Happy new year! 2020 was a wild ride, and while 2021 seems to be as well, I really miss blogging, I really miss creating content, and I really miss connecting with people. So here I am.. trying to make this a more regular thing. 😉 Recently, Starbucks released two new coffees in the retail channel (you will see me refer to this as CPG, consumer packaged goods) Spring Day Blend and Honey and Madagascar Vanilla. These are both pre-ground, and can be found in stores like Target or Walmart, or of course.. Amazon! I normally stay away from the flavored coffees, but I was really impressed with the Spring Day blend, so I decided to give the honey a go….
West Java with strawberry-vanilla bean muffins
Long time no see. 🙂
Over the past two years I have been taking control of my health and wellness. Sounds cliche, I know, but I have been on a transformative path, and I had to change a lot of habits. The biggest; my diet. I have switched over to a vegan diet, minimal sugar and no alcohol. You know me, I love to bake, I love to make things loaded with all the things I can no longer have… and sometimes I still do make them (I just don’t eat them), but for a while I have been wanting to change my voice; living a plant based active life.
I apreciate all of my readers so much, and this blog isn’t going anywhere.. it might just change into something else. I have a lot of ideas, but this year has been busy, to say the least.
Anyways, I dislike the prolonged introductions, let’s get into the recipe, and the coffee!…
Coffee glazed hazelnut cookies
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Merry Christmas, happy almost new year and all of that. I have been quiet over here for a while, and I do apologize for that. life has been busy, but I have also been on a total body reset. I will talk more about this later, but for now… let’s talk about cookies!
On facebook or instagram, I saw an ad for a cookie contest put on by Peanut Butter and Co., and even though I am on a strict no sugar, no anything diet, I really wanted to enter this. I miss cooking, I miss creating recipes, I miss photographing food. So here we are.. introducing coffee glazed hazelnut cookies….
Réunion Island Bourbon Pointu Varietal
Every once in a while a coffee just captures me. It swoops in out of nowhere, and perfectly occupies a space in my heart. I heard about this new coffee at the Seattle roastery and was intrigued; Réunion Island Bourbon Pointu Varietal. There was little to no information about it, and it was expensive and very limited. As luck would have it, my coffee angel, Melody, sent me some. It sat on my desk, and I would just stare at it thinking, what am I going to do with you?.Â
That same day, I went on a walk with my friend. We walked along the trail behind my house, the trail I used to explore as a child. Along the fencing, was a huge bush of honeysuckle and jasmine. Suddenly, a huge wave of memories hit me. I carried that feeling and those scents home with me.
I came home inspired, filled with nostalgia, and I knew I wanted to do something to pay respect to the love and lore of Réunion Island.
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Blonde Sunrise blend with Almond butter cookies
Happy New Year! Er… I know I am a little bit late to the party here. The new wordpress update threw me for a loop, and I was just so frustrated with it, I didn’t want to deal with it. Thankfully, tonight I stumbled across the classic editor plugin.. Hallelujah! Now that things are back to “normal”, I am ready to dive back in to the blogging world.
Now, I normally hate blogs that have some long ass, semi related story, and I really try not to do that here. Just show me some pretty pictures and give me a recipe, right?! Well, I do have a little story to tell you. A few months ago, I decided to temporarily switch to a vegan diet. This diet is also modeled off of the whole30, so many things are off limits, including alcohol and sugar. So, if you know me personally, you know this has been a challenge. So much so that it also contributed why I kind of stopped writing here. I am happy to report that switching to vegan has been one of the best things for me, and while I am currently “mostly vegan”, I do try to be as plant based as possible. Does that mean that all of my recipes will be vegan? No, but you will see more vegan options from here on out. OK, can we please talk about the coffee now?…
Homemade pine syrup
I can’t believe it is almost Christmas! This year has absolutely flown by!
In the spirit of Christmas, I decided to make a pine syrup in lieu of having a Christmas tree this year. It is amazing in coffee as well as cocktails. A subtle nod to the season.Â
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Read More »Fall blend with ghosted maple marshmallows
Fall is right around the corner, and even though it doesn’t feel like anything but summer in California, I am so ready for the change of the seasons. Normally, right now I would be drinking cup after cup of Anniversary blend, but we won’t have that treasure until after Christmas. Instead I grabbed one of my other fall favorites, which is not sold in Starbucks stores. You can find Fall blend at Target, Wal-Mart or Amazon.
Fall blend is a blend of coffee from all three growing regions, and is a hearty blend with warm spice notes. …
Burundi Ngozi with black tea jelly
Now that Burundi Ngozi is back, I am just a little bit obsessed with it, and I am sure you’ll see more pairings with this coffee. I have been so busy lately, and this coffee has really motivated me to get back into developing recipes and pairings. It is what I love to do most after all! Two updates in one week is pretty much unheard of over here, so enjoy it while it lasts! 😉
Last week I was asked to do a coffee tasting, and as I mentioned in my previous post, Burundi Ngozi was the first reserve coffee I had when I moved to Seattle. This pairing is actually inspired by a pairing I did for this coffee and my original blog (which never saw the light of day) but it was so good, I really wanted to bring it back… so here it is!…
Burundi Ngozi with black tea marshmallows
I remember when Burundi Ngozi was first introduced to the Starbucks Reserve line. It was in 2013, I was living in Seattle, and it was one of the first Reserve coffees I had there. I was obsessed with the black tea like aromas and cinnamon spice notes. Now, it’s been 5 years, but Burundi Ngozi has come back around a few times, and each time it steals a little piece of my heart.
In the northern mountains of a tiny landlocked country, specialty coffee is emerging as a source of hope and opportunity. Known for high altitudes, heavy rainfall and rich volcanic soil, the Ngozi region has been working to realize its potential since the coffee industry was privatized in 2009. This coffee comes from small-holder farms located in Northern Burundi: the Ngozi and Kayanza provinces.
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Grapefruit-Blackberry cold brew
A few months ago, Starbucks announced the reformulation of their at home coffee lineup in stores. Many core coffees were removed, and a new wave of promotional coffees have been added. I won’t lie, my heart almost stopped when I saw we were discontinuing Kenya in our stores. My go to iced coffee in the summertime. Of course there are so many other great coffees to choose from, but Kenya has my heart.
I was grocery shopping at Safeway the other day, and it doesn’t matter if I need to go down the coffee aisle or not, every time I go to the grocery store, I wander down the coffee aisle just to see if there is anything new. On the bottom shelf, I saw these bright, colorful bags. I picked one up and couldn’t believe my eyes. Kenya was in Safeway, along with Brazil and Costa Rica. Of course I had to buy them all and fall in love all over again….