Thursday, January 20, 2011

The secret to perfect coffee

It still eludes me but I think I'm getting closer.  My local favorite place in the whole world to go for coffee is The Red Beet, newly opened on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway. Everything there is based on the philosophy of FLOSS cuisine: Fresh, local, organic, seasonal, and sustainable. I haven't had anything that wasn't great but the cafe chocolat is my addiction. It is so amazingly smooth - no cigarette butt aftertaste! - and strong and just wonderful.

Its so good that my husband- who does not flirt- was even flirting with the waitress for tips on how to get our French Press coffee to taste like their french press coffee. The three big take-away tips were:

1. Use more grounds. A lot more grounds
2. After you put your grounds and water in, stir before you put the lid on
3. Throw a little bit of fresh beet in with the grounds before you add water.

Then wait 4 minutes and press. Wow.

Our home coffee has gotten so much better. I think I need a different bean to achieve perfection - not to mention the recipe for that lovely cinnamon-laced chocolate sauce also served with the cafe chocolat. Breakfast there tomorrow with a friend before a trip into Anchorage for the Lands End Sale and some thrifting and maybe a new french press.

2 comments:

Laura said...

YES!! I loved the red beet in palmer before they got chased out or um left depends on who you talk to...
fresh beet hunh? let me know on that one

Steph said...

I now have a baggie of fresh beet slices in the fridge. I toss one in when I make coffee every morning now. It really does smooth it out. I think next time I'm just going to put the beets through the grater on the food processor and keep that in a jar for it. But yeah- we're hooked.