Nescafé Creamy Tiramisu Latte: A Pudding in a Mug

Tiramisu is already a pudding flavoured with coffee, so a coffee flavoured like tiramisu runs the idea in a circle. Nothing subtle comes out of that loop, and the Dessert Edition label is a fair warning not to expect it.

What the tiramisu idea tastes like

The drink tastes of the idea of tiramisu more than of the pudding itself. The creamy, mascarpone-leaning part sits in the middle of the mug, soft and rounded with a vanilla tone. At the back comes a dry note like the cocoa dusting on top of the real thing, which stops the sweetness going flat. The coffee is there, but it sits a long way behind the dessert notes.

Sweetness is the headline rather than a side effect, and once the powder is in the mug it cannot be dialled back. If you want to choose how sweet your coffee is, the brand's unsweetened-taste cappuccino sachets do that job and this box does not. Read as a pudding, it earns its place; read as a coffee, you will spend the mug looking for the coffee.

When a dessert coffee makes sense

This is the mug for nine o'clock on a weeknight, when you fancy something sweet and have no intention of cooking for it. Seven sachets of 19.5g come in the box, one mug each, so it is a week of evening treats rather than a daily coffee. It needs only hot water from the kettle and a mug, with no machine, frother or pan involved.

Because it is sweet and creamy, it works best as the pudding course itself rather than alongside one. A plain, crisp biscuit is the most it needs beside it; anything iced or thick with milk chocolate piles sweetness on sweetness. It also makes a quick treat to hand round after a Sunday lunch, when nobody wants to wait for a proper dessert to be made.

Foam, aroma and the kettle

Much of what makes a dessert sachet convincing is aroma. The vanilla and cream notes are light and leave the mug quickly, so the drink smells most like tiramisu in its first half-minute. Use a dry mug, because damp powder clumps and holds the aroma inside the lumps. Rest the kettle for about a minute after it clicks so the water is around 90 degrees; water at a full boil can make it taste cooked.

The foam is made by the pour, not the spoon. Pour from a little height and fairly quickly so the water hits the powder with some force, then give it a single stir from the base, or leave it alone, since every extra turn of the spoon knocks the head down. For a richer mug, hot milk can replace the water, though that is a treat on top of a treat.

The packs we stock

• Nescafe Latte Flavour Creamy Tiramisu Coffee Sachets, Dessert Edition, 7 Sachets 136.5g (barcode 8445292627801)

What to eat with it

• McVitie's Digestives Biscuits The Light One, 250g: A lighter take on the classic digestive, and a plain partner that leaves the dessert flavours to the mug.
• Border Classic Biscuit Sharing Pack, 400g: A sharing pack to hand round when the tiramisu mugs come out after Sunday lunch.
• McVitie's Digestives Dark Chocolate Biscuits, 433g: Dark chocolate echoes the cocoa note at the back of the drink, with a bitter edge that suits it.

Elsewhere in the Nescafé range

• Nescafe Azera Americano Decaff Instant Coffee, 90g
• Nescafe Azera Americano Instant Coffee, 140g
• Nescafe Azera Americano Intense Instant Coffee with Finely Ground Beans, 140g
• Nescafe Azera Decaf Americano Instant Coffee with Finely Ground Beans, 135g
• Nescafe Cappuccino Decaf Unsweetened Taste Instant Coffee Sachets, 7 Sachets 105g
• Nescafe Cappuccino Instant Coffee, 7 Sachets

The full range is on the Nescafé brand page.

FAQ

Does Nescafé Creamy Tiramisu Latte taste like tiramisu? It tastes of the idea rather than the pudding: soft cream and vanilla, a cocoa-dry finish and a lot of sweetness. It is a flavoured latte, not a copy of tiramisu.

How big is each sachet? Each is 19.5g and makes one mug, seven to a box for 136.5g in total.

Is it sweet? Yes, deliberately. The Dessert Edition is built to taste like a pudding, so pick an unsweetened-taste sachet if you want control.

Do I need a machine? No. It is an instant sachet made up with hot water from the kettle; hot milk instead is optional for a richer mug.

Why is there no foam on my mug? Usually a gentle pour or too much stirring. Pour from a height, fairly fast, and stir once at most.

Curator's note: Save it for the evening and call it pudding. Asked to be a coffee it disappoints; asked to be dessert after a long day, it does exactly what it says on the box. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Nescafé Creamy Tiramisu Latte: A Pudding in a Mug

More from the tea wiki

• Nescafé: The Instant Coffee Benchmark
• Tea vs Coffee: Taste, Caffeine and Switching
• Caffeine in Tea
• Tea vs Coffee
• Tea for Coffee Drinkers: Where to Start
• Chai vs Coffee

Download as PDF