This type of coffee is originally from Valle d’Aosta, the landlocked Alpine region that borders with France and Switzerland. It is an alcoholic beverage based on coffee, which is usually shared by a group of people. It is served in a “friendship cup”, a traditional item hand-carved in walnut or maple wood, with a cavity where the beverage is poured and some spouts to drink from, one for each guest. The coffee is sipped in turn from the cup, which is passed clockwise among the guests. The cup goes round as many times as needed, in fact tradition wants that, once raised, the cup is not placed on the table until the coffee is finished.
Ingredients
– coffee prepared by direct infusion or with a moka pot
– grappa
– Genepì liqueur (traditional Valle d’Aosta liqueur made from mugwort)
– sugar
– lemon and orange peels
How to make it
Pour the coffee into the friendship cup and add sugar to taste, along with the orange and lemon peels. Wet the rim of the cup with the liqueur and then sprinkle it with sugar. Pour the rest of the liqueur and sugar into the cup and stir. Ignite the liquid, letting it burn until the sugar on the rim is caramelized, and then turn off the flame by closing the lid. Pass to the first friend sitting to your left.
