If you drink coffee with added acidity to bring out its natural brightness or fruity tones, you’re essentially
drinking Mazagran — a coffee born in Algeria in 1840, which is, at its core, coffee with lemon.
Historical origins
In 1840, over a hundred French soldiers were under siege at a fortress called Mazagran, near the town of
Mostaganem in northwestern Algeria. Today, Mostaganem is a small city with a population of about 250,000. At
the time, the French were fighting Arab and Berber forces during their colonial conquest of Algeria (1830–1907).
While under siege, the soldiers' food supplies began to dwindle. Milk, commonly used to dilute coffee
concentrate, was running low. So was the coffee concentrate itself — a much more common product in daily life at
the time than it is today. It was portable, easy to use, and could be diluted with cold water or milk. Their rum and
brandy supplies were also exhausted.
The soldiers made a bold decision: to brew coffee using cold well water instead of milk, and to add lemon
slices or chunks for flavor — evidently, lemons were still plentiful in their supplies. Surprisingly, they enjoyed the
new recipe even more than the original. The cool coffee refreshed them in the Algerian heat, while the lemon
added a new layer of flavor.
However, it's worth noting that the maximum annual temperatures in the region rarely exceed 29°C, and the
battle took place in February, when daily temperatures range between 9°C and 16°C. So perhaps they weren’t
cooling down from the heat, but from the intensity of the siege. Alternatively, the lemon may have simply been a
way to add taste to a diluted, rum-less beverage. Given the time of year, other fruits that might have been on
hand include apples, pears, quince, tangerines, grapefruit, dates, and pomegranates. If these were indeed
available, we imagine tangerines and pomegranates would’ve also worked well — and perhaps were used, too.
After the siege, the surviving soldiers returned to France, bringing the recipe with them. The drink soon
spread across French cafés. A special cup was even designed for it — also called a mazagran: a tall, stemmed
glass or porcelain cup without a handle. It was typically made of glass or porcelain, and less often of metal or
stoneware.
Mazagran gained popularity for a time, but within a few decades, it faded into obscurity.
Today, coffee with
lemon is rarely consumed.
How to Make Mazagran
There are many variations across different countries.
Some examples:
● Classic: sweetened espresso shot with water and a slice or wedge of lemon (with peel)
● Iced: the sweet espresso is poured over ice cubes or crushed ice
● With zest instead of fresh lemon
● With syrup instead of sugar
● With rum, brandy, or other sweet alcohol — added to the water or replacing it altogether
● Combinations of the above
Without the lemon, the drink becomes hot or iced Americano, with or without alcohol.
As for the coffee itself — arabica, robusta, or blends — it's a matter of personal taste.
However, we don’t
recommend using expensive specialty-grade beans, as the fresh lemon will overpower the complex flavor notes
that make such coffee unique. Instead, choose a good-quality but not premium coffee so you’re not "pouring water
into the sand.
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