Caffè shakerato: the best summer drink to start your morning

’Early in the morning a shakerato ordering in a martini glass? They don't bat an eye at that in Italy. The precursor to the espresso martini is simply enjoyed by Italians in the morning, and you should definitely try it too.

Caffè shakerato
The name sounds fun: like a kind of tropical dance, although I hate dancing, and the sound of making it sounds nice too. It's the rhythmic rattling of a cocktail shaker, and you can definitely wake me up for that. The shakerato is basically just an iced coffee shaken (shake-rato) like a cocktail and served in a martini glass. An espresso martini without alcohol, although there is definitely some sneaky business going on in Italy. With a splash of grappa for example, or Baileys.

Making Italian iced coffee
Because the iced coffee is made like an espresso martini (or better said the other way around: the cocktail is a variation on the shakerato), it gets triple bonus points for its velvety texture and creamy foam head. The ingredients are just three: a shot of espresso (60 ml), sugar (about a tablespoon), and ice cubes (about 4 to 6) shaken together in the cocktail shaker and strained into the glass. Unless you go for that neutral in there, then there are four.