A shakerato is espresso shaken with ice until the crema whips into a thick, pale foam. There is no milk in it — the body comes entirely from the shaking. Made with muscovado rather than white sugar it picks up a molasses depth that suits the drink, and it stays cold far longer than it has any right to.
What you need
- 18g of coffee, ground fine
- A 36g double espresso
- 8g of muscovado
- A cocktail shaker, or a jar with a tight lid
- Ice, plenty of it, in large pieces
- A chilled coupe or small tumbler
The method
- Put the glass in the freezer while you set up.
- Pull the shot into the shaker and stir the muscovado through it straight away, while it is hot enough to dissolve.
- Fill the shaker with ice.
- Seal it and shake hard for fifteen to twenty seconds. The tin should frost.
- Strain into the chilled glass, holding the ice back. The foam pours last — let it settle on top.
Why muscovado
Muscovado is unrefined, so it keeps the molasses that refining strips out. Against a dark-fruited espresso that reads as depth rather than as sweetness. Dissolve it in the hot shot; stirred into the ice it will sit in the bottom of the shaker as grit.
Shaking it properly
Large ice, and shake harder than feels dignified. Small ice melts too quickly and waters the drink, while a short, polite shake gives you cold espresso and no foam at all. You are aerating, not simply chilling.
Which coffee
A shakerato concentrates whatever the espresso already has, edges included. Darago is the safe and the interesting choice at once — caramel and toasted almond, with a milk chocolate finish that meets the muscovado on its own terms.