Howie Bling from Madcap Coffee

Name: Howie Bling from Madcap Coffee
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American

Recipe: Sutton Andrews , Madcap Coffee , Grand Rapids, Michigan

Photo: Courtesy of Madcap Coffee

August 11, 2020

To replicate the vibrant flavors of an agave spirits cocktail in an alcohol-free drink, Sutton Andrews of Madcap Coffee turned to ingredients they already used at the café. “I used the pineapple juice for some summer tropicality and the jalapeño simple syrup as an homage to the kick you would get from a nice tequila or mezcal. Shaking with the tea concentrate gave it a nice balance of heat and sweetness,” he says.

Ingredients

3½ oz. tea concentrate
2 oz. jalapeño pineapple syrup

Tools:shaker, strainer
Glass:rocks
Garnish:dehydrated lime wheel

Preparation

Add the tea concentrate and syrup to a shaker, add a few ice cubes and shake to chill, until the drink looks foamy. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish.

Jalapeño Pineapple Syrup: Add roughly 1 large chopped jalapeño (with seeds) to a container (about 2 oz. worth). Add 9 oz. of granulated sugar and 10½ oz. of water, heated to 208 degrees F. Stir to dissolve the sugar and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain out the jalapeño and record the weight of resulting syrup. Add an equal amount of pineapple juice to the syrup, stir or shake to combine, then store in the refrigerator for up to 14 days.

Tea Concentrate: Steep 1½ oz. of green tea (Madcap recommends Xue Long from Song Tea) in 42 oz. of 195 degree F water for 3½ minutes. Strain the tea into a container, reserving the leaves. Use the reserved leaves to do a second steep in hot water (again in 42 oz. of 195 degree F water for 3½ minutes). Strain the second steep tea into the container holding the tea from the first steep. Discard the leaves this time. Transfer to a clean container and store in the refrigerator for up to 14 days. Makes 20 drinks or 2 liters of tea concentrate.