The Dessert-Drink You Didn't Know Your Life Was Missing is the Affogato
If you’re not a coffee devotee, look away now 🚫 This is not your kind of content!
I went from enjoying Nescafé 3-in-1, to online shopping for full-fledged espresso machines, to settling for the humble Nespresso, all within the space of a year. It became a proper hobby — researching coffee-making techniques, watching countless videos on the correct way(s) to roast your beans, how to perfect latte art, you name it. My YouTube recommendations page would have made you think I was preparing for some Barista Championship (this is a real thing, you know).
The beauty of this is I got to discover so many new ways to enjoy coffee — and this is where my relationship with the affogato began.
Affogato (more traditionally known as “affogato al caffe”) is an old-school Italian coffee-based dessert. It’s simply vanilla gelato or ice cream immersed with a strong shot of hot espresso. As far as I’m concerned, there are only a few things more delectable than this combo. If you think milk makes coffee better, ice cream is its soul mate.
Is it dessert?
Is it a drink?
IT’S BOTH, DAHHHLING
PRICE: 2500
WHERE: ERIC KAYSER, VICTORIA ISLAND
This is what makes the affogato so fab. You can ‘eat’ it with a spoon, which I love to do over the rare Sunday lunch at Eric Kayser, or drink it straight from the cute little glass. In terms of texture, it’s meant to be quite thick at the start, but as the espresso shot and ice cream meet and mingle, it settles into a milkshake consistency (which is where the drinking starts for me).
An affogato can be an appetiser of sorts or something to savour after you’ve enjoyed your main. Tbvh, if it’s the only thing you order off the menu, that would be completely valid. If you’re a little peckish, pair it with a panini, club sandwich, or go the sweet route (cough, *always better*) and have it with a plain croissant or pain au chocolat.
Just like coffee, you can have it in the morning — although, truthfully, 8am might be a bit early for rich ice cream, for most — but I’ve found it’s most enjoyable around brunch time or after a long day ☕️
One of the only ‘downsides’ of this dessert-drink for me is it’s not exactly something you can enjoy on the go (as the ice cream melts quite quickly); it requires a sit-down-to-really-savour-it mood. But all the better, as far as I’m concerned, because from time to time, we all need to sit inside AC, enjoy something delicious and pretend we’re not in Nigeria for a minute. Just for a minute.
