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How to Make Coffee Liqueur at Home

November 14, 2015 by Tiffany Davis 24 Comments

How to Make Coffee Liqueur at Home...just like Kahlua! Great for gifts too!|by ImperfectlyHappy.com

How to Make Coffee Liqueur at Home

You can make coffee liqueur at home for a fraction of the cost of Kahlua.  It is a simple recipe that you’ll enjoy; and it makes a great gift too. When I gave mine out last Christmas I labeled it “Homesteader Hooch“, just to give my family a laugh.  Well everyone loved the coffee liqueur and asking if they’ll be more this year!

This should store for more than a year if kept in a cool, dry, cabinet.  Well that is assuming it lasts that long.

Make Coffee Liqueur – Ingredients

  • 2.5 cups of pure cane sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons of instant coffee
  • 1 Tablespoon of pure vanilla extract (no imitation)
  • 4 cups of water, preferably filtered
  • 2.5 cups of a good quality vodka, but doesn’t need to be the most expensive
    I have also heard that people make it with rum, which sounds good; but I haven’t tried this myself.

Make Coffee Liqueur – Steps

  1. Add water, sugar, and instant coffee to a pan
  2. Bring to a boil, stirring often
  3. Reduce to a low simmer for 1.5 hours (this will reduce by about half)make-coffee-liqueur 2
  4. After the 1.5 hour simmer allow the liquid to cool completely
  5. Once completely cooled add in vodka and vanilla
  6. Stir
  7. Bottle (make sure you sterilize your bottles and lids)
  8. Label and decorate to your liking
  9. Enjoy a little glass of the leftovers over ice with cream. 😉

This recipe will make about 45 oz of coffee liqueur.  Super easy to double or triple, as needed, for gifts. To decorate my bottles I used circles cut from grocery store paper bags as a topper and tied that down with some natural raffia.  My bottles were just regular mouth Ball Pint Jars but you could try easy cap bottles for a dressier look.

Looking for more homemade gift ideas? Give these a try!

Spice Rubs
Homemade Vanilla Extract

 

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Comments

  1. sylvia says

    August 19, 2017 at 6:53 pm

    Thank you! Winter months are coming and this is just what I will need!

    Reply
  2. Trudy says

    December 2, 2018 at 5:10 am

    I’ve made this 30 yrs ago…. do you store this in a dark place ? My recipe years ago had us do that……

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      December 2, 2018 at 3:00 pm

      It is probably best but not has important with the instant coffee.

      Reply
  3. Suzanne says

    March 6, 2019 at 4:40 pm

    Sounds wonderful…I’ve never purchased instant coffee before…is there a brand you could recommend?

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      March 6, 2019 at 8:57 pm

      Any organic brand would be my recommendation. The pesticides on coffee make organic the best choice. Other than that, anything will do.

      Reply
  4. pattt says

    November 29, 2019 at 9:13 pm

    we need to make 24 8 oz regular mouth ball point Mason jars. trying to figure out how much of this we need to make?

    Reply
    • annie says

      December 4, 2019 at 6:05 pm

      maybe 5 batches…..192 oz. batch makes 45oz.

      Reply
  5. Antoinette E. Stokes says

    April 1, 2020 at 8:24 pm

    I can hardly wait to make this version of kahlua. Patty,” Thank you!

    -Toni

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      April 5, 2020 at 6:48 pm

      Enjoy!

      Reply
  6. William says

    May 8, 2020 at 2:12 pm

    Can I do this with regular brewed coffee ??
    And brew strong and have the same amount of liquid to start ??
    If so do you have amounts to use …

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      May 13, 2020 at 7:55 am

      Yes, regularly brewed is great.

      Reply
  7. Carol L says

    March 22, 2021 at 6:52 am

    Why the sugar?…also, seems like a LOT…

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      March 22, 2021 at 6:56 pm

      That’s how you make a liqueur. I’ve never made it with less but you certainly could try it.

      Reply
  8. Pat says

    August 11, 2021 at 7:03 pm

    Sounds easy. How long before using it? Thank you in advance.

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      August 12, 2021 at 6:34 am

      It is ready to drink immediately.

      Reply
  9. Heather says

    August 30, 2021 at 11:04 am

    All I have is a Ball fermenting jar… will this work just as well? Or does it need to have a regular lid?

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      August 31, 2021 at 8:31 am

      I don’t see why it wouldn’t! You really can use any jar with a lid.

      Reply
  10. Britt says

    November 19, 2021 at 1:22 am

    Definitely sub rum for vodka for real kahlua taste. I made it with about 1.75c of sugar and it was was very similar to Kahlua Especial. The full 2.5c sugar with rum was very close to Kahlúa

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      November 19, 2021 at 10:56 am

      I really like both!

      Reply
  11. Suzanne says

    December 12, 2021 at 11:17 am

    Is it possible to make this NON ALCOHOLIC? Do you just omit the Vodka \ Rum?

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      December 13, 2021 at 8:32 am

      If there is, I am unaware. Sorry.

      Reply
  12. Ruth says

    February 13, 2022 at 4:16 am

    How long will this keep? Can you can it to make a seal?

    Reply
    • Tiffany Davis says

      February 15, 2022 at 6:48 am

      I mean it is alcohol based so it should keep for several years. I have never canned it.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Simple Handmade Christmas Gifts Everyone Will Love says:
    November 26, 2016 at 8:18 am

    […] Yummy Coffee Liqueur (Kahlua) – for the grown-ups. […]

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