Espresso

• 1/2 cup ground espresso coffee beans
• 2 cups boiling water
• sugar, to taste
• 2 liters vanilla ice-cream

Place coffee in a plunger. Pour over boiling water. Stir and stand for 3 minutes. Plunge coffee and transfer to a heatproof jug. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Place chilled coffee and 8 scoops ice-cream in a blender. Blend until smooth and frothy. Spoon 1 small scoop remaining ice-cream into each serving glass. Pour over blended espresso. Serve.

A mild espresso and milk drink, but with the added flavours of white chocolate and hazelnut. A fine choice for Christmas holidays, or any other time of the year when you want some warm cheer.

• 2 oz. espresso
• 1 tablespoon white cocoa powder
• 1/2 oz. hazelnut syrup
• 12 oz. warm milk

In a mug, mix espresso, cocoa powder and hazelnut syrup. Fill up the mug with heated milk. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

This light and frosty dessert is the perfect ending to a summer meal. It will take a few hours, so plan to make this espresso sorbet ahead of time so you can enjoy it later.

• 6 tablespoons espresso ground coffee
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 quart boiling water
• 1 cup whipped cream
• cocoa powder

In a bowl, combine the ground coffee and brown sugar. Add boiling water and mix. Let steep until water has cooled, then strain out coffee grounds. Pour the mixture into a shallow pan or dish, and freeze for at least 3 hours. A deeper container will take longer to freeze through. When the sorbet is nearly frozen serve into tall chilled glasses and top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cocoa.

You'll need prepared chai concentrate for this recipe.

• chai concentrate
• steamed milk
• 1/2 oz. almond syrup
• 1 shot espresso

Prepare the chai, as per the instructions. Add syrup and espresso, stir well and serve.

A classy cocktail, made with espresso, vodka and Kahlua. Replace the olives with coffee beans, and you have an espresso martini. Served shaken, not stirred.

• 7 oz. vodka, a coffee-flavoured vodka is a good choice
• 1/2 oz. Kahlua
• 1/2 oz. espresso
• 4 coffee beans, for garnish

In a cocktail shaker, shake vodka with crushed ice for about 30 seconds. Add Kahlua and espresso and give another couple of shakes to combine. Let stand for a minute, to fully chill through. Strain into 2 chilled martini glasses, and add 2 coffee beans to each glass.

A quick and refreshing espresso drink, with mineral water. Even if you don't usually take your coffee drinks without some kind of cream, you'll love the mix of sparkling water and espresso.

• 1 cup espresso, chilled
• sparkling mineral water
• crushed ice

Pour espresso over ice in a tall glass. Fill the remainder of the glass with mineral water. Give a quick stir and serve.