Tanzania Mondul paired with blackberry petite fours and candied fennel seeds. Made to celebrate a partner birthday, these petite fours are stuffed with a blackberry jam, coated in white chocolate and sprinkled with candied fennel seeds….
Costa Rica Bella Vista with chili & lime grilled cantaloupe
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
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
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!
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
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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on the road: lavender festival in sequim
Every year in July, people flock to the Olympics to the quaint town of Sequim for the lavender festival. I’ve talked about how perfect a pairing Hacienda Alsacia is with lavender, so this year I arranged a lavender themed coffee tasting at the Starbucks in Sequim.
I brought my last two bags of Hacienda Alsacia and Starbucks Reserve Peru Bagua Grande. Both of these coffees really are complimented by the lavender….
Brazil Santa Ines with plantain stuffed beignets
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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Tastefolio: Colombia Cerro Azul
Colombia geisha Cerro Azul paired with a chorizo empanada with an avocado salsa (avocado, honeydew, salt, lemon zest, olive oil, clover honey) and a gooseberry salad.
Vietnam da Lat float
For the fourth of July, I wanted to put my own coffee twist on a classic beverage; the root beer float. Cold brewed Vietnam da Lat with a generous scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, topped with Cola, and garnished with whiskey soaked Rainer cherries. I can sum this up in just two words…
More, please.
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