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Drink

Vienna Coffee

A coffee drink made with equal parts mocha and java, eggs, cream, and sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Vienna Coffee

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the coffee

  1. Combine equal parts Mocha and Java coffee.

  2. Measure 1 heaping tablespoon of coffee for each person, plus 2 extra for strength.

  3. Mix the egg with the coffee grounds.

  4. Pour in half the boiling water needed and let the coffee froth.

  5. Stir down the grounds and boil for 5 minutes.

  6. Let the coffee sit hot, but not boiling, for 5 to 10 minutes.

  7. Add the remaining water.

Serve

  1. In cups, combine cream with the beaten egg white and sugar.

  2. Pour the hot coffee over the cream mixture.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  2. Coffee + creamtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,339 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).

  3. Coffee + sugartop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together4,344 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  5. Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together42,166 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Egg
Mixed with the grounds, it helps clarify the coffee and keeps the grounds settled.
Cream
Adds richness and a smooth, mellow body that softens the coffee's bitterness.
Egg white
Beaten and folded into the cream, it adds a light, airy foam on top of the cup.
Coffee
Equal parts Mocha and Java provide the main coffee flavor and aroma.

The step that matters

Let the coffee sit hot, but not boiling, for 5 to 10 minutes. Boiling the coffee again after brewing can make it taste harsh and bitter. Holding it just below a boil lets the grounds settle while the flavor stays smooth.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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