Cowboys are always drinking coffee. I wanted a cowboy coffee that was something different. I like hot chocolate. So I combined coffee and hot chocolate in what I think is a really nice ratio. A sipping coffee like a real cowboy would love. The color is a little like a muddy river. In a good way. And with a tint of red in the mud. Thus the name, Red River Coffee. It helps that I was born in the Indian Territory (Oklahoma, for you northerners) and live in Texas. So the river that forms part of the boundary between Texas and the Indian Territory seems a good candidate for naming rights. And that tinge of red in the color of this drink clinched it.
A word about the ingredients. I think this drink does best with a strong coffee. I like to use freshly ground beans of Ethopian Harrar. This coffee is widely available at places selling whole coffee beans. It is very smooth and has a slight hint of chocolate. The Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa powder I use is harder to find. Most stores sell it on the aisle with the baking chocolate, not with the cocoa powders used for hot chocolate. It is also for sale on the web. Do a Google search if you can't find it locally. I think this ground chocolate/cocoa makes the drink. It is worth the effort to find this particular Ghirardelli mix. Hope you like the recipe.
Ingredients for one cup:
one cup (8 ounces) of strongly brewed Ethopian Harrah coffee
three heaping teaspons of Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa
1 teaspoon sugar
Note: This recipe easily multiplies for addition cups. The above ratios stay the same.