Through The Grinder

Recipes & Tips From The Village Blend

Pour a generous helping of chocolate syrup into the bottom of the cup. Add a shot of espresso. Add steamed milk. Stir the liquid, lifting from the bottom to bring up the syrup. Top with sweetened whipped cream and ground cocoa.

Cover the bottom of a cup with hazelnut syrup. Add a shot of espresso. Add steamed milk. Stir the liquid, lifting from the bottom to bring up the syrup. Top with foamed milk.

Pour a shot of Frengelico (a hazelnut liqueur) into a cup, add a shot of espresso. Add steamed milk. Stir the liquid, lifting from the bottom to bring up the syrup. Top with foamed milk or whipped cream.

¾ ounce Kahlúa (a coffee-flavored liqueur)

2-½ teaspoons Frangelico (a hazelnut-flavored liqueur)

¾ ounce vodka

3 ounces crushed ice

Combine Kahlúa, Frangelico, and vodka. Stir well. Pour over ice and serve in old-fashioned glass.

Place two to four of your favorite steaks (T-bone, Rib Eye, Sirloin, etc.) in a large flat pan and add enough strongly brewed coffee to cover. (A slightly acidic bean is recommended, but any Latin American blend will do. It’s the acidity that does the tenderizing.)

Marinate at least 8 hours. Overnight is best. Cook in a cast-iron skillet, or under the broiler.

Peel three to six large Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes. Cut up into same-size pieces. Peel one clove of garlic per potato (more or less to taste).

Add potatoes and garlic to three quarts of salted water. Bring to a rolling boil. Cook until potatoes are soft. Add two to three tablespoons of butter, and a fourth cup (12 ounces) milk or cream to hot potatoes. Mash, then whip. Serve hot.

5 tablespoons butter

¼ cup flour

1 cup (8 ounces) beef broth or stock

¼ cup (4 ounces) freshly brewed coffee

2 or 3 tablespoons pan drippings (optional)

Melt five tablespoons of butter in saucepan. When melted, whisk in one-fourth cup flour, eight ounces of broth, and two or three tablespoons of pan drippings (if available). Whisk together with one-fourth cup fresh brewed coffee. Heat slowly until it just boils. Serve hot.

1) Do keep your beans away from excessive air, moisture, heat, and light (and in that order) so you can preserve the fresh-roast flavor as long as possible.

2) Do not freeze or refrigerate your daily supply of coffee! Contact with moisture will destroy the flavor.

3) Do store your coffee in an air-tight container and keep it in a dark and cool location. Remember that a cabinet near the oven is often too warm, as is a shelf near the heat of a strong summer sun!

4) Do purchase coffee in amounts that make sense for how quickly you will use it. The fresh smell and taste of coffee begin to decline almost immediately after roasting, so DO buy freshly roasted coffee often, and buy only what you will use in the next week or two.