White coffee

White coffee can refer to any of a number of coffee or herbal tea beverages worldwide.

Coffee

In English-speaking countries, "white coffee" is used to refer to regular black coffee that has had milk, cream or some other "whitener" added to it. Cream varieties (often called "creamers" in the U.S.), can be made of dairy milk, corn syrup derivatives, soy, or nut products. Sweeteners used include cane sugar or artificial ingredients.

In the United States, white coffee may also refer to coffee beans which have been roasted to the yellow roast level and when prepared as espresso produces a thin green brew. American white coffee is very highly caffeinated, being only lightly roasted. It is the length of the roasting process, producing successively darker color, which removes the caffeine from the coffee beans. White coffee is generally used only for making espresso drinks, not simple brewed coffee.

In Malaysia, Ipoh white coffee refers to a drink made from coffee beans roasted in margarine.

There is also a form of white coffee, native to Yemen, which refers to the ground shell of the coffee bean. This form of coffee earns its name from its color, and is brewed in the same manner as regular coffee, only with some spices added.

Herbal Tea

"White Coffee" is an herbal tea, invented in Beirut, made with orange blossom water. Traditionally served after meals in Lebanon and Syria, it is often accompanied by candied rose petals, served in tiny, delicate dishes. White coffee is a sedative, and calms the nerves while stimulating digestion after a particularly rich or heavy meal. In Lebanon, orange blossom water is given to fussy babies; it is also used as a perfume, either in the bathwater or directly on the skin.

Lebanese and Syrian white coffee contains absolutely no coffee.

References

* "Aromatic Teas and Herbal Infusion" by Laura Fronty, first English edition, ISBN 0-517-70876-0.