Morning Coffee & Afternoon Tea

Coffee Roasting Report #4

I've been experimenting with blends.  I'm not entirely sure I'm doing it right.  Is it sacrilege to roast different kinds of coffee together? 

After trying umpteen different coffees together, I finally hit on one I really like.  I've been keeping records and rating the different coffees and blends on a basic ... very basic ...  scale, giving each a number 1-10 based purely on whether I like it or not.  I've only one batch in the negative numbers, way over-roasted and disgusting, might have been better used as kindling chips in the fireplace.  And I've had a few batches that were down in the 2-3 range.  Most have been in the middle numbers, tolerable, but nothing that really grabbed me.

This latest blend, however, is stellar.  80% Sumatria Classic Mandheling, and 20% Yemen Mokha Sana'ani produces a deeply mocha coffee, not just chocolately, but deeply darkly chocolatey.  I've tried this blend lightly roasted, medium / full city, quite dark, and something in between, and frankly, they're all good.  The mocha flavor is most apparent in the medium roast, so that would probably be my first choice.

I am still frustrated by the inconsistencies in roasting.  I assumed that once I found a good bean and darkness, I could set the roaster and walk away.  But that's just not so.  The exact same level of beans (from the same batch), roasted for the exact same amount of time does not always produce the exact same darkness of roast.  It's maddening.  I have no idea what other factors are affecting things - humidity?  It has been more humid than usual here lately.  And if the air conditioner kicks on in the middle of roasting, does that draw from the power needed for the roaster?  I'm not tech headed enough to know if that would make a difference, or what else to pay attention to.  Any advice?

Chocolate Friday: Good for a Laugh

Some of my favorite chocolate quotes:

I'm not overweight. I'm Chocolate-Enriched.

The Chocoholic 12-Step Program: Never be more than 12 steps away from chocolate!

Chocolate doesn't make the world go around, but it sure makes the trip worthwhile.

I only recognize two food groups: fruit and chocolate.  And if it's fruit, it should be dipped in chocolate.

One of life's mysteries is how a two-pound box of chocolate can make a person gain five pounds. 

Man cannot live by chocolate alone.  But I bet a woman could.

Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.

Say fast 10 times: A cheery chipmunk chucked chewy cherries in a cheap chocolate chip shop.

Chocolate is nature’s way of making up for Mondays.

There's more to life than chocolate ... I just can't think what.

There are four basic food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles.

I have this theory that chocolate slows down the aging process.... It may not be true, but do I dare take the chance?.

Cranberry Orange Granola

My mom wasn't the best example of healthy eating.  She was a superlative Tea Party Lady (and a Chocoholic Extraordinaire), but a paragon of health she was not.  She did occasionally leave the Highway of Food Indulgences to take short jaunts down side roads littered with healthy foods, sometimes intending to lose weight, sometimes just trying to curtail her natural urges.  These side trips into healthy cooking left me with a few (a very few) good recipes that I continue to enjoy today.  However, I do need to mention here that I don't suffer from that nasty habit known as self-control.  I embrace my love of food.  Therefore, although this recipe was healthy when my mom made it, it was a little flat for me.  I have since managed to inflate it to fit my own tastes. :)

Cranberry Orange Granola
1 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 - 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp orange extract
8 ounces dried cranberries - orange flavored
5 cups rolled oats
3 cups bran cereal
2 cups chopped nuts ( walnuts, peanuts, pecans)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup sesame seeds
5 1/2 tsp powdered milk
3 tbsp orange peel (dried)

Combine dry ingredients (except for cranberries) in a large bowl and mix well.  Combine wet ingredients (oil, honey, vanilla, etc) in a small bowl.  Pour wet stuff slowly over the dry stuff and mix well.

Spoon ingredients into a large cake pan and bake for approximately 60 minutes at 300° F, stirring every 15 minutes.  Remove from pan, return to bowl, and mix in the dried cranberries.  Allow to cool.  Keep in an airtight container.  Refrigerated will last for a good long while.

This is such good granola, it's almost the kind of snack you could eat all by itself.  Just grab a handful and munch.  But I like it best with strawberries and cherries, and a dollop of vanilla yogurt.  YUM!

Enjoy!

Jasmine Cooler - Fun with Ice Cubes!

When our summer days heat up, I start playing with ice cubes.  It's hard to live in a place where I'm forced to switch my usual afternoon tea ritual from hot to iced.   But it does push me to find new and creative cool drinks.  I've made espresso ice cubes, tea ice cubes, jello ice cubes (which I do NOT recommend adding to a beverage), and all kinds of ice cream / soda combinations. 

Lately I've been playing with juice ice cubes and different kinds of tea, and I think I've hit on the absolutely most perfectest combination.  This one even beat my old favorite - Apricot Peachtea Delight made with tea-sicles.   If you're looking for something tall and cool, and slightly fruity, try this out:

Jasmine Orange Iced Tea

Pour your favorite orange juice into ice cube trays and freeze. (I like mine with plenty of pulp!)

Boil 4-6 cups water.
Steep together your favorite Jasmine tea (I love the Adagio Jasmine Tea Pearls) and 2-3 Lady Grey tea bags till tea is extra dark
Pour into pitcher and refrigerate until cool

Add orange juice cubes and regular ice cubes to a tall glass and fill with tea. 

Add a slice of orange on the rim for fun and color!

I love fruity ice cubes, they are a great addition to iced tea or 7-up or your favorite fuzzy water.  Lemonade cubes are wonderful added to almost any flavor iced tea.  Enjoy, and stay cool!

Chocolate Friday: Chocolate in the News

I've missed how many Chocolate Fridays????  Holy cow.  Holy cacao!!!  I have so many things to post piled up here on my desk I don't know where to start. 

USA Today news on chocolate is less than heartening for those of us with serious chocolate addiction.  According to this article, research on the health benefits of chocolate is far from conclusive and much more study is needed.  And more recently, this article says dark chocolate can lower blood pressure, but it only takes a few nibbles (less than 2 hershey's kisses) to get the benefit.  Dang. 

So that ginormous bar of chocolate I'm planning on having for lunch is overkill, healthwise, huh?  Foo.  Not that that's gonna stop me.  Heh.

Also in the news, on the 7th of this month Hershey's celebrated its Kisses' 100th anniversary with a birthday bash where they unveiled the World's Largest Hershey's Kiss.  This massive hunk o' chocolate weights in at 30,540 pounds, and has been added to the Guiness Book as "The World's Largest Piece of Chocolate".  The Kiss Stamp was cool, but this here is a birthday gift I could live with.  Check out this cool video of the "making of".