The Best Vegan Irish Coffee Recipe(s)

If the Internet was going to get another recipe, we wanted to make it a good one... the best even. And since the only thing better than one vegan recipe is two, we not only veganized the traditional Irish coffee for you, we also created a twist with espresso. They're both simple and delicious, so let's not put any more words between you and the best Irish coffee on the world wide web...

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Traditional Irish Coffee

Yield/Serving: 1 cup

Ingredients

- 3 tbsp. coffee (We used our medium roast Honduras.)

- 2 cup (16 oz.) very hot water (half for coffee brewing and half to pre-warm your drinking glass)

- 1 tsp. sugar in the raw or brown sugar

- 2 tbsp. (1.5 oz.) Irish whiskey (Check Barnivore.com for vegan-friendly whiskeys, like Jameson.)

- 1/4 can (2 oz.) coconut milk (well combined)

Tools

- coffee brewer (We used a French press. You can use anything that will yield 8 oz. of coffee.)

- coffee grinder (a burr grinder is preferred for even grinding)

- whisk

- spoon

- 10 oz. drinking glass 

Directions

- Fill your glass with hot water to pre-warm. Set it aside. Don't burn yourself. 

- Coarsely grind the coffee. (Usually the largest setting on your coffee grinder will work.*)

- Pour coffee into the French press, saturate with just enough very hot water to cover the grounds (about 1 oz.), wait 30 seconds, fill the French press with the remaining 7 oz. of hot water, brew to an additional 3 minutes, and depress the plunger. (Tip: Allow boiling water to rest for 30 seconds before brewing to ensure your water isn't too hot.)

- Whisk your coconut milk for 30-60 seconds to aerate and thicken. Stop before you make whipped cream.

- Pour the hot water out of your pre-warmed glass and put the sugar into the glass.

- Add the whiskey.

- Top with hot coffee, filling mug up about 3/4 full.

- Slowly add the thickened coconut milk to the top of your drink by pouring it over the back of a spoon or gently scooping it onto the top of the coffee so it floats. (Traditional Irish coffee is meant to be sipped through a top layer of cream.)

- Enjoy immediately!

* If you are using a blade style grinder, try 4-5 short pulses, thoroughly agitating the beans inside the grinder between each pulse to ensure that most of your coffee doesn't grind too fine.

Irish Espresso

Yield/Serving: 1 cup

Ingredients

- 2 oz. freshly pulled espresso shot (this will take about 16 g / 2.25 tbsp. of coffee ground for espresso)

- 2 tbsp. (1.5 oz.) Irish whiskey

- 1 cup (8 oz.) very hot water to pre-warm your drinking glass

- 5 oz. your favorite plant-basedmilk (we used soy)

Note: We are skipping the sugar for this alternative recipe to showcase the natural sweet flavor of the espresso. 

Tools

- espresso machine (You can also use a Moka pot.)

- coffee grinder

- 10 oz. drinking glass 

Directions

- Fill your glass with hot water to pre-warm, let it sit for 30 seconds, and pour it out. 

- Add the whiskey.

- Pull your espresso shot right on top of the whiskey. 

- Steam your non-dairy milk until warm and well textured and slowly pour onto your whiskey/coffee, allowing the foam to settle on the top.

- Enjoy immediately!