National Coffee Milkshake Day (July 26th)

Pretty much everyone loves coffee, and a huge part of humanity even depends on it to wake them up every morning. But what happens during the summer, when it’s too hot to enjoy a steaming cup of coffee without sweating profusely?

There’s nothing pleasant about soaking your clothes with sweat right after your morning shower. Luckily, someone thought of all of those things and invented something wonderful: coffee milkshakes!

The History of Coffee Milkshake Day

The term “milkshake” was first used in 1885. At that time, milkshakes were very different from what you can currently get at Dairy Queen, as they were alcoholic drinks made with eggs and whiskey, much like today’s eggnog. Soon after, however, the word “milkshake” began to refer to ice cream-based drinks made with chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla syrups. By the 1930s, milkshakes were a popular drink at the kind of malt shops depicted in many of today’s movies, which were common student meeting places. In the 1940s and 1950s, sharing a milkshake became a gesture of intimacy between a couple who were dating.

Somewhere along the way, coffee was added to milkshakes to give them both a caffeine boost and the unique coffee flavor loved by millions worldwide, and then a day was created to celebrate the delicious combination of coffee and ice cream. There have been countless variations of this drink, one of which is Starbucks’ Frappuccino.

How to Celebrate Coffee Milkshake Day

It’s July, so it’s quite likely that if you’re reading this, it’s pretty hot outside. That’s why no day could be a better day to celebrate Coffee Milkshake Day than this very day, so why not make one? You’d also likely become everyone’s favorite colleague down at the office if you made some coffee milkshakes for your colleagues as well. Here is a simple, delicious recipe that throws a little bit of chocolate into the mix as well that is sure to make a hot summer afternoon much more bearable.

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 2 cup cold-brewed coffee
• 8 giant scoops vanilla ice cream
• 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup, plus extra for drizzling
• 5-6 ice cubes
• whipped cream

Instructions:

Blend the coffee, vanilla ice cream, ice and 2 tablespoons of chocolate syrup together in a blender until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, you can add a couple splashes of milk to loosen it up, but in general you shouldn’t worry about it being too thick, as it will thin as it warms to room temperature anyway.

If it is too thin, on the other hand, add a little more ice cream and pulse to smooth out.

Pour the milkshake into one very large or glasses that you can coat with chocolate syrup if desired. Top with a very generous spoonful of whipped cream and drizzle with additional chocolate syrup. Serve immediately.

If that doesn’t sound like the perfect summer drink, what does?