I was in the mood for spiked coffee, so I figured I'd go with something new rather than the usual Irish coffee. I'd never heard of Indian coffee before, and it sounded interesting so I went with it. It was a choice that let me to discovering the weirdest coffee I have ever seen.

The waitress said it's coffee, plus Bacardi white rum and egg. I thought that the egg would be mixed in somehow, but it came and there are some kind of flakes floating around that I guess are the egg whites or some part of them. When I went to stir it, I discovered a whole egg yolk sitting at the bottom. Needless to say, I was a little surprised.

The coffee itself is just a pretty mild coffee with the rum coming through a little bit. It's not too strong in bitterness or alcohol.

I thought that the yolk was hard-boiled, but I bit into it and it popped, spilling yolk all into the coffee! They must have put it in there raw. The whole coffee is now a yellowish light brown or golden color. It actually didn't even change the taste much though, just made it a little more bitter. Toward the bottom of the cup though, it did start to taste distinctly eggy.

Even though I'm not sure that the egg was necessary, after adding some milk and sugar this Indian coffee turned out to be really good and one of the weirdest coffees I've had so far. Toward the end of the glass there was a higher concentration of egg yolk because it had all settled to the bottom. I was a little turned off by the chunks in the bottom, similar to the bottom of the yak milk tea, but in both cases it didn't ruin the rest of the drink.

I haven't been to India yet, but when I do, I will order a coffee there and see if it's the same. Do they actually drink coffee like this in India?

Inka Coffee Substitute

Inka is a Polish drink, commonly used as a coffee substitute. It's taste resembles coffee, but it has no caffeine.

The inka drink mix made by Naturalis Inka comes in a round can similar to instant coffee. The brown powder smells woody, but has a very similar aroma to the powdered coffee brands we're all used to. To make the inka beverage, you're supposed to use one heaping teaspoon of the powder, mixed with boiling water or milk. I tried it with water, and the inka coffee that resulted was suprisingly black, with a white and brown foam. It does taste like a very weak coffee, but maybe that's just because of the similarity in making it, and how it's known as a coffee substitute.

Inka Coffee Substitute

The woody smell did carry on into the drink as expected, but it tastes more nutty. It's not bitter at all like I expected, especially for a coffee-type drink. There's no aftertaste, except for a slight fresh feeling, (similar to mint, when you breathe in it cools your mouth). I could imagine it being a great warm drink for winter or night time, especially when you don't want the caffeine. I imagine that it would taste great with milk as well, for a more creamy inka coffee substitute.

Inka is a grain beverage made from extremely simple ingredients: Roasted Barley, Rye, Chicory, and Beet Roots. It's interesting, looking at the nutrition facts, that Naturalis Inka has almost no nutritional value when mixed with water. It has only one gram of carbohydrates. It's also all natural with no preservatives, chemical additives, or caffiene.

Get Inka Naturalis Here

NATURALIS Inka coffee substitute, 8.75 Ounce Cans (Pack of 12)