Tuesday, August 26, 2008

I beg to differ

So far today I have not had dessert. I have not had the opportunity to get any, and this blog has been written between everything else I've had to be involved in today.

In fact - I was almost tempted to stop at the vending machine downstairs. Almost, but not quite. Sorry vending machine - I'll stick with my Green Mountain Coffee Roasters cup of Joe for now, thanks. I'm going to digress from the dessert topic just a bit and talk a little about coffee, and spotting good food - including dessert.

Coffee isn't something I drink *with* dessert - for me it's often a chaser.

I have always been a big fan of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. Not only is it locally roasted - so it's fresh - they were also one of the only coffees in my area that was listed on The Songbird Foundation. I discovered them when I was a baristo, before the term barista, baristo and baristi were tossed around much at all. At that time they had a simple logo - a line drawing of a Robin with the words that went something like, "Imagine your backyard without these." and their website underneath the robin in small print. I immediately began checking into the coffee we used in the shop, and that I purchased at home. What I didn't buy in the store, I ordered from Songbird approved companies. My local taste for coffee has expanded, thanks to an all too short lived coffee shop called 'The Coffee Barn'. I won't go into how much I miss David, Sarah and their 1/2 lb muffins (yes, one half pound!) where I found Brown & Jenkins amazing coffee. If you love coffee, with or without dessert - then you must try it. Be warned, it will absolutely ruin many other coffees to you.

The next subject on todays agenda - 'Best Ever' Why in the world people feel they have to entitle a dessert the best ever is a bit of a mystery. Actually - I think it begs people to challenge your foolish notion. Secretly I may have named some of my favorites (a tiramusu recipe I have is definitely one of the possibilities) the 'best' ever, but publicly it would be my 'not too shabby' xxxxx dessert. One example of 'best ever gone awry is this mixture from cooks.com no less! Anything using 'instant' or cream other than dairy derived (unless it's for diatary reasons) is instantly suspect. Have a look, and perhaps a laugh for yourself. I'm not saying it might not be a guilty pleasure from time to time - but so is a cheese danish from the vending machine. I know, I'm not proud. I was hungry. I couldn't stop myself. I had to eventually visit it - the coffee wasn't enough.

2 comments:

Sandy Riggen said...

Thank you very much for your kind words about our coffee! If you're looking for Brown and Jenkins coffee, it's available at Healthy Living in South Burlington and at our new headquarters in Cambridge on the corner of Rt. 104 and Rt. 15 across from Boyden Valley Winery. You can also get it at our website, www.BrownJenkins.com. We're having our open house Sept. 20th 9-noon - please stop by and say hi!

Admin said...

You're very welcome, and thanks for the information - I just finished the Brown & Jenkins I picked up prior to the Coffee Barn closing. I'll be sure to shop for more very soon. I hope to stop by your headquarters during the Open House!