Mazagran (also called café mazagran, formerly spelled masagran) is a cold, sweetened

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

drink that originated in

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. Portuguese versions may use

espresso Espresso (, ) is a coffee-brewing method of Italian origin, in which a small amount of nearly boiling water (about ) is forced under of pressure through finely-ground coffee beans. Espresso can be made with a wide variety of coffee beans a ...

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

and

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...

, and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n versions are served with an ice cube and include rum. Sometimes a fast version is achieved by pouring a previously sweetened espresso in a cup with ice cubes and a slice of lemon. Mazagran has been described as "the original

iced coffee Iced coffee is a coffee beverage served cold. It may be prepared either by brewing coffee normally (i.e. carafe, French press, etc.) and then serving it over ice or in cold milk or by brewing the coffee cold. In hot brewing, sweeteners and fl ...

History and origin

It has been stated that the drink's name probably originated from a fortress named Mazagran in a costal town called

Mostaganem Mostaganem ( ber, Mustɣanem; ar, مستغانم) is a port city in and capital of Mostaganem province, in the northwest of Algeria. The city, founded in the 11th century lies on the Gulf of Arzew, Mediterranean Sea and is 72 km ENE of O ...

north west of, Algeria which in 1837 through the Treaty of Tafna was granted to France. At the Mazagran fortress French colonial troops consumed the beverage, which was prepared with coffee syrup and cold water. It has also been stated that the drink's name and invention may have originated from

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

soldiers who, during the time of the siege of Mazagran, Algeria during the 1840 war, used water in their coffee in the absence of milk or brandy and drank the beverage cold to counter the heat. Furthermore, French colonial troops near Mazagran were served a beverage prepared with coffee syrup and water. When the soldiers returned to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, they suggested to cafés to serve the beverage and the notion of it being served in tall glasses. Upon this introduction, the beverage was named café mazagran. In France, coffee served in glasses is referred to as "mazagrin".

Preparation and varieties

Mazagran is prepared with strong, hot coffee that is poured over

ice Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaqu ...

, and it is typically served in a narrow, tall glass. It has also been described as "coffee taken with water instead of milk", in which coffee is served in a tall glass along with a separate container of water to mix in with the coffee. The beverage has also been described as sweetened "Portuguese iced coffee" that is prepared with strong coffee or espresso served over ice with lemon. Sometimes rum is added to Portuguese versions of the drink, and it may be sweetened with

sugar syrup Inverted sugar syrup, also called invert syrup, invert sugar, simple syrup, sugar syrup, sugar water, bar syrup, syrup USP, or sucrose inversion, is a syrup mixture of the monosaccharides glucose and fructose, that is made by hydrolytic sacc ...

. In Austria, mazagran coffee is served with an ice cube and prepared with rum. The beverage is typically downed "in one gulp". In Catalonia and Valencia, it is made with coffee added to ice, and a lemon peel. It is called "Café del temps" (Cat.), "café del tiempo" (Spa.), or "weather's coffe". In the mid-1990s, Starbucks and PepsiCo developed a line of flavored carbonated mazagran beverages named "Mazagran" that were prepared with coffee. After a short trial run in California in 1994, the drink was discontinued after failing to catch on with consumers. A useful new by-product of Starbucks' research and development of mazagran was a coffee extract that could be used in various coffee-flavored products. The coffee extract was later used in the preparation of pre-mixed, bottled Starbucks'

frappuccino Frappuccino is a line of blended iced coffee drinks sold by Starbucks. It consists of coffee or crème base, blended with ice and ingredients such as flavored syrups and usually topped with whipped cream and or spices. Frappuccinos are also sold ...

drinks that are sold in grocery stores. The extract is also used in the company's bottled double shot and iced coffee drinks.

History and origin

Preparation and varieties

See also

References

Further reading