“Bush Mix” (a.k.a. Mocha Amarula Coffee)

Winter. Is. The. Worst. I don’t know, guys. Not sure I’m going to make it through to spring. Weeks of frigid temps, more than a foot of snow, ice, and more. Blech. And more moving in tomorrow. That’s why we’re busting out the cozy big guns…BEHOLD, BUSH MIX!

I discovered bush mix on safari…because sure, you can have regular coffee but why would you do that when you can have *safari* coffee?? Every morning we’d board the jeep while it was still dark and take off into the bush. We’d glimpse zebras drinking from a pond at sunrise, elephants looking for water, a mama leopard and her cubs playing together.

And then eventually we’d stop for some hot drinks and snacks. You could have tea, coffee…or bush mix. When our tracker, Advice, mixed up my first mug of it, I was hooked!

(You can see more of my safari adventures here and here if you’re interested!)

You might also like: A Gift Guide for Coffee Lovers

What is “bush mix,” you ask?? Bush mix is basically coffee with Amarula liqueur and cocoa mix. What surprised me about it was that it wasn’t super sweet…I assumed that with cocoa (like Swiss Miss, already sweetened) and the Amarula (similar to Bailey’s, but more delicious) it would be sickly sweet.

But somehow the two sweet things and the bitter coffee blended to the perfect comforting drink.

When we had our crazy snowstorms a few weeks ago, I knew it was finally time to bust out the Amarula and recreate my safari bush mix experience at home.

Making it only takes a few minutes…basically as long as it takes to make your coffee. Brew your coffee however you normally do. You want it a bit on the strong side, since we’re adding things to it.

A few years ago, I switched from a drip pot to a pour-over filter and love the more delicate taste, meditative process of making it, and the fact that there are no plastic parts involved.

Add a couple of tablespoons of cocoa mix and about 2 ounces of Amarula. Stir in, and taste to see if you want to adjust one or both ingredients.

Enjoy while hot!

This coffee with cocoa and Amarula was exactly the cozy drink I needed to get me through the frigid, gray dregs of January…and it took me back to gorgeous South African mornings sipping this with astounding wildlife views!

Other coffee drinks you’ll love:

• Black Raspberry Irish Coffee Cocktail
• The Best Iced Coffee Ever…Using An Aeropress
• Citrus Cardamom Coffee Spritzer
• Shaken Iced Brown Sugar Cinnamon Vanilla Latte

How to Make Safari “Bush Mix” Coffee

As a “recipe” this is a little squishy, because it’s very preference-dependent.

• 1 cup of freshly-brewed coffee (mine is big, & strong)
• 2 ounces of Amarula Cream Liqueur
• 1-3 tablespoons of cocoa mix

Brew your coffee (a bit on the strong side is good, since we’re adding things). Add the cocoa mix and Amarula. Stir in, and taste to see if you want to adjust.

Pin for later!