Espresso Hazelnut Granola Recipe

We made some of this delicious granola to give as Christmas gifts to family and friends and we thought we'd share our recipe with you. It's as easy and stirring some ingredients together and baking them! 

Espresso Hazelnut Granola

Makes 8 Servings

Stir together:

• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup large unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 cup whole hazelnuts
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon sea salt

Mix  together and heat:

3 tablespoons brewed Voyage espresso

2 tablespoon melted coconut oil

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir wet and dry ingredients together and spread in a greased 9x13" pan.

Bake at 300 degrees   for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Cool completely and add ½ cup chopped dark chocolate.

Happy New Year!

-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters

New Coffee Feature: Holiday Blend 2014

Announcing our limited edition 2014 Holiday Blend! This is an organic blend comprised of beans from Ethiopia, Sumatra and Mexico. 

Description:

Warm up any occasion with this smooth blend, featuring flavors of rich, creamy chocolate and vanilla, with hints of citrus and berry.

Get this exclusive blend while you can! 2014's Holiday Blend is only available November 27th-December 31^st.

Shop Holiday Blend.

Questions or comments about this blend? Leave a comment below!

New Coffee Feature: Ethiopia Limmu Inara

Hello coffee lovers!

We have a new single origin coffee in our repertoire: FTO Ethiopia Limmu Inara. 

The Beans:

From the Debelo Coop, part of the Limmu Inara Farmers Multipurpose Cooperative Union located in the Limmu region of Ethiopia. These are Grade 2 Arabica beans and are certified Organic and Fair Trade. 

The Taste:

From our cupping notes: Muted citrus fragrance, tangy lemon and black tea flavors, with a little nuttiness similar to our former Sidamo, hints of tobacco in the  aftertaste. Low sweetness, medium body. 

From Olam's (our green coffee importer) cupping notes: bright, lemon, apricot, sweet, long finish.

Featured in:
Safari Blend

Shop FTO Ethiopia Limmu Inara

Questions or comments about this coffee? Leave a comment below!

Flavors or Flavored?

This week I got a email from one of our regular customers, asking about the flavors listed on the front of our bags. They wanted to know if people with nut allergies should avoid drinking our Mexico La Lagunilla, which has "sweet almond flavors."

The answer is no. “Sweet almond flavors” is a description, not an ingredient. I've gotten similar questions before, so I thought it would be interesting to learn more.

Flavor descriptions are provided on the front of our bags to help you compare varieties.

Coffee is somewhat like wine---we have tastings (you can read about that process here) and find flavors to help describe what we taste. There's even a flavor wheel to help you out with coffee tasting. The Specialty Coffee Association of America has a standard one, but I like this expanded one from Counter Culture Coffee: 

We like to let the coffee speak for itself, so we don't add any flavors, but of course there are companies that do. Generally natural or artificial flavors are added to coffee by coating the beans directly after roasting. There are some downsides: that coating can be hard on your coffee grinder and of course artificial flavors are made from potentially unhealthy chemicals.

If you want specific flavors in your coffee, we recommend infusing your beans with natural ingredients like cinnamon and vanilla, or making your own flavor syrups. There are some great ideas in this article. 

We'd love to hear your thoughts on flavored coffee! Leave a comment below. 

-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters

All About Caffeine

Many of the common questions we get are about caffeine. It's one of the major reasons that people drink coffee, so I thought it would be interesting to learn more about it.

First, let's cover some basics:

http://dailyinfographic.com/15-things-you-should-know-about-caffeine-infographic

Caffeine content in coffee can vary based on type of coffee and preparation. For example, espresso is more concentrated than drip coffee, so it has more caffeine per oz. 

One thing that's commonly debated is if lighter or darker roasts have more caffeine. I was under in impression that some of the caffeine burnt off during roast, meaning lighter roasts would have more caffeine. After doing some research, I learned that neither is correct. Coffee loses mass but gains volume as it roasts. So if you measure your beans by weight, you'll have more caffeine in dark roast coffee. If you measure it in scoops, you'll have more caffeine in light roast. 

Want to learn more?

• Sweet Maria's extensive FAQ on caffeine.
• This handy database comparing caffeine content in various beverages. 
• A "In Caffeine We Trust" infographic for tracking your coffee/caffeine consumption.

What do you think about caffeine? Does it help you focus? Or are you more of a Decaf person? Comment below

-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters

April Cupping

On Saturday, we had our first cupping of 2014. We were mostly looking for a match to our Organic Indonesia Sumatra. Since it's one of our most popular coffees and essential to some of our blends, we need to restock with something very similar. We also ordered samples from origins we've never tried before, including Bolivia and the Dominican Republic.


Here are the tasting notes:

Sumatra FTO Grade 1 - KSU Tirmijaya Coop: Smoky, cinnamon spice flavor with notes of vanilla, raisins and butter, very low acidity, some sweetness and full body. An excellent match to our current Sumatra. 

Sumatra Organic G1 - Ketiara Coop: Earthy, with hints of almond. Light lemony acidity and some sweetness. Overall bright and tangy. Similar to our current Sumatra, but not as close as the Fair Trade.

Dominican Republic Organic Rainforest Alliance- APROCAFE: Rich and full-bodied, with dark chocolate flavor and hints of smoky tobacco.

Brazil Fine Cup - Fazenda Pantano 'Yellow Bourbon': A typical Brazil, very coffee-ish, with milk chocolate and nutty notes. Medium body and sweetness.

Bolivia Organic Strictly Hard Bean Euro Prep - Caranavi: Hints of jasmine flowers in the aroma, sour cherry and lemon tea notes, bright and acidic. 

Uganda Organic Rainforest Alliance Washed - Sipi Falls: Sweet and tangy, bringing to mind grapefruit and lemon with hints of buttery caramel.

Coarsely ground coffee, ready for tasting. 

-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters

Why the Cost of Coffee Changes

We are raising our prices slightly in May, and we want to make sure our customers know why. This is also a great opportunity to explain a little bit about the coffee industry. 

This is the path our coffee takes:

Farmer > Olam (Importer) > Voyage > You

Did you know green coffee is traded as a commodity, just like cocoa, corn, or wheat? (Coffee is second-most traded commodity in the world in fact, after oil.) Because it's a commodity, the price fluctuates every day. Every time we restock on the same green beans, from the same farm, the price has changed.

We want the farmers who grow our beans and their workers to be paid, fair, livable wages. That's one of the reasons we work with Olam. Though not all of the beans we buy from them are certified Fair Trade, (the Fair Trade certification is not without issues) we know that they are committed to paying the farmers well. They even have many community development and education programs in place. (That's another post for another day.)

In 2013, there was such a drop in commodity coffee prices, that many coffee farmers were not even profitable:

“There can be no doubt that in many countries the prices received by coffee growers fail to cover the unit costs of production, while at the same time the prices of basic goods, such as food and energy, are rising....Indeed, coffee is the worst performing agricultural commodity of the last two years, with a downward trend that has so far shown no sign of improving.”

 ---International Coffee Organization, November 2013

Source: Daily Coffee News

In the last several months, the price has risen again, and that is reflected in the price we pay for green beans. We think paying a little more per pound is worth it to ensure that the people who work hard for our coffee are able to support their families!

Here is a great infographic with some other interesting facts about coffee and economics:

Source: Mint.com

-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters

20 Savory Coffee Recipes To Try

It's easy to find dessert recipes that use coffee. It goes so naturally with flavors like chocolate and nuts that it's a logical addition. It's more rare to find savory food that involves coffee. I've done some Googling and found a lot more than I expected and they are mouthwatering! I've seen a few recipes for coffee barbecue sauces and meat rubs before, but I was surprised to find everything from espresso vinaigrette to coffee crackers. Here are my top 20:

1. Coffee-Braised Short Ribs
This uses wine and cold brew coffee as both a marinade and part of the sauce. 

2. Roast Beef with Porcini Coffee Sauce
Mmmmm....reminiscent of a Boeuf Bourguignon, they add coffee to flavors of mushroom and wine. 

3. Coffee Barbecue Sauce
So many yummy flavors in this one. 

4. Barbecue Hoecakes with Vinegar Slaw
Chicken and corncakes with a brown sugar BBQ sauce.

5. Coffee-Rubbed Cheeseburgers with Texas Barbecue Sauce
Coffee and spice rubbed burgers with bacon and cheese.

6. Short Ribs Braised in Coffee Ancho Chile Sauce
Spicy and sweet....

7. Coffee-Marinated Bison Short Ribs
More coffee and maple syrup goodness.

8. Coffee and Spice-Coated Lamb with Arugula, Avocado, and Blood Orange Salad
This rub has coffee and cocoa, could it get any better?

9. Caribbean Shrimp Tropical Salad with Lime Coffee Vinaigrette
Here's an interesting one, using coffee in a vinaigrette. 

10. Apple Jack Ribs Smoked Over Coffee Beans with Coffee Barbecue Sauce

This one involves throwing coffee beans on the grill to get coffee-flavored smoke. 

11. Coffee Crackers with Aged Port Cheddar Spread

I'm super intrigued to try coffee crackers. 

12. Coffee Coloradito Mole
Adding coffee to an already chocolaty mole sauce, yum!

13. Cuban Style Polenta Tamales
Espresso in tamales sounds delicious

14. Chicken Wings with Thai Inspired Coffee Barbecue Sauce
Switching it up by adding Thai flavors to a barbecue sauce. 

15. Smoked Turkey Sandwich with Coffee Shallot Jam
Coffee jam sounds interesting.

16. Espresso-Chili Rubbed Pork with Sweet Potato Fries
Cayenne, coffee, orange, yum.....

17. Flank Steak with Coffee Peppercorn Marinade
The flavor combos on this one sound amazing!

18. Late Night Coffee-Brined Chicken
Here's a new way to do a whole chicken.

19. Coffee Bacon Sandwiches
Coffee and bacon can't go wrong. We have a pack of bacon waiting to be cooked and I may just try this one out.

20. Molasses and Coffee Pork Chops
Anyone who's ever put a spoonful of molasses in their coffee knows this is a good combo. Plus it's an Alton Brown recipe, so it's almost guaranteed to be delicious.

Have you ever tried using coffee in savory food? Share your experiences and recipes in the comments!

-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters