Spice it up!
Coffee for cool weather.
While a good old-fashioned cup of joe doesn’t need much fuss, cooler weather gives us an excuse to have a little fun with our favorite brew.
A shake of cinnamon, a splash of maple syrup or a spoonful of pumpkin can turn your coffee into a drink that makes you want to slow down and linger longer.
Grab your favorite vintage mug, pull up a rocker and let’s get ready to spice things up.
Go Wild
Start with flavors that already seem at home.
Real maple syrup is one of the easiest. It adds an earthy sweetness that pairs naturally with coffee. A little goes a long way, particularly in medium or dark roast brews.
You can also raid the spice cabinet to shake things up. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and cardamom add flavor and warmth. Add a small amount to coffee grounds before brewing or sprinkle your favorite spices over the top.
Embrace the season by adding dried orange peel and a few whole cloves to grounds before brewing.
Perk Up With Pumpkin
While pumpkin spice is a coffee-shop classic, it can also be a home favorite.
Combine pumpkin purée with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Sweeten the mixture with maple syrup and add it to your coffee.
Warm milk or cream completes the cup. Top it with cinnamon and enjoy it on the porch on a crisp fall morning.
Bring Back Camp Coffee
Before countertop coffee machines, coffee bubbled in percolators on kitchen stoves, woodstoves and campfires. Dig out Grandma’s old percolator, or pick one up at an antique shop, and put it back to work.
The same goes for a vintage plaid Thermos. Fill it before a day of ice fishing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing or cutting wood.
Coffee doesn’t have to come from a café to become an occasion. Sometimes pouring a cup of Joe from a thermos while snowshoeing across a frozen lake tastes even better.
A Mug With a Past
Forget matching mugs. A Northwoods coffee cup collection should look like it was assembled over decades.
Keep an eye out at flea markets, estate sales and antique shops for old diner mugs, stoneware cups, speckled enamelware and advertising mugs.
Even better are vintage mugs from Northwoods resorts, supper clubs, lodges, taverns and small-town businesses. A mug from a long-gone fishing resort or favorite lake community is a piece of Northwoods history.
Display your collection instead of hiding it away. Hang mugs from wooden pegs beneath a shelf, line them up beside the coffee pot or create a coffee corner with an old percolator, vintage coffee tin and plaid Thermos.
Pull an old resort mug from the shelf, pour yourself a hot cup and claim a spot where you can watch the leaves dance from the trees or the first snowflakes sprinkle the ground.
Now that’s a cup worth lingering over.
White Arrows Home Cabin Coffee
(Makes 1 large mug)
Ingredients
- 8 oz. freshly brewed medium- or dark-roast coffee
- 1 to 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of cinnamon
- Tiny pinch of nutmeg
- 2 to 3 Tbsp. warm milk, half-and-half or cream
- Whipped cream, optional
- Cinnamon stick, optional
Directions
Pour hot coffee into a favorite mug. Stir in maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Warm the milk or cream and froth it if desired. Pour it over the coffee and stir gently. For an extra-indulgent fireside version, add whipped cream and a cinnamon stick.
