5 Ways Coffee Will Help You Beat This Heatwave

We're in the middle of what will likely be the hottest week of the year here in Eugene. With the temperature topping 100 degrees, hot coffee doesn't have quite the same appeal, at least in the afternoons. So what to do when you really need that pick-me-up but can't handle the heat? We've collected five refreshing coffee treats to cool you down. 

1. Cold Brew

Cold brew is incredibly easy and doesn't take any extra equipment to make. These simple instructions yield rich, smooth coffee that's great on it's own, or with add-ins like cream, vanilla, cinnamon or almond extract!

2. Sparkling Iced Coffee

Adding some bubbles to your cold brew or iced coffee makes it extra refreshing! We've been making this with our Summer Blend and it's delicious. 

3. Coffee Smoothie

Who says smoothies are just for fruit? 

4. Coffee Ice Pops

A simple way to turn some leftover coffee into a treat!

5. Coffee Crunch Ice Cream

No churning necessary, it doesn't get much easier than 4-ingredient ice cream!

What are your favorite ways to cool down with coffee on these hot days? Leave a comment below!

Coffee Chocolate Truffle Recipe

Who doesn't love coffee and chocolate? This truffle recipe is makes for an easy and beautiful last-minute Valentine's treat to share with your loved ones!

Chocolate Coffee Truffles

Makes about 4 dozen truffles (I made these for a crowd, but you can easily half the recipe)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 20 oz dark chocolate chips (I used two bags of Ghiradelli 60%) 
• 2oz your favorite Voyage Coffee (I used our Sumatra), coarsely ground, (like for drip or French press)

Optional: (for rolling)

• Hazelnuts
• Cocoa Powder
• Cinnamon
• Raw Sugar
• Sea Salt
• Nonpareils

Directions:

To start, we need to infuse the cream with coffee flavor. Regular brewed coffee or espresso would have too much water and mess up the texture of the ganache. (That's a fancy word for the chocolaty stuff truffles are made out of.) Typically recipes have you use instant espresso powder, but we wanted to use fresh, high quality coffee instead. 

Mix the cream and coffee grounds in a double boiler. (If you don't have a double boiler, you can use a heat-safe bowl over a small pot of water like I did. Instructions here.) 

Heat on med-high for about 15 min, until the cream is hot but not boiling and has turned pale brown and tastes like coffee. Using a fine strainer (the metal filter from our drip coffee machine worked nicely), strain out the coffee grounds and return the cream to the double-boiler. 

Reduce the heat to low and add the chocolate chips. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted and combined with the cream. (Tradition says that chocolate will seize up if you're in a bad mood, so think happy thoughts! That shouldn't be too hard to do, just imagine how good these are going to taste.) 

Remove from heat and allow the ganache cool to room temperature.

Tip: You can use your coffee-infused ganache for lots of other desserts too. I recently use some as filling in a chocolate cake. It's great with ice cream, as a frosting, or just by the spoonful! 

Now for the fun part: rolling your truffles. Roll your ganache into balls roughly 1" in diameter (don't worry if they're not perfect spheres) and then get creative with toppings. 

I did four types: festive colored nonpareils for Valentine's, cocoa powder and cinnamon for a Mexican mocha flavor, sweet and salty with raw sugar and sea salt, and toasted chopped hazelnuts.

You can use just about anything you want, nuts, chopped dried fruit, crushed pretzels or anything else you can dream up.

Store your truffles in the fridge until your ready to serve them.

Enjoy!

Have an easy Valentine's recipe? What's your favorite way to use ganache? What toppings did you try? Leave a comment below!

-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters

Summer Coffee Treats

We've been trying and sharing a variety of great summer coffee treats on Pinterest and Facebook. As the summer starts drawing to a close, I thought I would collect the best ones we've tried (and have yet to try) in one place.

• Cold brew your coffee. This is becoming my favorite way to make iced coffee. It's really simple to do and you don't need any brewing equipment. I've been using these instructions. (And did you know it's actually better when the beans have had two weeks to degas? A great way to use up almost-stale beans!) 
• Sweeten while you brew. We just tried out this brown sugar cold brew recipe from The Velvet Bird and it was delish!
• Try freezing your own coffee cubes so your coffee doesn't get diluted as the ice melts. You could make milk or cream cubes too, and even add sweetener if you want!
• Add some spice with cinnamon or nutmeg. 
• Flavor your coffee without all that sugar syrup: add a splash of vanilla or almond extract. 
• Top it off with some whipped cream. (Great on hot coffee too!)
• Mix up the milks: try some dairy alternatives: coconut, almond, soy, or hazelnut. Vietnamese coffee is made with sweetened condensed milk. 
• Blend your iced coffee and end up with a refreshing frappe! (My favorite add-in is Nutella!)
• Mix in some tea. Why not an iced "dirty chai"?
• Freeze some of your leftover coffee as ice pops. 
• Pour your coffee over ice cream to make Affogato. 
• Make coffee ice cream or frozen yogurt.

For even more ideas, see our Iced Coffee Recipe board on Pinterest. (Coffee Ice Creams and Popsicles here.)

Questions? Have any great iced coffee ideas to share? Leave a comment below!

Stay cool!
-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters

Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake

Happy National Cheesecake Day! 

I made a chocolate espresso cheesecake this weekend, (turns out that was National Coffee Milkshake Day, so I guess my timing's a little off) so I thought I would share the recipe. 

Holiday or not, the important thing (or "the 'portant thing" as my little brother would say) is that I made some really yummy cheesecakes. 

I used this recipe from Epicurious, but with some modifications and a different crust. I find that graham cracker crusts are usually soggy, so I use a fusion of a nut crust that my grandma makes for a frozen fruit dessert, and a regular graham cracker crust. Here is my modified version:

Chocolate Espresso Swirl Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust1/2 cup (1 stick)  butter, melted
1 package graham crackers
1/2 cup flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup walnuts (or pecans)

Filling
2 double shots of espresso
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar (I cut down on the sugar a little.)
3 large eggs
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter

Ganache
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (I use Ghiradelli 60% Cacao chips.)
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. 

Crust:

Break up the graham crackers. Put all crust ingredients in food processor. Process until the nuts are ground and the ingredients are well combined. Divide the crust between two 9-inch diameter springform pans. Press the crumbs on the bottom and 1 1/2 inches up the sides of each pan. Bake the crusts for 10-15 minutes, until they are light golden brown. (This helps keep the crust from getting soggy.)

Chocolate Ganache:

Heat the cream in a double boiler over low-medium heat. (We don't have a double boiler, so I use a metal or ovensafe glass bowl over a small pot.) Add the chocolate chips, stir occasionally until they are all melted. While the chocolate is melting, you can work on mixing the filling. 

Filling:

Using an electric mixer, (A Kitchenaid is great if you have one.) beat the cream cheese on high until VERY smooth and fluffy. (I beat it for at least five minutes.) Add the sugar and continue beating. Add the eggs one at a time. Mix in the espresso, vanilla, and the melted butter. (If we have it around, I usually throw in an spoonful of instant espresso powder for extra coffee flavor! Also note that if you add the ground coffee that the original recommends, you end up with a gritty cheescake.)

Split the filling between the two crusts. (The original recipe has you put it all in one, but it always overflows when I do that. Cheesecake burning on the bottom of the oven = not good.)  Drop several spoonfuls of melted chocolate mixture around on top of the filling, spacing it fairly evenly. Use a chopstick (a sharp knife works too) to swirl the chocolate into the filling. (I like to make mine look like latte art.)

I forgot to take any pictures this time, but here's a pre-baking Instagram picture from last time I made these. 

Bake the cheesecakes until edges are puffed and beginning to crack and top is golden brown, around 25-30 minutes (center will not be set). Cool on a rack. Chill for several hours or overnight. (Can be prepared up to 3 days ahead of serving.)

Enjoy!

-Jessamyn at Voyage Coffee Roasters