Natural form

Coffee liqueur in a glass: deep brown, syrupy, and nearly opaque.

Shows the liqueur's distinctive dark color, viscosity, and clarity at a glance.

Beverages

Coffee Liqueur

Sweet, dark coffee liqueur for espresso martinis and White Russians

Rich, sweet, and deeply coffee-flavored, this liqueur powers the espresso martini and White Russian and laces a tiramisu. Keep the bottle at room temperature.

Coffee liqueur is a sweet, dark spirit infused with coffee (and usually vanilla and a rum or neutral base) — Kahlúa and Tía María are the icons. It tastes of rich espresso, brown sugar, and vanilla, with a syrupy body. Beyond the espresso martini and White Russian, it's a dessert cook's secret weapon: it deepens tiramisu, soaks chocolate cakes, ripples through ice cream, and turns a simple chocolate sauce into something complex. Its sweetness and concentrated coffee make it as much a flavor syrup as a drink.

Measured in: ml
Storage: Room Temperature

Find it in

Beverages

Types & varieties

Kahlúa

Rum-based, classic sweet coffee liqueur

Tía María

Lighter, more coffee-forward

Cold-brew style

Fresher, less sweet, modern

How to use in cooking

Coffee liqueur layers sweetness and coffee depth at once. Use it to soak ladyfingers for tiramisu, brush over chocolate or coffee cakes, swirl into ice cream and mousse, or stir into a chocolate or caramel sauce. It pairs naturally with chocolate, cream, and nuts. Since it's sweet, treat it partly as the sugar in a recipe.

How to choose

Kahlúa is rum-based and classic; Tía María is lighter and more coffee-forward; cold-brew-style liqueurs taste fresher and less syrupy-sweet. For baking, any will do — choose by how sweet versus how coffee-intense you want the result.

Common uses

Soak ladyfingers for tiramisuSwirl into ice cream and mousseSpike chocolate and caramel sauceBrush over coffee or chocolate cakeMake an espresso martini reductionFlavor whipped creamPour over affogato

Tips & pitfalls

Count it as part of the recipe's sugar.
Soak, don't drench, ladyfingers so they hold shape.
Pair with dark chocolate and cream for instant decadence.
A splash lifts a plain chocolate sauce or affogato.

Nutrition

308kcal

Energy

1289 kJ · per 100 g

Where the calories come from

Protein 0%Carbs 98%Fat 2%

Protein

0.1g

0% DV

Carbs

32.2g

12% DV

Fat

0.3g

0% DV

Fiber

0% DV

Sugars

32.2g

of which

Sodium

8mg

0% DV

Notable micronutrients

Riboflavin (B2)1% DV

Niacin (B3)1% DV

Magnesium1% DV

Potassium1% DV

Selenium1% DV

Source · USDA FoodData Central · approx. Alcoholic beverage, liqueur, coffee, 63 proof

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In the shops

Matched grocery products

Coffee Liqueur
RUADA · l · Bonpreu
€8.05
Artisan Coffee Liqueur Km0
RAMONETTO · l · Bonpreu
€14.99

Good to know

Flavor: Sweet espresso, vanilla, brown sugar, syrupy
Use in cooking: Tiramisu, chocolate desserts, ice cream, sauces
Alcohol?: Yes — ~20–26% ABV
Substitute base: Strong espresso + sugar + rum, or coffee syrup
How to store: Room temperature; refrigerate cream-based versions

Substitutes

Espresso + sugar + dark rum — Rebuilds the coffee-sweet-spirit balance
Coffee syrup + a splash of brandy — Closer to the syrupy body
Strong cold brew + simple syrup — Non-alcoholic: sweet coffee without the spirit

Pairs with

Dark chocolate CreamVanillaMascarpone Hazelnut Caramel Espresso Cinnamon

Also called

coffee liqueur · kahlua · licor de café · crema de café