Give Banana Coffee A Chance. How To Make The Viral (and Delicious) Korean Treat

1 day ago

Coffee gets paired up pinch flavors of each kinds – vanilla, hazelnut, cocoa – and each 1 coaxes thing caller retired of your greeting brew. But there’s a caller pairing you mightiness person seen bubbling up connected TikTok: banana.

Yeah. Banana successful your coffee. It’s not arsenic unusual arsenic you mightiness think. I spent astir of nan summertime swimming successful banana lattes, affogatos, and acold brews, and now I’m a believer. Here’s why I deliberation you mightiness beryllium too, and really easy it is to make your ain astatine home.

Why it works

Most of nan syrup flavors astatine your section café skew toward dessert: cinnamon, almond, caramel. They’re sweet, familiar, and they return nan separator disconnected of espresso without drowning retired its flavors.

Banana brings nan aforesaid sugar-and-smoothness treatment, but pinch a twist. There’s a fruit-forward chemoreceptor that brightens nan subtler notes successful ray and mean roasts, positive a creamy lift, almost custard-like, pinch a soft vanilla undertone that wraps it each together. It’s a complex, multi-layered flavor, and erstwhile you’ve tasted it pinch coffee you’ll wonderment really you ever doubted it could beryllium thing but delicious.

I first encountered it astir 5 years agone astatine a South Korean-owned cafe successful Portland, Oregon, called Soro Soro. I saw banana latte connected their paper and I conscionable had to effort it. I was amazed that it wasn’t syrupy sweet, and tasted for illustration caller bananas, not banana-flavored candy.

The cardinal ingredient

Unlike astir java flavorings you’ll find astatine a cafe, we’re not talking astir banana-flavored syrup here. The superior constituent successful immoderate banana java mentation is banana milk. it’s not a plant-based concoction for illustration soy beverage aliases almond milk; it’s mean dairy beverage utilized arsenic a conveyance for banana concentrate.

One of nan astir celebrated brands, Binggrae, is wide disposable everyplace from Amazon to Instacart, and is ubiquitous astatine Korean groceries for illustration H Mart. It’s been steadily gaining fame complete nan past fewer years, acknowledgment successful portion to K-pop fans who noticed their favourite idols drinking Binggrae successful video clips online.

$7.99 astatine Instacart
$12.99 astatine Amazon

But it’s been astir since nan 1970s, erstwhile nan South Korean authorities was trying to promote group to portion much beverage to boost nan home dairy manufacture and combat still-widespread malnutrition successful nan aftermath of nan Korean war. At nan time, bananas were a celebrated (if scarce) fruit, truthful companies for illustration Binggrae seized nan opportunity and made nan first of nan banana milks that you whitethorn person seen popping up astatine US cafes successful nan past fewer years. There are tons of competitors retired location too; Haio, Mooala, and moreover Nesquik has a banana beverage operation now. You tin moreover make it yourself!

Quick and easy banana iced latte

This 1 takes conscionable a infinitesimal and requires nary espresso machine, but it tastes truthful overmuch for illustration a cafe-fresh iced latte you mightiness find yourself spoiled for them. It’s nan look I person been sipping connected perpetually this summertime arsenic Seattle is blasted by heatwave aft heatwave.

In a mason jar, return 2 tablespoons of bully value instant java (my favorites are Colcafe aliases Verve), and adhd a scatter of basking water, conscionable capable to dissolve nan crystals. Stir. Add ice, move your banana beverage complete nan apical (around 10-12 ounces), adjacent nan jar, and shingle vigorously. What you’re doing present is threefold: you’re aerating nan mixture, making it creamier, you’re breaking disconnected mini crystal crystals that thief that creaminess instrumentality around, and you’re making judge nan full point is afloat and wholly mixed. Take disconnected nan lid and bask correct from nan jar. Seriously, it’s ridiculous really bully this 1 is.

Classic iced latte pinch banana milk

Normally if you’re making an iced espresso drink, you’re adding a spirit syrup and 2 shots of espresso to a cup afloat of ice, past pouring your beverage of prime complete it. For banana java you’re doing astir of nan aforesaid work, but pinch a mates differences.

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Grind, and propulsion your 2 espresso shots nevertheless you usually do. If you for illustration nan level of sweetness of flavored syrups, adhd astir a spoon of sweetener to nan bottommost of your glass. Most brands of banana beverage are sweet, but I find caller espresso (especially a mean aliases acheronian roast) really benefits from a mini other spot of sugar, since nan sweetness successful nan banana beverage itself is not arsenic potent arsenic nan sweetness you get retired of a commercialized syrup. Next, adhd nan java and springiness it a stir. Add your ice, move nan banana beverage complete nan top, springiness it a operation and you’re each done.

Hot latte pinch steamed banana milk

This is wherever things get fun. Usually, erstwhile you’re steaming beverage for a basking espresso beverage you’re frothing it up connected its own. Any flavoring goes into nan java earlier aliases aft nan milk. Here though, we’re going to beryllium steaming nan flavored beverage itself.

Pull your espresso shots for illustration normal, past statesman steaming. You should expect it to froth up a small otherwise than full beverage does. Binggrae successful peculiar is support stable, truthful it includes some stabilizers, and a mates additives for texture for illustration dextrin and carrageenan. These adhd viscosity to nan beverage that’s really noticeable erstwhile you’re steaming it. It doesn’t really want to froth up connected its own, truthful I’ve recovered you mightiness request to springiness it a small encouragement. Submerge your steam wand into nan milk, move connected nan steam, and erstwhile it’s up to temp, propulsion nan beverage pitcher down, to bring nan steam wand extremity to conscionable beneath nan aboveground of nan milk. This will get a small much aeration going and get you a thicker froth.

There are many, galore much ways to bask banana beverage positive coffee, but betwixt these and an Amazon (or H Mart) cart afloat of banana milk, you should person plentifulness to get started. Enjoy!

Jaina Rodríguez-Grey is simply a freelance journalist and java obsessive whose activity has appeared successful Wired, Vice, Westlaw, and beyond. She’s covered everything from civilian litigation to video games and activity tech. When she’s not testing espresso machines aliases java grinders, she’s either making her measurement done Seattle’s cafe scene – aliases remembering (finally) to update her newsletter