Kaffeost, Coffee with Cheese
KaffeostKAH-feh-oost
Cubes of squeaky Finnish bread cheese in the bottom of the cup with hot coffee poured over them. The cheese softens without melting, soaks up the coffee, and you eat it with a spoon at the end.
At a glance
- Coffee : water
- 1:15
- Active time
- 3 min
- Total time
- 8 min
- Makes
- 1 cup
- Serve
- Hot, with a spoon
- Kit
- Any brewer
Ingredients
Note: Halloumi is the nearest substitute if you cannot find leipäjuusto. It is saltier and squeakier, so use a little less, and the drink is noticeably different but still works.
Method
-
Warm the cup and cube the cheese
Rinse the cup with boiling water. Cut the cheese into cubes of about two centimetres and drop five or six into the bottom. Smaller than that and they go soft too fast to eat at the end.
-
Brew strong and black
Brew the coffee however you normally would, as long as it comes out strong and goes in black. Milk and sugar fight the cheese, which is savoury and faintly sweet at the same time.
-
Pour over and wait
Pour the hot coffee straight over the cheese and leave it two or three minutes. The cubes soften, warm through and take on the coffee, and they will squeak slightly less than they did raw.
Drink the coffee first, then spoon out the cheese and eat it. That order is the tradition and it is also the right one: the cheese is better once it has sat.
Rest 2 to 3 minutes
Why this works
The cheese does not melt because of how it was made, not because of the temperature. Leipäjuusto is curdled, pressed and then baked or flame-grilled, which drives out most of the moisture and sets the protein network permanently. Once those proteins have been heat-set they will not flow again, in the same way a boiled egg cannot be unboiled. Coffee at 90°C softens the cheese and warms it through, but there is nothing left in the structure that can turn liquid.
The squeak is the same protein network rubbing against tooth enamel. It fades as the cheese warms and absorbs liquid, which is why a cube out of the cup squeaks less than one off the board, and why some people deliberately eat the first cube straight.
Flavour-wise it works because the cheese is mild and faintly sweet rather than sharp. Traditionally it was made from colostrum, the first milk after a cow or reindeer calves, which is far higher in protein and sugar than ordinary milk. That sweetness is what lets it sit in coffee without tasting like a mistake. Most leipäjuusto sold today is ordinary cow's milk, which is milder still.
This is a Lapland and Kainuu tradition, northern Finland and across into northern Sweden, where it is kaffeost on the Swedish side. It is old, it is still genuinely common in those regions, and it surprises almost everyone outside them.
Variations
- With cloudberry jam: a spoonful on the side, eaten with the cheese afterwards. Common in Finnish Lapland.
- Halloumi version: use about 40 g and expect a saltier cup.
- In aquavit: the cheese takes a spirit as readily as it takes coffee, though not at breakfast.
Made it?
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Questions
Does the cheese melt into the coffee?
No. Leipäjuusto is baked during production, which permanently sets its protein structure. It softens and warms but it will not flow, so the coffee stays clear.
What does it taste like?
The coffee tastes almost unchanged, perhaps a little rounder. The cheese is the point: mild, faintly sweet, warm, and soaked with coffee. It is closer to a dessert than to anything savoury.
Where do I buy leipäjuusto?
Nordic delis, some larger supermarkets, and online. It is sometimes labelled juustoleipä, bread cheese or Finnish squeaky cheese. Halloumi is a workable substitute.
Do I eat the cheese or just drink the coffee?
Both, in that order. Drink the coffee, then spoon the cheese out and eat it. Leaving it is the one mistake you can make.