New Orleans Style Cafe Au Lait

"Real, New Orleans-style coffee must be dark roast, brewed strong, and must include chicory. In fact, most of the coffee drunk in the Crescent City is a coffee-and-chicory blend". Some well-known local coffee-and-chicory brands are French Market (my personal favorite), Community Coffee, Cafe du Monde or Union. Brew your coffee in a drip coffeemaker only, and serve with half coffee and half scalded (NOT steamed!) milk. From www.gumbopages.com and posted for ZWT5.

• Ready In: 10 mins
• Serves: 12
• Yields: 12 cups

Ingredients

• 6  tablespoons  dark roast french market coffee (Coffee-with-chicory, New Orleans style)
• 6  cups water
• 6  cups milk
•  sugar (optional) or   other artificial sweetener (optional)

Directions

1. Bring the water almost to a boil, to a temperature of 204-208 degrees F.
2. Using a drip-style coffeemaker with filter, pour a small amount of the water over the coffee grounds to dampen them, then wait 30 seconds.
3. Pour more water over the grounds until the upper pot container is full.
4. Allow to drain, then repeat until all the water is used.
5. Scald, do NOT boil, the milk. This means to heat it until JUST below the boiling point.
6. Pour coffee into warmed large mugs, then add the milk.
7. Add sweetener if desired and serve.