Orange Scented Coffee

I love coffee. I love everything about it. The incredible smell of the beans. Sipping coffee from one of my pottery mugs with a book. Sipping coffee in a cozy coffee shop with a friend....the warmth of a mug full of coffee in my hands.....If I had to choose between chocolate and coffee, my choice is an easy one.

I'm sure you've had orange and chocolate, but how about orange and coffee? So. Good.

Starbucks has a drink called a Mocha Valencia. Chocolate, coffee and orange. Oh. My. God. *

You can make orange scented coffee at home, it's really easy.

1. Put the zest of one orange into your coffee carafe before you brew your coffee. You can use a vegetable peeler and plop the zest straight into your carafe. I use a rasp to grate my zest, then put the zest into a tea ball and immerse that into my carafe.**
2. Brew your coffee as usual.
3. Make sure you remove the zest from the carafe after the coffee is finished brewing. If you don't remove it, the zest will steep in the coffee too long and make it bitter.
4. Add cream/sugar/soy to your liking.

Sit back with a book or a friend and enjoy.


*Unfortunately the last time I tried to order one, they told me they had discontinued it. It hasn't been on the menu for years, so people obviously were not ordering it. I hope it was just that particular Starbucks, but I have a sinking feeling it isn't.
** Zest one orange for 4-6 cups of coffee. Use more oranges if you are making more than this.