Coffee Liqueur

Grind coffee beans (I used Lavazza Gran Creama Espresso) finely in a coffee grinder along with the cardamom seeds.

Place the ground coffee in a pan add water and bring to a boil. Then take the pan off the heat, and immediately put it back and bring to a boil again. Repeat this for 3 times. Take care because it becomes really thick and will spit, so stir constantly.

After that place the thick coffee in a bigger jar and add the syrup.

For the syrup: Dissolve the 800 grams of sugar in the 400 ml of water stirring it over moderate heat. Then, add vanilla paste and simmer 15 minutes to thicken it. Once it starts to thicken, pour this mixture onto the coffee placed in the jar. Leave it cool completely.

Once cooled, then pour the coffee mixture onto a container with the alcohol* and stir well. Close the jar tightly and place in a dark place for a month. Shake it carefully a few times during the month.

After a month, filter the mixture through a sieve with a double layer of gauze or coffee filters in it and pour into three ½ litre bottles.

*You can use vodka or if you can buy “pure” alcohol (96%) then combine 350 ml of that with 450 ml of water – you get exactly 42%.