The Middle East has its own specific coffee culture and methods for brewing Turkish black coffee in a finjan. Taking your time, great hospitality and a sprinkle of cardamon is part of the story, and with everything in the Middle East, every good recipe includes a dash of love. A new intersection of two essential ingredients, a staple for food (as oil and fruit) and a much-loved drink have come together at Starbucks in the United States and now in the Middle East. The latest marriage? Coffee with olive oil. This follows on the heels of a global trend that made a spoon of butter in your coffee a regular thing. And olives (there are over 100 varieties around the world) are a staple of the Mediterranean Diet.
If you grew up with a British parent, dipping buttered toast in tea gave you a primer for butter in coffee or olive oil in coffee. Now Middle Easterners are starting to enjoy the newest coffee beverage – a coffee infused with extra virgin olive oil. The new ‘Oleato’ line is available at Starbucks in Italy, and is now found in new locations in Saudi Arabia.
The CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, was inspired to being great coffee to America after visiting Milan in the 80s. A shot of espresso, consumed at a counter in a cafe (not as take-away) is a part of the Italian tradition. Milan inspired Schultz to bring the Italian coffee experience to Starbucks starting in the US, and which today has 36,000 outlets globally.
Now Starbucks, vying for coffee lovers attention, and an experience easily replicated at home with consumer-focused espresso machines, is looking for new markets. Olive oil is the latest offering.
“Today I feel just as inspired as I did 40 years ago, Oleato has opened our eyes to fresh new possibilities and a transformational way to enjoy our daily coffee,” Schultz said. “Oleato represents the next revolution in coffee that brings together an alchemy of nature’s finest ingredients – Starbucks arabica coffee beans and Partanna cold pressed extra virgin olive oil.”
Adding oil to coffee isn’t new. It’s known that fat reduces the acidity and bitterness of coffee. Non-dairy creamers, a product that many people are already used to, is usually made from vegetable oil. People have been adding butter, coconut oil and MCT oil (medium-chain triglycerides) to coffee for over 10 years for a “bulletproof” coffee that keeps you satiated until lunch. Skipping breakfast is a Mediterranean thing.
You can find a Starbucks and try the olive oil blend or make your own olive oil coffee at home.
How to make your own olive oil cappuccino
Ingredients:
- 6ox of strong coffee, brewed in a pour-over, or espresso machine
- 1.5 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil
Add coffee and olive oil to a blender, preferably a powerful blender like a Vitamix. You want to emulsify the oil and coffee together. Blend until a bit frothy but watch out not to burn yourself. You can add sweetener if you need it. We prefer coconut sugar which is better for your body.
And if you want to just brew the old-fashioned way, we’ve put together a how-to brew with a finjan. Serve in small cups.
