What Italian anise-flavored liqueur is often served with coffee beans? Sambuca is the answer.
Sambuca is a sweet Italian liqueur flavored chiefly with essential oils from star anise, or sometimes green anise. It is usually clear, though black and red varieties are also produced. European regulations require sambuca to contain at least 38% alcohol by volume.
The coffee-bean tradition has several forms. A shot may be served with three beans, symbolizing health, happiness, and prosperity; with one bean, called con la mosca, or “with the fly”; or with seven beans representing Rome’s seven hills. Sambuca can also be added to coffee as a caffè corretto, meaning “corrected coffee,” or served after a meal as an ammazzacaffè.
Sambuca is often confused with ouzo, pastis, or anisette because all are anise-flavored spirits, but those drinks come from different traditions and countries. Its name is linked to sambucus, the Latin word for elderberry, although modern sambuca is principally an anise-based liqueur.