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.
Sometimes called the African Alps, the remote mountains of Burundi are speckled with small backyard coffee plots, with each farm having 250-600 coffee trees. The entire growing community of Burundi is smallholder based. The farmers bring their cherries to washing stations that are within accessible distance from their farms. There are 13 washing stations support more than 40,000 farmers in the area.
Burundi Ngozi is a medium bodied coffee with a medium acidity. Fully washed, it has bright and lively flavors of orange peel and cranberry.
Other pairings to consider is dark chocolate, dried fruit or a buttery shortbread. Here I wanted to highlight the black tea aromas, and use Teavana Royal English Breakfast tea in the marshmallows, topped with dark chocolate, fresh orange peel and dried cranberries. Sometimes I think of coffee as an adult hot chocolate. I love to drop homemade marshmallows and watch them melt in the coffee, allowing the flavors and aromas to envelop the coffee.
Burundi Ngozi
- 3 packages unflavored gelatin
- 1 cup ice cold water, divided
- 1½ cup sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1 bag Teavana Royal English Breakfast tea
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup confectioners' sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- Nonstick spray
- Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with ½ cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.
- In a small saucepan combine the remaining ½ cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup, tea bag and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat and throw the tea bag away.
- Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla extract during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.
- Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.
- When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
- Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.
You can dress the marshmallows up if you’d like, or leave them plain. They are delicious either way. For this tasting, I drizzled them with a dark chocolate infused with bergamot, topped with fresh orange zest and dried cranberries. They are so pretty, like little presents!
When making marshmallows, make your life easier and invest in a marshmallow pan. I am not one for kitchen unitaskers, however, this is one I can not live without!
Do you have a favorite pairing with Burundi Ngozi? Let me know in the comments!
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