Coffee with orange – how does that sound? The coffee and orange flavor combo is delightfully refreshing, adding excitement and fruity notes to your drink, especially when prepared using alternative methods. While pre-flavored Nespresso capsules are already available, I have something different here.
We’ll share some tips for preparing your freshly roasted, artisanal coffee using the V60 method.
Ingredients for coffee with orange recipes:
- A tablespoon (15 grams) of freshly ground, light roast, artisanal coffee with a filter profile
- Coffee water, filtered water, or at worst, carbonated mineral water (and definitely not tap water)
- A V60 dripper
- A kettle (preferably with a gooseneck spout)
- A gram scale
- And, of course, a piece of orange.
How to make orange coffee?
As usual, follow these steps:
First, get your coffee, grind it for the V60 – the right size is crucial.
It makes a world of difference to match the grind size to the brewing method, and for V60, medium-coarse coffee grounds are the way to go. If you don’t have a grinder, ask the local specialty coffee shop to grind it before purchasing.
Boil the water, then let it “rest” a bit, aiming for a temperature of around 194-197 degrees Fahrenheit (90-92 degrees Celsius) when brewing your coffee. While the water is heating up, place the V60 over a carafe or large cup, insert the filter paper, and gently wet it with the hot water.
Pour excess water from the carafe, then place it on a gram scale. First, measure out 15 a tablespoon (15 grams of coffee). Later, pour 8.5oz (240 grams) of water over it, following a 1:16 coffee-to-water ratio.
The three methods of using orange to make your coffee unique:
- First, I placed an orange slice on the coffee grounds to let the water flow through it and extract the flavors into the grounds.
- Then, I didn’t use an orange slice. Instead, I mixed grated orange zest with the coffee grounds.
- Finally, I placed an orange slice at the bottom of the carafe and let the coffee drip onto it.
In each case, follow the same recipe:
- A tablespoon of coffee
- Blooming with 40 grams of water (approximately 1.41 ounces)
- After 30 seconds, add 100 grams of water (approximately 3.53 ounces)
- After another 30 seconds, add 100 grams of water (approximately 3.53 ounces)
If you need to become more familiar with V60 coffee-making or learn what blooming means, read our article!
Orange slices with V60 Coffee
I tried this method in two different ways.
- First, I placed the orange slice on the coffee grounds before the blooming stage. This allowed the orange to moisten the coffee in advance, causing the water to pass through it more slowly.
- Secondly, after blooming, I placed the orange slice on the coffee grounds. It was essential to choose the right-sized orange because if it were too small, the water would overflow at the edges of the orange rather than pass through the middle, putting more pressure on the edges of the coffee bed.
The result was a pleasantly flavored and exciting coffee, but I had to pay close attention to many factors. The water flow was slower due to the presence of the orange, making it challenging to maintain the 30-second pouring intervals.
Should you put orange peel in coffee?
I didn’t use the orange flesh, only the peel, during the second attempt. I grated it finely and mixed it with a pinch of the coffee grounds. (2-3 grams, maybe)
The result: orange solid flavor notes, almost too intense. This could be mitigated by reducing the amount of orange, but it’s a fact that the orange peel yields a much more intense orange taste.
In this case, the strongest aroma during the drink preparation came from the orange rather than the coffee, indicating that the orange dominated.
How to drip your coffee onto an orange?
In this case, I placed two slices of orange at the bottom of a glass carafe and let the coffee drip onto them. The brewing process was the same as usual.
The result: the coffee flavor dominated, but the subtle hints of orange, fruity essence, and refreshing aroma were beautifully present in the coffee.
Cold brew with orange
And here’s an extra recipe: how to make orange cold brew? First, get a cold brew maker, add 20 grams of coffee to 400 milliliters of water, and place it in the fridge for 10-12 hours.
You have two options here as well:
- Put the orange in the fridge along with the coffee.
- Add the orange to the ready-made cold brew later.
If you choose the first option, it might be crucial to wash a bio orange beforehand, as it will be soaking together with your favorite coffee for hours. Eating (or, in this case: drinking) organic or “bio” oranges has several potential benefits. Bio oranges are better for the environment, have enhanced taste, are richer in nutrients, and have reduced pesticide exposure.
Which is the Best Orange Coffee Recipe?
I always say: drink your coffee the way you like it best. You can try any of the above options – moreover, you can play with the ratios. Adjust the amounts of coffee, orange, and water as you wish.
However, our subjective verdict is that the best coffee I achieved was by dripping the coffee onto the orange. This method is also the simplest, preserving the original coffee flavor while the orange complements it nicely.
In the case of cold brew, I prefer if the orange soaks together with the coffee, but I only use a tiny amount, a thin slice, so that the orange merely touches the flavor profile without overpowering it.
