Pharisäer
Also Pharisee coffee
North Frisia's rum-laced coffee under a cream lid, drunk unstirred so the cream hides the spirit. Named for a pastor's reproach.
With spiritsServed hotFrom Germany
- Volume
- 230ml7.8 US fl oz
- Espresso
- 0shots
- Caffeine
- 60mgderived, USDA FDC
- Coffee to milk
- 1:0.3
The build
Watch it made, step by step- Strong hot coffee150 ml65%
- Spirit40 ml17%
- Cream40 ml17%
- Volume
- 230ml
- Caffeine
- 60mg
- Espresso
- 0shots
Scales every component together, so the ratio holds; caffeine scales with the coffee.
Sweetened coffee with a generous rum measure under a lid of whipped cream, not stirred so the cream hides the alcohol.
Caffeine
Derivedin a 230 ml pharisäer
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 150 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| Name | Country | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| Tote Tante | Germany | Cocoa instead of coffee. |
| Rüdesheimer Kaffee | Germany | Rhineland version with Asbach brandy. |
History
Popular accountWikidata classes it as a mixed coffee drink. The tale of islanders hiding rum from a disapproving pastor, who called them Pharisees, is a popular account.
North Frisia, Germany.
Parts of this story are repeated widely but were not confirmed against a source this atlas accepts. They are kept as the story people tell, not as fact.
Related drinks
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 Jamaican Coffee 225 ml · 65 mgHot coffee spiked with dark rum and coffee liqueur and topped with whipped cream.
With spirits Mexican Coffee 225 ml · 68 mgHot coffee with coffee liqueur and often tequila under a cap of whipped cream; a bar drink, not a Mexican café tradition.
With spirits Rüdesheimer Kaffee 233 ml · 60 mgA Rhineland flamed brandy coffee with vanilla cream and chocolate flakes, served in its own ornate cup. Germany's Irish coffee.
With spirits Irish Cream Coffee 210 ml · 60 mgHot coffee made sweet and creamy with Irish cream liqueur, a simpler cousin of Irish coffee.
With spirits Irish Coffee 200 ml · 48 mgHot coffee, Irish whiskey and sugar under a float of cream, drunk through the cream. The most widely known alcoholic coffee.