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Russian specialty drink Raf coffee Historical sources Introduction Vanilla flavor cream latte practice

Published: 2026-07-10 Author:

Last Updated: 2026/07/10, When introducing specialty coffees from different places, Front Street rarely mentions Russia as a country that impresses us more with a love of vodka than with dark pick-me-ups. In fact, coffee not only has a long history of development in Russia, but also produces coffee with unique taste according to local conditions.

When introducing specialty coffees from different places, Front Street rarely mentions Russia as a country that impresses us more with a love of vodka than with dark pick-me-ups. In fact, coffee not only has a long history of development in Russia, but also has a unique coffee drink-Raf coffee-born according to local conditions.

Russian coffee

The emergence of coffee in Russia dates back to the late 17th century, when Peter the Great returned from the Netherlands and brought this magical drink to Moscow and St. Petersburg. At first, coffee would only be sold in pharmacies, mainly as a special medicine for certain diseases.

Over time, this mellow drink gradually penetrated from the private enjoyment of royal families to all classes of society. By the 19th century, cafes mushroomed in Russian metropolises and became a gathering place for artists, writers and thinkers.

In the late 1990s, before the third wave of coffee reached Russia, the story of Raf coffee took place in a shop called "Coffee Bean Coffee Bean" in Moscow. This coffee shop has three clerks, Gleb Nevekin (丨 л е б н е в ейки н), А р т е м б е р е с т о в and Galina Samokina (丨 а л и н а С а м о в).

Raf coffee and other espresso coffees on the menu

According to Gleb, one of the baristas, the birth of Raf coffee began with an accidental request: Raphael Timorbayev has been a frequent visitor to this coffee shop since its opening. One day he said that he was tired of drinking traditional drinks and wanted the barista to provide him with a new flavor that was soft but layered, so the three baristas started debugging and finally successfully invented a creative coffee that satisfied him.

Soon Raphael began to recommend this drink to his friends, and customers also asked baristas to make coffee "like Raf"(ко п е к а к Р а п у). Over time, the name was simplified to Raf coffee (ка к Р а п у) or Raf (Ра п), which translates into Chinese to "Raf coffee" or "Raf coffee."

Later, as these baristas left the original shop, the recipe was taken to the new coffee shop, and Raf coffee was also promoted, making it quickly popular in Russian coffee circles. Until 2018, this specialty drink had broken through national borders and began to appear on cafe menus in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus, and was loved by local consumers.

What is Raf coffee?

According to reports, to make traditional Raf coffee, raw materials need to include espresso, cream, vanilla-flavored granulated sugar and white granulated sugar. Compared with other common coffee drinks, Raf is unique in that all the ingredients must be mixed and then beaten and heated, so as to make a smooth and sweet coffee.

In modern cafes, people pursue low-sugar and healthy drinks. In order to avoid excessive sweetness, Raf usually only retains vanilla-flavored sugar or vanilla syrup and replaces part of the cream with milk to make up for and balance concentrated and other ingredients. Flavor between. In addition, you can find a variety of improved versions of Raf coffee, such as adding lavender syrup, caramel, spices, chocolate, and even coconut milk. The rich ingredient selection allows you to adjust it to your personal taste while retaining its iconic features.

How to make authentic Love coffee?

Because it wants to be paired with flavored syrups, Qianjie will give priority to using low-acid, mellow coffee bean extract and concentrated with chocolate or caramel aroma. The first choice is Qianjie black cocoa basic blend, Qianjie boutique blend, and Qianjie PWN gold Mantenin. These beans have a burnt flavor and weak acidity and high concentration. Today, we use Qianjie commercial blend that can be used both at home and shop. Making espresso will exude the aroma of butter, maple syrup, fried chestnuts and nuts.

Preparation ingredients: Front Street Commercial Blend Coffee Beans, Vanilla Syrup, Light Cream, Fresh Milk

The first step is to extract 36g of coffee liquor with 18g of coffee powder blended from Qianjie Commercial for 25 to 35 seconds, and first pour it into the flower jar;

Second, add 100ml of fresh milk to the flower jar, then 30ml of light cream and 15ml of vanilla syrup;

The third step is to use a steam stick to stir the above materials together. Although there is no need to draw flowers, the milk foam should still be delicate and the thickness should be controlled below 0.5ml (similar to Australian white). When it reaches a palatable temperature, you can stop blowing it away (50-65°C);

The fourth step is to prepare a cup of 180 - 200ml, pour the hot coffee directly into it, and a cup of Russian specialty coffee is completed.

Compared with regular vanilla lattes, the first sip of Raf coffee is not concentrated, but the dense milk foam, just like warm ice cream. The sweet taste forms a tacit understanding with the glycol brought by Qianjie commercial blending. The combination is rich in taste without losing the strong coffee aroma.

FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou China, selling freshly roasted beans from its own farm in Yunnan as well as dozens of carefully selected single-origin beans from around the world for both pour-over and espresso. The products deliver consistently excellent quality and great value, with shipping within 24 hours. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers, and the beans are now available online at the Tmall 。