This week another cup of coffee with a wonderful piece of history behind it: Vienna coffee.
Its origin goes back to 1683 when Vienna is under siege by the Turks. The city is on the verge of surrendering, when a young Polish lad shows up, Franz Georg Kolschitzky. He has lived in Istanbul for 10 years and speaks Turkish fluently. Aided by the information Franz manages to gather from the enemy, the Duke of Lorraine attacks the Turkish army and forces them to retreat.
In their haste the Turks leave behind not only cannons and ammunition, but also 500 bags of coffee. Franz is bombarded a hero and receives the bags of coffee and permission to open a coffee house. He prepares the coffee the way he learned in Istanbul, but the people of Vienna didn't like the concoction. Kolschitzky then decided to filter the coffee and add a spoon of cream and honey. It is an instant success that continues to be popular to this day.
Vienna coffee
1 cup strong coffee
50 cc milk
2 tbsp whipped cream
1/2 egg yolk
1 tbsp sugar
chocolate chips and cinnamon
1 cup strong coffee
50 cc milk
2 tbsp whipped cream
1/2 egg yolk
1 tbsp sugar
chocolate chips and cinnamon
Whisk the egg yolk with the sugar. Mix coffee with milk and bring to a boil. Pour the coffee in a cup and add the egg yolk mixture and continue to stir. Add the whipped cream on top of the coffee. Sprinkle cinnamon and chocolate chips on top and serve.