coffee pairing | the modern barista

Bend Blend no4 with salted caramel rosettes

October 5, 2015 by jocelyn Leave a Comment

Since the launch of Bainbridge Blend, more and more custom blends are popping up. I am constantly amazed by how beautiful the labels are, and how fantastic the blends have all been, as well as the stories behind them. Listening to partners talk about how and why they chose these beans to tell their story of their location is so inspirational. This is why we’re here; to create inspired moments.

One of my friends was in Bend, Oregon this past weekend, and I asked her to pick me up a bag of this new blend. This is one I actually know very little about, but thankfully the label on the bag has a ton of information about this blend. It is a blend of Guatemala, Verona and Kenya….

Tanzania Mount Meru with crushed fruit petite fours

September 28, 2015 by jocelyn Leave a Comment

Tanzania Mount Meru was the first coffee from the Starbucks Reserve subscription, that wasn’t previously available at the roastery. Just from reading the coffee fact sheet, I knew I had to have this coffee. Sun-dried, with ripe berry notes that highlight grape jam and orange marmalade with a dark chocolate finish. Oh yes.

One thing I love about the subscription is that the coffee is announced a month out, so that gives me plenty of time to brainstorm pairing ideas. The other is being so close to the roastery, I get to see the action, See the coffee unloaded and roasted, the smells, sometimes the roaster will slip me a freshly roasted bean to try. It is a total attack on all of my senses, and this is when the very best tastings come together.

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Sumatra Longberry with wajik brown sticky rice cake

September 22, 2015 by jocelyn Leave a Comment

Sumatra Longberry

Sumatra is my favorite core coffee, and I love how rich and smooth it is, the flavors of earth and herbs in a cup. It is something I look forward to every single day. When I heard a Sumatra was coming to the roastery, I was very excited. I knew nothing about it, but I just assumed it would be along the same vein as core or even aged Sumatra. I was so wrong. I took my first slurp and was blown away at how sweet this coffee was, with layers of milk chocolate and toffee. Completely different, but completely amazing. This quickly became one of my favorite offerings on the clover and I wanted to create something as surprising as this coffee….

Komodo Dragon with Ketan Serundeng

September 18, 2015 by jocelyn 1 Comment

I was shopping at Ross the other day, and I saw a shelf full of coffee, so of course I went to investigate. Previous Ross adventures had led me to bags of decaf Casi Cielo, so I am always on the lookout. This trip did not disappoint; half pound bags of DECAF Komodo Dragon! Starbucks used to carry decaf Komodo several years ago. It was our only Swiss Water processed coffee. Curious, I decided to pick up a bag.

I had already been researching Indonesian recipes for an upcoming coffee pairing, but I came across ketan serundeng, which is sticky rice with a spicy coconut topping. I instantly knew I had to make this and pair it with Komodo Dragon.

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Costa Rica Bella Vista with chili & lime grilled cantaloupe

September 7, 2015 by jocelyn Leave a Comment

Social media has allowed me to connect to so many partners, all over the world. I am so proud to call them not only partners, but my friends as well. The Roastery in Seattle sells the Decaf Costa Rica Bella Vista F.W. Tres Rios, but they do not sell the caffeinated version. Starbucks in Costa Rica sells the caffeinated version, but not the decaf. I was lucky enough to swap coffee with my friend in Costa Rica, so we could both do side by side tastings of this coffee, and note the differences between the decaf and regular.

Of course, I put together a little coffee tasting to go with it 🙂

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Uganda sipi falls paired with salted caramel mandazi

August 21, 2015 by jocelyn Leave a Comment

One of the reasons I love working in specialty coffee is it allows me to continue my exploration of food. It’s traditions and cultures, and experience things I might not come across in my every day life. Coffee and it’s origin, allows me to dive into a specific culture, to create a food pairing to not only honor the coffee I am enjoying, but the many hands that helped this coffee from bean to cup. During this food and coffee journey, I have found myself most drawn to Africa. The coffees tend to be wild, exotic and unexpected, and the food, while simple at first glance, is incredible. I have been hooked on the Uganda Sipi Falls for a few months now. I love it as cold brew, it’s sweet and creamy finish is almost habit forming. I challenged myself to take the traditional “coffee & donuts” idea to Uganda. Meet the mandazi….

Costa Rica Tarrazú Santa Elena with black forest cookies

August 17, 2015 by jocelyn Leave a Comment

Costa Rica Tarrazu Santa Elena

Sometimes the Roastery will offer very small lots of coffee, that are only available for a short time (days). I heard rumors of a sun-dried Costa Rican coffee was coming to the scoop bar, and I got off work, hopped on a ferry, and went to investigate! As luck would have it, the Costa Rica Tarrazú Santa Elena was there with a sign that said black cherry & dark chocolate. Perfect. I loaded up with as many bags as I could carry back to the ferry. My ferry ride home was a very aromatic one, rich bittersweet chocolate, saturated sweetness and ripe fruit aromas. I knew instantly what I wanted to make; A black forest cake!

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Vietnam da Lat cupcakes & a new store!

July 30, 2015 by jocelyn Leave a Comment

My first store in Washington was in Silverdale. A cute little cafe in a shopping center. I transferred to Bainbridge in 2014, but have still kept in touch with the partners there. This week that store closed and has now reopened down the street as a drive thru, reserve store and an evening store! How cool! I am so happy to finally have an evening store close to home! On Tuesday they had their friends & family event, and I thought I would bring them cupcakes. Since they are a reserve store now, I wanted to tie in one of our current offerings. So the Vietnamese coffee cupcakes were born!
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Brazil Santa Ines paired with banana sushi

July 28, 2015 by jocelyn Leave a Comment

A lot of times, most of the time, my recipes are complicated, and can’t be replicated in a working environment. I was challenged to create a creative, in-store pairing with the Brazil Santa Ines. I love how sweet this coffee can be, how it can stand up to distinct flavors like bananas, which really showcase it’s creaminess. Yes, this coffee pairs well with banana bread, but I wanted to do something more. I was having a craving for sushi, and then it hit me.. banana sushi.

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Brazil Santa Ines with plantain stuffed beignets

July 21, 2015 by jocelyn Leave a Comment

My husband and I were out and about, and there was a food truck giving out free samples of beignets. If you’ve never had a beignet, it is basically a fritter. Delicious fried dough topped with powdered sugar. Beignets are synonymous with creole cooking, and when they were first introduced in New Orleans by the French colonists, bananas and plantains were a popular variation. The beignet sample I was given was terrible.. it was so greasy and just tasted stale. It made me sad, but it also made me want to make beignets and do a coffee tasting! Then the Brazil Santa Ines came out, and what a perfect coffee at the perfect time. With notes of plantain and milk chocolate, this coffee is made for beignets that are stuffed with plantains and then topped with a hazelnut praline sauce 🙂

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