role so it’s no surprise we’ve brought the two together to drive this new coffee revolution.”
Coffee meets cocktails
As a true Italian, Matteo drinks a few espressos everyday. He understands coffee culture as it stands, and when you’ve worked behind the bar in London, Milan and many other international cities, it’s easy to pick what trends will stick.
“Generally people are used to drinking some sort of the Espresso Martini twist. However what we have done with our new Tia Maria coffee cocktails is demonstrate that coffee is much more versatile flavour than most people think.
“With flavour books on hand, we have matched flavours with coffee that turned out to be surprisingly tasty such as popcorn and mint to create drinks such as the Iced Popcorn Frappe and Tia Mint Americano, which constitutes our brand new offering.”
More than a hot trend
Up until a couple of years ago there was really only the classic espresso martini surfacing when it came to coffee based cocktails. But according to Matteo it was only a matter of time till bartenders began experimenting with unique twists on the classic coffee drink.
“It’s fantastic to see boutique coffee roasters and craft producers doing their own thing and providing their own insight on how to achieve the perfect brew. Speciality coffee produces help to strengthen the industry as a whole, educating people as to what’s involved in coffee making, as well as supporting communities in developing countries who grow the coffee.”
Learn more or dabble in some delightful coffee cocktail recipes from Matteo and his team here.
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