Äntlibuecher Kafi

Friedrich, deep in concentration, adding the booze to our boozy coffee.

I’m delighted to introduce my friend Friedrich Studer, who wrote this guest post on how to make a perfect Schwarze, boozy coffee from the Entlebuch.

(A quick note that the subsequent loose translations of German text to English are mine!)

And now, Friedrich:

When I think back on big family reunions, I remember the taste of pork roast with mashed potatoes, delicious chocolate and vanilla creams, and the smell of the coffee with homemade Schnaps, brewed on a wood-burning stove.

Once I was grown, the ritual of coming together, filling up a thermos jug with coffee and “lightening” it with booze became a natural part of adulthood. For most people in the Entlebuch the “Äntlibuecher Kafi” is as much a part of their homeland as the hills and mountains.

But even for the Swiss and their legendary affinity to spirituous beverages, the people of the Entlebuch really get things boiling. Coffee came to Switzerland in the 17th century. Shortly after its appearance, as a luxury product in urban coffee houses, the common rural folk took up the habit and changed it to their liking. This meant brewing light coffee and flavouring it with Schnaps. They brewed it light to minimize the consumption of expensive beans and they added Schnaps, well, because they liked it.

But contemporary sources disparaged this indulgence of the Entlebuchers.

«Dagegen wird ein mehr dann Namhaftes für Gutttuch, gegerbte Häute, Hüthe, Brod und Getreide, un noch mehr für unnöthige Tändeleyen und Schleckereyen – Tabak, Koffee, gebrannte Wässer, Kleidungszierrathen u.s.w. …. verschwelget»
“On the other hand, they wasted money on good cloth, tanned hides, hats, bread and grains, and even more so for unnecessary baubles and sweets —tobacco, coffee, schnapps, decorative clothing etc.”

Geschichte der Entlibucher 1782 – Schnyder von Warthensee - Zweyter Theil – S. 164

«Nur schade, dass das allzufrühe, und oft allzu viele Trinken des Weins, besonders aber des ausländischen Kaffees, und der gebrannten Wasser, bey der ärmeren Volksklasse, die ihren Unterhalt mit Spinnen sich erwirbt, so sehr überhand nimmt.»
“It’s such a shame, that all too early and all too often too much wine is drunk, but especially foreign coffee with Schnaps, and the poorest classes, who earn their living weaving, do so outrageously.”

Fragmente über Entlebuch 1798 – Stalder – Zweyter Theil – S. 9

As both sources were priests, they may not have liked the exuberant pleasures and pleasures of life and therefore opposed them. Despite this authoritarian reticence, the beverage became a part of local culture over the years.

Local farmers were sneaky in finding excuses for distilling extra alcohol. Before 2013 every farmer had the right to distill his own alcohol, tax-free. How much they were allowed was based on the size of the farm and the number of animals. This could be upwards of 45 litres of pure alcohol, per year. Officially this was meant to be used for sick cattle, to calm down frightened calves or historically as pay for farmhands.

By personal experience I must admit that not every bottle was consumed for official purposes.

Maybe more important than the recipe itself is the environment when brewing and drinking an “Äntlibuecher Kafi”. It is especially delightful in a wooden hut, somewhere in a forest, on a wood-fired stove, with a bunch of friends.