Time to wake up and smell the coffee. Or savor the coffee in some yummy ice cream. Or appreciate how coffee and chocolate complement each other so well.
A Delicious Cup of Decaf
Some of us (you know who you are) are transitioning to decaf coffee. Maybe not all day, but for those "coffee with dessert" moments when you just don't want to be consuming caffeine too close to bedtime. Consider decaf from Counter Culture Coffee in Durham, North Carolina. They've been around for more than 20 years sourcing their coffee by working with growers around the world, then roasting it in house. They roast plenty of full caff versions, but they also make decaffeinated coffees in small batches using chemical-free water processing. They sell seasonal single-origin decaf coffees like Urcunina from Colombia, but when those single origin coffees are gone, they're gone. Grab one when you can. Their blended decaf, Slow Motion, is available all year 'round. It's smooth and rich and will convert anyone who thinks "decaf" means "flavorless." $17.00 per 12-ounce bag. counterculturecoffee.com. Available at Chattahoochee Coffee Company, 790 Huff Road, Atlanta. 470-225-6981. chattahoocheecoffee.com. Condesa Coffee, 480 John Wesley Dobbs Avenue, Atlanta. 404-524-5054. condesacoffee.com.
A Decadent Scoop (or Two) of Coffee
Credit: C. W. Cameron
Credit: C. W. Cameron
You can have your coffee in a mug. Straight. Black. Or you can have your coffee with sugar and cream. No, not in a mug. In ice cream! At Jake's Ice Cream shops in Old Fourth Ward and East Point, they offer six different ways to get your coffee fix. You won't find every one of them every day, but you'll always find at least one. Maybe you'll enjoy Kenya AA, Cinnamon Kenya AA, Coffee & Donuts, Diesel Fuel, Tiramisu Su Sudio or the flavor we tried, Coffee Toffee. It's creamy rich coffee ice cream (18 percent butterfat!) mixed with lots and lots of bits of your favorite childhood candy, the classic Heath Bar. Satisfies your need to crunch while you slowly savor the coffee ice cream. Sandy Houdyshell is the Chief Operating Officer at Jake's and dreamed up this particularly heavenly combination. $7.50 per pint. Jake's Ice Creams, 660 Irwin Street, Atlanta. 678-705-7945. jakesicecream.com.
Chocolate AND Coffee? Now You’re Talking
Credit: C. W. Cameron
Credit: C. W. Cameron
diAmano Chocolate is a small shop in Sandy Springs hand making chocolates with big flavors. Owner and chocolatier Faye Jonah combines chocolate and coffee in a number of ways including luscious espresso truffles, but we particularly loved her espresso bark. It was created when Roswell-based coffee company Land of a Thousand Hills asked diAmano Chocolate to produce a special one-time holiday product - chocolate bark with their ground coffee beans. Jonah says, "As it turns out, our dark chocolate and their ground coffee was a perfect combination. It's so good we decided to add it to our product line and it has been a hit ever since." Dark chocolate is topped with ground coffee beans so you get to chew a little on the coffee while the chocolate melts in your mouth. Yum. $38 per pound. diAmano Chocolate, 1100 Hammond Drive, Sandy Springs. 770-730-9770. diamanochocolate.com.
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