Milk and coffee (Γάλα με καφέ)

Thanks for sharing!

This is a silly little recipe.  We wonder if it is even a recipe at all!  Regardless of whether it is or not, we couldn’t resist sharing this post, primarily because many of you seem to enjoy the memories that Mia Kouppa brings up.  So, we wonder, how many of you were served warm milk with a touch of coffee growing up?

Although not a daily occurrence, our parents would occasionally warm up a mug of milk and stir a little bit of instant coffee into it.  We suppose that they did this to make the milk tastier, and was it ever!  Several years later, enjoying our first grown up cafe au lait in a coffee shop, we recognized the taste;  we couldn’t place it exactly, as it had been years since we had last enjoyed this childhood treat, but then, it all came back.  The smell of the warm milk, the sight of the coffee granules dissolving in the creamy white liquid, the heat on our tongues, the sticky remnants of our milk moustaches, and the sound of our mother’s voice asking us if it was just the way we liked it.


We are always surprised when people turn their noses up at instant coffee; in our home growing up, instant coffee was pretty much all our parents drank (unless of course they were having Greek coffee).  Even when company was over, the water was boiled and instant coffee was served.  It was only during very large gatherings that the coffee pot was pulled out and coffee was brewed; not necessarily because it was preferred, but because in many ways, it was easier.  For one of us, instant coffee remains a preferred way to get our caffeine fix.  There is no other coffee that is as piping hot, as easy to prepare, or as nostalgic.


Helpful hints
There are many varieties of instant coffee available, and today, decaffeinated coffee is very easy to find.  If caffeine consumption is a concern, go for decaf.  Personally, we don’t think there is any difference in taste.
The milk you use is at your discretion.  Whether you use whole milk, 2% milk fat, soy or almond milk be careful when you are warming it up.  Milk has a tendency to scorch quite easily.  Keep you heat at medium, and be prepared to remove your milk as soon as it starts to make small little bubbles.
Fill the mug that you will be drinking out of with milk, in order to measure the amount you will need.

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