The New Art of Coffee: From Morning Cup to Caffeine Cocktail, written by Ryan Castelaz, features an incredibly creative collection of 40 hot and cold coffee-based drink recipes paired with guides on brewing, essential tools, flavor profiles, and more. I will also be sharing his recipe for Graham Cracker Milk following the review.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Rizzoli in exchange for my honest review. All comments and opinions are my own. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.
Ryan Castelaz
Ryan Castelaz is the founder and creative director of Discourse Coffee, originally in Door County and now in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
His work has been featured in Wisconsin Foodie, Barista Magazine, Food & Wine, Plate Magazine, Daily Coffee News, El Restaurante, Clever Root, Milwaukee Mag, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and Door County Living.
The New Art of Coffee
Ryan begins The New Art of Coffee with a short introduction before jumping into quite the detailed guide highlighting every step of the brewing process.
The book is separated into three parts- Part One: The Coffee Bar, Part Two: Coffee Awakened, and Part Three: Recipes.
The pages are filled with a history of coffee, different characteristics based on region, species and varietals, types of processing, and even differences in flavor based on the concentration of minerals in the water.
Beginners will appreciate the techniques and remedies for over/under extraction, notes on the different types of brewing methods, and other essential equipment.
I especially love the abundance of tips to make the best use of your ingredients (also while minimizing waste) and how to build them together into quite the fantastic drink.
The photography is provided by Kevin Miyazaki with illustrations by Olivia Molter. Each drink is paired with at least one beautifully styled photo of the finished product and often more of the highlighted ingredients as well.
Measurements are listed in US Customary and Metric. Every recipe includes a headnote with background information, prep and build difficulty, equipment, helpful tips, and notable flavors.
Graham Cracker Milk
The Graham Cracker Milk was such a favorite as a component of the Overseas Open for me and on its own for the kids.
It comes together easily, but does take some planning to allow the ingredients to infuse.
Simply blend together whole milk with graham crackers and thinly sliced marshmallows, then infuse in the refrigerator for 2 hours before straining.
If you do not have a blender available, you can also muddle together the ingredients and infuse in the refrigerator for 12 to 16 hours.
Overseas Open
In The New Art of Coffee, the Graham Cracker Milk is one part of the Overseas Open. I’ve made a S’mores Latte before, but the building of flavors in this drink brings it to a whole new level.
The Graham Cracker Milk is combined with espresso, drinking chocolate, maplewood smoke, and a maple syrup water/crushed graham cracker rim. To serve, garnish with a toasted marshmallow on a cocktail pick.
This was actually my first time working with smoke and I am having so much fun with it.
More Drinks
I also made the Pappy, Moonwater, The Currant, and Oreo Ball Cookie Steamer.
Pappy is the very first drink in the recipes section. It was such a wonderful start too! Espresso is combined with Pappy & Co. Bourbon Barrel-Aged Pure Maple Syrup, steamed milk, black lava salt, and three sprays of atomized bourbon to finish.
Moonwater is another incredibly comforting drink. Espresso is paired with a honey syrup, moonwater mix (applewood smoked sea salt, black pepper, and cinnamon), and steamed milk.
The Currant is one of the easiest drinks with only four ingredients total. Steeped black currant tea is used as the base to create a slow drip coffee, then it is combined with milk for a wonderful and refreshing iced latte.
After trying the Graham Cracker Milk, the kids were asking for another flavored milk and I saw the variety of cookie-based steamers. The Oreo Ball Cookie Steamer was another favorite. An Oreo crème mixture is paired with steamed Oreo-infused milk and topped with crushed Oreo cookies.
The New Age of Coffee is a great pick for those interested in taking their home brewing to a new level or add a bit of fun to their morning drinks. Most of the drinks include more than one component and occasionally some planning ahead, but the separate steps are relatively simple with incredible results.
Many of the ingredients are available in larger grocery stores. A few items that may require further searching include black lava salt, Metolius Chai concentrate, mace, edible flowers, cocoa butter, fresh lemongrass, Tamicon tamarind concentrate, sumac, rose water, and more.
A variety of specialty equipment (particularly an espresso machine) are helpful in creating the recipes in the book. Alternative methods are provided when possible to make a version of the drink (taste may not be the same).
Graham Cracker Milk Recipe
Excerpt from The New Art of Coffee
Graham Cracker Milk
Ingredients
- 950 milliliters (32 ounces) whole milk
- 200 grams (7 ounces) Honeymaid graham crackers
- 50 grams (1 cup) marshmallows thinly sliced
Instructions
- Combine the milk, graham crackers, and sliced marshmallows in a blender pitcher and blend on high for 30 seconds.
- Transfer the pitcher to the fridge to infuse for 2 hours, then strain the milk through a nut milk bag into a resealable container.
- In lieu of a blender, muddle the ingredients together in a large, resealable container, then infuse for 12 to 16 hours in the fridge before straining through a nut milk bag.
- Reserve the graham cracker milk in the resealable container in the fridge until the milk's best-by date.
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