Starbucks is testing the facebook @ work platform, and I am in the pilot for it. It is essentially, facebook, but only for Starbucks partners, and you can only access it by logging in with your global username and password. It is actually a very cool way to interact with partners all over the globe! I joined the coffee tastings group (naturally), and there were a few partners challenging each other to use fruit as a vessel. Kenya in grapefruits, Colombia Las Margaritas inside a pear, Willow blend in a lemon, it kind of turned into a coffee tasting throwdown. I decided to join the fun and serve up the real pumpkin spice latte.
Introducing #notacoffeecup.
First things first, you need a pumpkin. I wanted to use a small sugar pumpkin, but I was unable to find any. Instead I found these adorable white and orange dwarf pumpkin. When hollowed out, the inside held 6 ounces of liquid, which is a perfect size for me. Since I am making a latte inside of a pumpkin, how could I not use ThanksgivingBlend as the espresso? To compliment the spice notes in the Thanksgiving blend, I liberally rubbed the inside of the pumpkin with brown sugar, sea salt, cinnamon and grains of paradise. Grains of Paradise is one of my favorite spice to use in coffee tastings because it has so many flavor attributes. There is an amazing woodsy and cardamom quality, but also lemon and black pepper.
Once the pumpkin was adequately seasoned, I popped it in a 500 degree oven for about 10 minutes, give or take. I wanted the flavors to bake into the pumpkin, but I also wanted the structure of the pumpkin to hold up. After all, I am going to be filling it with hot milk, and I didn’t want it to collapse. I let the pumpkin cool outside of the oven for about 15 minutes before I began to prepare the latte.
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Since I am in Thanksgiving mode, I decided to prepare Thanksgiving blend as espresso. I pulled a double shot into the pumpkin and added steamed whole milk on top. The result was a coffee forward latte (or a cortado really) with savory spice notes. It was very subtle, delicious and fun to make!
The real pumpkin spice latte
I learn so much from you!!