Last Saturday, we had an awesome opportunity to throw an #Affogato Party with our friends from Creamier, Singapore's leading makers of hand-crafted ice cream. It was a treat sharing and pairing Specialty Coffee capsules from St. Ali, PPP Coffee and April Coffee with Creamier's best selling flavours.
During the process of pairing and sharing the Affogatos with their customers, it made us think through what makes an affogato delicious. Here's what we came up with:
1. Start With High Quality Ingredients
Affogatos are one of the simplest things to make and out of convenience. You can just pick up the a pint of Vanilla ice cream and any coffee from the grocery aisle and you'll be fine. What we learned with Creamier is that if you start off with high quality, fresh ingredients like their ice cream and pair that with complex, layered coffees, the Affogato just levels up like never before.
2. The Sum Must Be Greater Than Its Parts
When choosing the ice cream and coffee pairing, we thought that it was going to be simple and fuss-free. We were wrong! Pairing complex coffees with different flavours of ice cream was not an easy task. At the end of the day, we were looking for flavours that contrast or compliment, with the finishing product being even more delicious than the coffee and ice cream enjoyed separately.
3. It Must Look Presentable
There is truth in the statement that we eat first with our eyes. With an Affogato, you can dress it up with toppings but with a simple ice cream and coffee combination, there's still an art in serving and presenting this dessert (or beverage, or snack, whatever you may call it). We like scooping the ice cream as we pull the espresso. This allows for the espresso to cool down so when we pour it onto the ice cream, it doesn't melt immediately. Also, we prefer pouring the espresso onto the ice cream using a spouted demitasse to avoid spilling all over the place.
We hope that the tips above help you the next time you prepare and enjoy an Affogato at home. If you missed our #AffogatoParty last weekend, don't fret. Creamier is selling the Affogato pairings and their Affogato Party Happiness Box showcasing the pints and coffee capsules we served during the event! Click here to get yourself a Happiness Box! See you at the next #AffogatoParty!