RED MOKA ESPRESSO

 

Make two batches -espresso and moka- and serve in demitasse. But here's what you need to prepare the day before: pan-roasted brown rice (half a cup, uncooked), stirred constantly over super low, oil-less heat, until three tones darker with uneven charring, rendered about 45 minutes, more or less.

Morning. I would play the opera Thais, by Jules Massenet, while preparing this coffee (according to the gypsy vendor in Guatemala where I bought the cocoa bars, one must seduce the "underlying" value of the chocolate to pleasure you) - so there you go.   

In a small saucepan over microheat, pour 2 cups of whole milk, and no-boil simmer. When vapors rise, add 1 tbsp of ground-to-powder (with mortar and pestle) roasted brown rice, an ounce of the gypsy-bought cocoa nibs (go to La Antigua, Guatemala the week before), one piece of Portland's Harry and David chocolate cherries, a small pinch of hibiscus tea leaves (Sahadi's would have those), and a tsp of sugar. Stir delicately with a whisk... until the "heart of the chocolate bleeds."

To make the espresso in a Bialetti is pretty straightforward. But of course: coffee matters. I'm an Illy person. Try that.

Serve: Fill demitasse with espresso to three fourths (by now you should've transferred the moka in a Turkish coffee maker because it has a lipped brim) - and "kiss" the cherry on top!