More international brews from Master Chef Louis P. De Gouy, The Gold Cook Book (1947). A few look rather involved but it is the holiday season!

ARMENIAN COFFEE

“This brew requires a special pot, a racquie, carried by Armenian or Syrian stores. These pots are of copper, nickel-lined, urn-shaped, with a long handle at the side.”

Serves 12

“Fill the racquie with cold water to within 2 inches of the top. Measure in 6 teaspoons of powdered sugar for the 12 cups. Place the sweetened water over a chafing dish flame, electric table stove, or “canned heat” and bring to a brisk boil. Now measure in 1 teaspoon of powdered coffee for each cup and add 1 or 2 cardamom seeds, slightly cracked. Let the brew come to a froth; at once lift the coffee pot—the racquie—from the heat, tap the pot once—twice, to settle the brew, then return to flame instantly. Again the brew bubbles, and again you remove it from the flame. Tap, and repeat the above procedure, once or even twice again. Now dip off the “skin” from the pot and divide among the 12 cups. Each cup must have its portion of the brown froth. Into the pot shake a drop or two of orange flower water, splash in cold water—about 1 teaspoon—to compel the unruly grounds to settle, and pour.”

CAFÉ MEXICAN

Serves 6

6 C strong black coffee, as hot as possible, sweetened with sugar to taste
½ C heavy cream, whipped
1/8 tsp (generous) ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp (generous) ground nutmeg

Fold cinnamon and nutmeg into whipped cream, and top individual servings of coffee evenly with mixture.

CAFÉ SYRIEN

“This consists of demi-tasse, or after-dinner coffee, very strong and black, served with 2 or 3 cracked cardamom seeds in each cup and sweetened to taste.”

CAFÉ TURQUE

Serves 2

“This can be made best with a lidless Turkish copper coffee pot. Lacking this, proceed as follows: Place 4 generous tablespoons of pulverized (powdered) coffee, and 4 tablespoons of sugar in a coffee pot, stir in 2 cups of cold water. Heat and stir till mixture comes to a brisk boil and is very frothy. Remove from the fire and let the froth subside; replace pot (a pan may be used, too) on a very hot flame. Repeat the process three times. Before serving, settle by adding a little cold water. If desired, add a few drops of rosewater to each cup.”

Café Mazagran, Café Gloria, and Café Flamand below

CAFÉ MAZAGRAN

In the seventeenth century many southern Europeans believed that a dark complexion was a sign of manliness and bathed their faces in black coffee twice a day, hoping to achieve the desired result. Although ignorant of antiseptics as such, Arabian physicians in A.D. 1200 used black coffee to wash their patients’ wounds.”

“Consists of double-strength black coffee mixed with equal parts of red wine, and is always served very hot, sweetened to taste.”

CAFÉ GLORIA

“This French after-dinner coffee is very popular and easy to prepare. … Also known as Café Royal.”

Sugar cube, one for each little after-dinner coffee cup
Double-strength coffee, prepared
Good cognac

Drop a sugar cube into each coffee cup, then fill each cup half-way with coffee. Fill up each cup with cognac, very slowly and carefully, touch with a lighted match, let it burn a few seconds, “never too long or the flame destroys all the alcohol and love’s labor is lost,” stir, and drink “as hot as the mouth will stand without making faces!”

CAFÉ FLAMAND

Coffee, prepared by pot method using 1 heaping tablespoon strong, fragrant coffee for each coffee cup and 2 additional tablespoons for the pot, 1 egg beaten lightly added to coffee grounds
Boiling water
2 egg whites, beaten stiff
2 C thick sweet cream
Sugar

Fill pot three-quarters full of boiling water, let boil up, stir down, then boil for 3 minutes. Fill pot to top with boiling water, and keep hot for 10 minutes to brew and to mellow. Just before serving in heated cups, add cream to stiffly beaten egg whites, sweeten mixture to taste, pour a quantity of this mixture into each cup, and add hot coffee. Serve as hot as possible,