I might have started something when I brought those banana bread cake pops into work a few weeks ago. Now partners are coming up with new ideas for coffee and cake pops, and you know I am all about that! Breakfast blend paired with a blueberry muffin is so good, so why not turn a blueberry muffin into a cake pop?…
I am loving all of the sun-dried brazil offerings right now! Next month, the Sun Dried Brazil Sertão will launch in reserve stores. This coffee instantly became a favorite amongst my partners. When you think of sun-dried coffeess, you might think of wild fruity notes. These sun-dried Brazil coffees will surprise you, the sun dried Brazil Sertão in particular. Flavors of milk chocolate and toffee with a malty sweetness. I really wanted to do a play on a traditional Brazilian dessert, and the first thing that came to mind was the classic brigadeiro….
Sun Dried Brazil Sertão joins the reserve line-up in July, but I was fortunate enough to get it early from the roastery! Sun Dried Brazil Sertão has milk chocolate and toffee notes with a malty sweetness, so I wanted to match that with a take on a traditional Brazilian dessert….
Friday’s are one of my favorite days. Not only for the obvious reason, but that is the day that my Starbucks Reserve subscription arrives! This months offering is Burundi Gakenke. The flavor profile of this coffee intrigued me from the get go. Elegant flavors of grapefruit, dark chocolate and sweet rose. Three very distinct flavors that all compliment each other, but if out of balance, could create chaos.
Challenge accepted.
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Just a quick note to say….. It’s barista championship time! Super excited, nervous, honored and humbled to represent my new district in the area finals in August! 🙂
In honor of national mint julep day, I wanted to craft a coffee mocktail. Starbucks Nariño 70 Cold Brew with a mint simple syrup over crushed ice and fresh mint. This is a very quick and easy drink to make, and it is super refreshing especially with this warmer weather we are having! …
Last year I wrote about the Starbucks Shandy, and it is probably my most popular article to date! The shandy is one of those polarizing drinks; you either love it or hate it. Since it’s starting to heat up here (finally) I wanted to make a new version of the Starbucks Shandy.
Earlier this week I was asked to do a coffee tasting for our area open forum. They estimated about 300 people attending the tasting, so doing a manual brew method was out. I quickly decided on doing a cold brew, but I wanted to do something a bit more memorable. I was getting ready for work at 4am, and it hit me. Why not do a cold brew with the blonde espresso? I got the cold brew going and went to work….
Cape Verde Fogo Island prepared as espresso, poured through a cloud of cotton candy. Paired with a a coconut and mango flavored donut topped with a plain vanilla glaze, crushed warheads (watermelon, black cherry and apple), cotton candy, marshmallows, edible gold stars, cotton candy and basically every other edible decoration I have! This is a pairing for unicorns!…
Several months ago I got a small amount of Hacienda Alsacia when it was released in Japan. The paperwork that came with it suggested pairing it with pecan pies. So I set up a spread of different foods; lemon shortbreads, salted caramel ropes, milk chocolate and pecan pies. We tasted the coffee and all of the food, and I was really in love with how the sweet brown sugar paired with the Hacienda Alsacia. Fast forward to this week. I received a coffee care package from Seattle, and inside were two bags of Hacienda Alsacia! I was so excited for the opportunity to share this coffee with more of my partners, but also to explore with pairing this coffee with pecan pie….
Cape Verdo Fogo Island paired with homemade poptarts filled with a mango-pineapple jam, topped with candied kiwis, lemon and lavender….