Raf Coffee
Raf was not born in Italy but in a Moscow coffee bar in the nineties, made for one regular customer, and from there it spread across Eastern Europe. It differs from a latte in principle: nothing is layered — cream, sugar and espresso are steamed together, so the drink is the same from the first sip to the last.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 5 min
- Total
- 10 min
- Servings
- 2
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 230 kcal
Ingredients
Makes: 2 cups of 200 ml
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Pull the espresso
Make 60 ml of espresso and pour it straight into a tall jug — raf is steamed hot, and coffee that has cooled cannot be reheated without separating.
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Step 2: Add cream and sugar
Pour in the cream and milk and add both sugars. The sugar is not only for taste: it helps the cream whip into a dense, creamy body.
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Step 3: Steam it all together
Heat and froth for 30–40 seconds to 65 °C. It should turn even and pale, with fine bubbles throughout rather than a layer on top.
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Step 4: Pour
Serve at once in warmed cups. Raf does not wait: after five minutes the cream and coffee begin to separate.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Use 10% cream — that is what gives the right body. Anything from 20% up whips into a heavy cream, while plain milk leaves the drink hollow.
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Tip
Vanilla sugar can be replaced with half a teaspoon of vanilla extract or the seeds from a quarter pod, plus a little ordinary sugar.
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Variation
Citrus raf: steam a strip of orange zest with the cream and remove it before serving. Lavender raf: a pinch of dried flowers warmed in the cream.
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Storage
It does not keep. This is a drink you make two cups of and drink immediately.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 2 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 230 kcal | 460 kcal |
| Protein | 4 g | 8 g |
| Fat | 17 g | 34 g |
| Carbohydrates | 15 g | 30 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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