Yesterday I at the last of the salted caramel and almond Toscakaka that I’d made at Scandilicious baking masterclass.
With coffee, espresso of course.
Gorgeous.
Coffee and Cake
Tag: espresso
Coffee time
Yesterday on Twitter I was talking coffee with various people. I quite often talk coffee as it’s an important part of my day. I don’t drink gallons of the stuff but I do like to have one or two really great cups a day.
We were talking coffee machines and several people were surprised that I didn’t have a fancy machine like you see in a cafe. Well, thats mostly because I don’t have enough work surface for all the gadgets I’d like, so a coffee machine has never made the cut so far. Instead I use a cafetiere or this little beauty, a Bialetti Moka Espress, it’s such an iconic design and it makes great strong coffee. I think I’d quite like a variety of sizes…
For the record I take my coffee black, strong and unsweetened.
Want one? Get them here: http://www.johnlewis.com/230134058/Product.aspx
Or admire all the possibilities here: http://www.bialetti.it/uk/catalogue/scheda.asp?id_cat=24
Another coffee and chocolate pairing
For those of you who haven’t guessed yet I’m a big fan of both coffee and chocolate and one of the highlights of each day is sitting down mid morning for a little bit of both. I like to try different pairings to see what works and what doesn’t. Mostly I like my coffee and chocolate pretty strong and intensely flavoured so some of my favourites won’t be for the faint hearted. I usually have my coffee made in a cafetiere and drink it black no sugar, occasionally I go for the extra hit of an espresso made in a lovely little Bialetti Moka Express stove top pot – wonderful but watch for the hit.
Today’s pairing was:
Coffee: “Paddy and Scott’s” All Day Coffee sourced from the North West Andes and roasted here in the UK by Paddy and Scott themselves.
Chocolate: The Wicked Fruit Co, Wicked Lavender chocolates (a Great Taste 2007 gold winner).
So how was it for me?
Well the coffee is a good easy drinking one, a little tangy and slightly smokey. It’s a strength 3 and for me it’s a little on the weak side for mid morning but for those who’d rather not blow their head off with caffeine at 11am then it’s a great choice. Basically I’m a one coffee a day girl as a rule so I’d rather have something startling (in all respects) than drink several cups of a milder blend. I’ve also had Paddy and Scott’s After Dinner Blend before (though rarely actually after dinner!) and that’s more up my street – intense, spicy yet still smooth.
And the chocolate? Well this was the first time I’d tried anything from Wicked Fruit Co and when I saw they did lavender ones I knew I had to give then a go. I just love lavender in cooking, check out my Lavender Biscuits post, and I’m also a fan of lavender jelly with roast lamb (The Bay Tree Food Company is my current choice). The chocolate lived up to expectations (which were very high I must say). The chocolate itself was smooth with the lavender adding a rich yet delicate note. It’s quite an acquired taste in many ways, very unusual. Of course I just had to have a second sample to check my thoughts and again the chocolate delivered with the lavender seeming more intense – at this point I thought it best to stop before I hit overload (plus, like many a good thing in life, its quite pricey so you have to ration yourself or go for bankrupt). Definitely worth the price though as a treat for someone who likes the unusual.
The pairing of the coffee and the chocolate was okay but not outstanding, the chocolate was too unusual for the coffee but each on their own were very good.