Karsk

Also kaffedoktor, kaffegök

Norway's coffee with moonshine, measured by whether you can see a coin at the bottom of the cup. A rural Trøndelag tradition.

With spiritsServed hotFrom Norway

Volume
190ml6.4 US fl oz
Espresso
0shots
Caffeine
48mgderived, USDA FDC
Glass
Mug200 ml

The build

Watch it made, step by step
Mug, 200 ml. Layers in pouring order from the bottom, drawn by volume.
  1. Hot boiled coffee120 ml63%
  2. Spirit60 ml32%
  3. Syrup10 ml5%
Volume
190ml
Caffeine
48mg
Espresso
0shots

Scales every component together, so the ratio holds; caffeine scales with the coffee.

Folk rule: drop a coin in the cup, add coffee until you cannot see it, then spirit until you can.

Caffeine

Derived
48mg

in a 190 ml karsk

USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy caffeine per 100 g scaled to the coffee volume in components, assuming 1 g per ml. FDC 171890 (Beverages, coffee, brewed, prepared with tap water) 40.0 mg/100 g x 120 ml.

USDA FoodData Central record 171890 · read 2026-10-26

A derived figure: the reference food's caffeine per 100 g scaled to the coffee in this build. Real cups vary with the coffee, the dose and the shot.

Variants by country

2
NameCountryHow it differs
kaffegökSwedenSwedish name.
kaffekaskFinlandFinnish-Swedish name.

History

Wikidata classes it as a Scandinavian cocktail and coffee drink.

Trøndelag, Norway, and rural Sweden.

Related drinks

With spirits Spanish Coffee 215 ml · 56 mg

A flamed coffee cocktail: rum and triple sec set alight in a sugar-rimmed glass, then coffee liqueur, hot coffee and whipped cream.

 With spirits Irish Coffee 200 ml · 48 mg

Hot coffee, Irish whiskey and sugar under a float of cream, drunk through the cream. The most widely known alcoholic coffee.

 With spirits Jamaican Coffee 225 ml · 65 mg

Hot coffee spiked with dark rum and coffee liqueur and topped with whipped cream.

 With spirits Mexican Coffee 225 ml · 68 mg

Hot coffee with coffee liqueur and often tequila under a cap of whipped cream; a bar drink, not a Mexican café tradition.

 With spirits Kafi Fertig 160 ml · 48 mg

Central Switzerland's coffee with schnapps: weak sweetened coffee and fruit brandy in a stemmed glass.

 With spirits Espresso Martini 115 ml · 64 mg

Vodka, coffee liqueur and fresh espresso shaken to a foam and served up. Dick Bradsell's 1980s London cocktail, now a global bar standard.