Wake Up & Feel The Buzz On National Coffee Day!

Coffee! It’s almost as important as alcohol! (And, in some situations even more necessary to get through the day!) Of all the foods and beverages that get their own national holiday, coffee deserves it the most, if you ask me. I mean, it’s been around 1,500 years! It’s also responsible for ridiculously obnoxious yet super fun lingo like, “I’ll have a triple venti non-fat half-sweet hazelnut mach with whip and light chocolate drizzle!”  So, to celebrate National Coffee Day, we decided to serve up a little trivia and a drink recipe that contains the two most important ingredients in the world: coffee and booze!

Fun Facts About Coffee

• Coffee is a fruit! Yep, coffee beans are the seeds inside a cherry-like fruit.
• There are two coffee species; arabica and robusta
• Coffee plants can live up to 200 years though the average lifespan is 70
• Legend has it coffee was discovered by a herder searching for his lost, overly caffeinated goats
• Coffee beans can be green, yellow, orange or red depending on the varietal
• Light roasts have more caffeine than dark roasts
• Shade grown coffee is lower in acid

The Maple Coffee Cocktail!

With coffee, bourbon and maple flavors, it’s perfect for fall! This is just one of the exotically delicious and buzz-worthy coffee cocktails we discovered from Imbibe Magazine. Check out other cocktail recipes, if you’re looking for more ways to bump up your brew. Here’s what you’ll need for this one:

1½ oz. bourbon

1½ oz. cold-brew coffee

½ oz. falernum

2 dashes chocolate bitters

2 barspoons maple simple syrup*

1 barspoon Frangelico

1 scoop vanilla ice cream

Tools: shaker, strainer

Glass: coupe

Garnish: coffee grounds

Combine all ingredients in shaker with ice. Shake to chill, strain and garnish.

Maple Simple Syrup

Mix 2 cups of maple syrup and 1 cup of water into a pot, shave in about a quarter of nutmeg and throw in 3 cinnamon sticks, bring to a slow boil stirring regularly as to not let it burn. Remove from heat and let cool.

Recipe by Travis Deakins, Jacoby’s Restaurant and Mercantile, Austin

What’s your favorite coffee drink? Let us know in the comments below!