Avocado Coffee (Es Alpukat Kopi)

Recommended coffee: 

Grind size: Medium to medium-coarse for phin

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Raise your hands if you’ve ever asked for extra guacamole at Chipotle or spent $12 on two slices of avocado toasts for brunch, which probably costs you only one-third of the price to make it at home? If you plead guilty, we are then on the same team #AvocadoAddicts. 

Before learning avocado can be cooked with savory dishes, as a Vietnamese, I grew up having this delicious nutrient fruit (yes, it’s a fruit) blended into shakes. Sinh tố bơ (avocados smoothie) is like a household staple in Saigon: you can find it from a neighborhood mom-and-pop dessert shop to a luxurious five-star restaurant. Same ingredients but different price tags. 

Avocado shake, in fact, is also popular in Indonesia as well as the Philippines and Brazil. I discovered about es alpukat kopi (iced coffee with avocado and chocolate syrup) a few years ago at Kopi Kopi, an Indonesian coffeehouse near NYU in Greenwich Village. My first sip of the Indonesian-styled avocado coffee combo was unforgettable enlightenment. The buttery green berry, the mildly sweet condensed milk, the chocolatey fudge, and the punchy coffee on a bed of crushed ice, all harmoniously swirl together, melting in my mouth.  

My version of es alpukat is very simple with 5 ingredients: coffee, ripe avocado, condensed milk, oat milk, and ice. You can be creative by adding coconut milk or young coconut meat, or toasted coconut chips. 

 

INGREDIENTS

  • 2.5-3 tablespoons (~25g or .88oz) of medium-dark or dark roast coffee

  • 1 medium ripe avocado, halved and pitted

  • 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk

  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup of whole-milk or alternative (I usually go for either oat milk or soy milk)

  • 1 cup crushed ice 

  • 1 teaspoon of sugar (optional) 

  • Chocolate syrup (optional)


INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Prep your coffee by grinding the beans to a medium coarseness. For this recipe, we chose to brew with the Vietnamese coffee filter (phin). The brew time takes about 8-10 minutes. You can check out our full tutorial on how to use phin here. 

  2. Scoop out the avocado flesh into a glass or bowl. 

  3. Add 2 tablespoons of condensed milk or more if you’re a sweet tooth. 

  4. There are two options: (1) gently smash the avocado with a fork/spoon or (2) mix it in a blender. If you choose the latter, add about 3/4 cup of regular or plant-based milk.

  5. Blend everything at a high speed until the mixture becomes smooth and pourable. However, I prefer leaving my avocado shake a little bit chunky. 

  6. Coat the glass with chocolate syrup (this step is optional).

  7. Pour the blended mixture into the glass, then crushed ice and top with the chilled coffee.  


recipeAndrea Ngorecipe, phin, healthyComment