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This ice cream was inspired the richness of the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee that we drank at The Wandering Goat in Eugene, Oregon. The fair-trade coffee is deep and rich, with hints of chocolate in its taste. We use the French technique of making a custard base, and only flavor it with the coffee and a hint of vanilla.

2 cups whole milk
4 egg yolks
½ cup organic cane sugar
2 tablespoons finely ground Ethiopian coffee
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat up the milk in a medium saucepan to just under a boil. Turn the heat down to low.
In a medium-sized bowl beat together the egg yolks and sugar until the yolks turn from bright yellow to mellow yellow.
Ladle a small amount of the milk into the yolk/sugar mixture and stir. Repeat a few more times to temper the yolks. Pour the yolk/sugar mixture back into the saucepan and turn the heat up slightly. Stir the custard with a wooden spoon slowly, until it starts to thicken. You want to keep the flame high enough, so that the custard thickens, but low enough so as not to cook the eggs.
The custard will be at the right consistency when it coats the back of a spoon. You should be able to swipe your finger across the spoon and see the path clear for a few seconds.
Remove the pan from the heat and pour the custard into a metal bowl set in a larger bowl full of ice water. You do this so that the custard stops cooking right away.
Stir in the vanilla and the coffee.
Once the custard cools to room temperature, transfer it to a container and place in the fridge to chill.
After about 4 hours, strain the mixture and churn it using an ice cream maker. Transfer back into the container (rinsed) and allow to set for at least half an hour before serving.
Makes 1 pint.