Rüdesheim Coffee (Middle Rhine, Germany)
Rüdesheim Coffee is a unique German coffee cocktail featuring flambeed sweetened brandy topped with strong coffee, whipped cream and shaved chocolate.
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Espresso, Turkish coffee, Americano, Cafe au Lait, Café Cubano, Kaffe, Irish Coffee. No matter the country, coffee plays a key role in local traditions and recipes throughout the world. And some of the recipes are pretty unique when compared to American-style coffee recipes. (Ok, maybe the Pumpkin Spice Latte is America’s answer to a unique coffee recipe.) There’s the Espresso Romano where a shot of espresso is served with a slice of lemon. There’s the Guillermo where hot espresso is poured over slices of lime and then topped with a touch of milk. There’s Vietnamese Egg Coffee where strong coffee is layered with egg yolks, sugar and condensed milk. And then there’s the Rudesheim Coffee where flambeed brandy is extinguished with hot coffee.
Rudesheim Coffee (or Rüdesheimer Kaffee) takes it’s name from the quaint German town of Rüdesheim am Rhein. Located right along the banks of the Rhine river, Rüdesheim is known for it’s winemaking, especially Reislings. It’s also located on the northern end of the Rhine Gorge, which was a highlight of our trip when Laura and I went on a Rhine river cruise this past summer. The Rhine Gorge, also referred to as the Middle Rhine, has been an important trading route for centuries. Not surprisingly, over time, castles popped up every few miles as a way of protecting and defending this trade route. Today, the Rhine Gorge is home to literally dozens of picturesque castles that dot both banks of the river. Although many of these castles are in ruins, they are nevertheless one of the most popular features of a Rhine river cruise.
After leaving Rüdesheim, Laura and I scouted out a spot on the top of our cruise ship for our afternoon trip through the Middle Rhine. For several hours, we caught glimpses of more than 40 different castles over just a 67-kilometer stretch of the river. Vineyards planted along steep riverbanks and German villages that could be straight out of children’s storybooks set the backdrop to this region. Add in the towering castles, and you can begin to understand why this region is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As I sat on the top of the ship, I couldn’t help but think what it would have been like to live back in the late middle ages when these castles were first built. If you ever get the chance to visit this portion of the Rhine river, do it!
After we sailed through the Middle Rhine, the bartender on our Viking ship hosted a demonstration on how to make Rüdesheim Coffee. I wasn’t familiar with this drink prior to the trip, but it’s a fun one! (Hint: It involves fire!)
Rüdesheim Coffee begins by heating sugar and Asbach brandy until the sugar catches fire. The brandy is then transferred into a coffee cup where strong coffee is poured on top to put out the flames. Garnish the top of the glass with fresh whipped cream and chocolate flakes, and you’ve got a cocktail that’s perfect for cold winter days!
Rüdesheim Coffee is often served in these uniquely shaped glasses, but you could totally serve these in Irish coffee mugs or even standard coffee mugs…just use whatever you have in the cabinet! We had friends over for dinner recently, and we made Rüdesheim coffee for dessert using decaf coffee. It was a fun recipe to make for a crowd! As we hunker down and enjoy these last few days before New Year’s, whip up a Rüdesheim Coffee and curl up on the couch. Cheers!
This post was inspired by our Viking River Cruise down the Rhine River. Click below for other posts inspired by this trip!
Days 1+2: Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Ontbijtkoek
Day 3: Cologne, Germany (2-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream)
Day 4: Middle Rhine, Germany (Rüdesheim Coffee)
Day 5: Heidelberg, Germany (Flammkuchen)
Day 6: Strasbourg, France (Pain d’Epices)
Day 7: Black Forest, Germany (Black Forest Cake)
Rüdesheim Coffee
Ingredients
- 3 tsp sugar or 3 sugar cubes
- 2 oz. brandy traditionally made with Asbach brandy
- 4 oz. hot coffee
- {garnish} sweetened whipped cream
- {garnish} shaved dark chocolate
Instructions
- Place the sugar and brandy in bottom of a heat-proof mug; stir until sugar has dissolved.
- Using a long match (like a fireplace match), light the brandy and let it burn for 60 seconds.
- Pour hot coffee into mug. (This will extinguish the flame.)
- Garnish top of coffee with whipped cream and shaved chocolate before serving.
The Rhine is a beautiful part of Germany, I know you must have enjoyed the river cruise. Love the little coffee cups they used for the coffee.
Oh, we really did enjoy that cruise so much, Karen! And we still enjoy going back and looking at the pictures and reliving the memories. Of course, food (and drinks) play a huge part in memories for us, and I’ve got to say that Rudesheim coffee is now a fun drink to keep in our repertoire. Thanks so much for the comment, and I hope you had a wonderful holiday break, my friend!
Wow sounds like a beautiful place! Hope you are having a nice holiday time with your family David. Wish you all a very happy new year 2018! 🙂
The middle Rhine region is such an amazing place, Manali! All of the castles are just incredible. We did indeed have a wonderful holiday, and I hope you did, too! Cheers to 2018, my friend! 🙂
I loved seeing these pictures of your Rhine river cruise and in particular how the hillsides are covered in vineyards! Lynne and I have added “Rhine river cruise” to our ever growing bucket list of things we HAVE to do! (I may have said that before), all we need now is the time off work and the money to do it! And now that you’ve shared this amazing Rüdesheim Coffee recipe I’ve got to taste this too! I hope you guys have a wonderful New Year. Catch up with you in 2018! 😀
Oh, a Rhine river cruise definitely (definitely!!) needs to go on your list, Neil. It’s such an incredible place, and we had a blast! We did indeed have a wonderful holiday, and I’m just now getting caught back up from the break. I hope you and Lynne had a wonderful break! Happy New Year, my friend!
This makes me very proud to be part German. I can totally get behind a drink that involves both coffee and fire! When I was in Germany in high school we did a little day trip down the Rhine but I really want to go back and spend more time; your pictures are making me crave an adventure! Hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas!
Seriously! Any drink that involves coffee and fire is sure to get bookmarked by me. 🙂 I totally forgot that you are part German, though. You should plan a trip back down the Rhine for sure. That is one amazing part of the world, and I highly suspect I’ll be visiting it again at some point. 🙂 Thanks so much, my friend!
Gosh – David, those pictures of that castle and those buildings! Spectacular! You’ve making me wanna book a cruise down the Rhine river now!
This is my first time hearing about “Rudesheim Coffee” – but any coffee that involves flambeed brandy gets a thumbs up from me!
Hoping you, Laura, Robbie and everyone else that’s part of the Spiced clan had a wonderful Christmas…and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
You should totally put a Rhine river cruise on the bucket list, Shashi! I’m thinking you and Lil Shashi would have a blast. The middle Rhine is an amazing stretch of scenery…no wonder it’s been labeled as a UNESCO World Heritage sight! So I didn’t know about Rudesheim Coffee before that trip either, but any drink that involves coffee and fire is a winner in my book. Haha! Thanks so much, my friend!
Sounds pretty awesome, both your cruise and the coffee. It amazing just how many castles exist in Europe isn’t it, but the Rhine is just stacked full of history. I’m a sucker for pretty much any Germanic food, but I’d never heard of this before. It does sound like a perfect way to end a meal, or the end of the day, or the year! Happy New Year!
Tell me about it, Matt! Europe has so many amazing castles. America is a younger country, so we totally miss out on the awesome castles. We loved our trip down the Rhine, and I suspect we’ll visit that part of the world again at some point. It’s beautiful over there! We hadn’t heard of Rudesheim Coffee before that trip, but now it’s in our repertoire of fun drinks to make. Any drink that involves brandy, coffee and fire sounds like a winner to me! Haha! Happy New Year, my friend!
Oh wow…. what a lovely place David… Wish you and your family a very happy new year. 🙂
The Rhine region really is an amazing place, Puja! It’s so beautiful over there. 🙂 Happy New Year to you and your family as well! And here’s to a wonderful 2018!