Following up on my recent report about finding a unique beverage combining orange juice and espresso, I returned to D Light Café and ordered another Capuorange, this time to go. Being able to linger at the counter gave me a line of sight to how the drink is made.
The barista made a shot of espresso, poured it into a cup…… and then poured orange juice into a milk pitcher and steamed it with the espresso machine’s steam wand. Once the o.j. was hot and frothy, it was poured into the espresso. The ratio looked to be something like 10:1 juice to coffee.
Now things made a little more sense. Cuporange as in a cappuccino, with the milk replaced by orange juice. I hadn’t thought things through and assumed the juice was warmed on a cooktop or in a microwave. And I hadn’t realized just how much more juice there was than espresso.
All this reinforced to me that the star of the drink is the hot orange. Makes total sense on a cold day, a boost of hot liquid and vitamin C. The espresso gives you a little bit of energy and rounds off the flavor and sweetness. Not all that dissimilar from a hot drink with a strong lemon flavor. And maybe not as out there as the warming and very delicious wintertime drink you can find in Hong Kong, hot cola with a fresh slice of ginger and a big slice of lemon.
This is the second time I’ve experienced a steam wand used in an unusual way, having once tried the steamed eggs at Buvette in New York. But I’m not making either at home, as I don’t want to have egg or orange juice lingering in the steam wand I use to make macchiatos and cappuccini.
And even if it makes more sense now, I’m still not sold on the name.