Tag Archives: espresso

Jan 6 2012

Review – Kensingtons Espresso Bar in Kensington Market

On a random urge to wander around the Kensington Market area, I saw this place called “Kensingtons Espresso Bar” and decided to try it because it had the word “espresso” in the name. I’m a coffee fanatic, and this place claims to have the best coffee in the city. Hmm, I’d have to say that’s not true… It’s good coffee, but far from the best…

So click below to check out my review!

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Dec 16 2011

Starbucks Christmas Blend 2011 Review & A Frothy Treat

So I decided to put together my SUPER EASY eggnog latte along with a review for the Starbucks 2011 Christmas Blend, and here’s what I got: A video. Yay! :) I also talk about using a stove-top espresso maker… I make a mistake describing how to use it (at 3:30, oops! :P ), but I correct it… ;) I also talk a lot… But hey, if you read this blog, you should be used to how much I ramble about things by now!

The video was filmed and edited on an iPad 2 and the iMovie App! Such an awesome application, and so easy to use!

Jun 16 2010

Iced Mocha Drinking Chocolate

Oh chocolate… How I love you so… I love eating it, drinking it, smelling it… A great drink in the winter is hot chocolate, or even better: drinking chocolate. {For drinking chocolate, think “melted chocolate mixed into liquid” instead of ”chocolate powder mixed into liquid”. The result is rich, creamy, chocolatey heaven… Devine!} Unfortunately, I don’t really like to sip on hot beverages in the spring and summer months. Luckily there are TONS of iced chocolate drinks that can be made. One of my favourite  chocolate drinks to make is a combination of chocolate and coffee. Anything “mocha” flavoured is just beautiful really… So here it is! Enjoy! ;)
Note: This is not a tutorial on how to prepare “drinking chocolate”. There are methods to making traditional drinking chocolate, and I encourage you all to explore these methods with some research. {I may provide an entry at a later date on this.} You may also want to experiment with different types of chocolate. This recipe is simply for a quick iced drinking chocolate. :)

Iced Mocha Drinking Chocolate

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup vanilla almond milk {you can use regular milk or soy milk if you like. Almond milk is my milk of choice for pretty much everything}
  • 1 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder {or 1 shot brewed & chilled espresso}
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1-2 squares best quality dark chocolate you can find {aim for at least 60% cocoa}
  • 1/2 tbsp heavy cream/whipping cream {you can really use any type of cream, but I just happened to have 35% whipping cream on hand. You can also use non-dairy cream, or even 1/2 tbsp almond/soy/rice milk.}
  • Sugar to taste {I use about 1 tsp of turbinado sugar. This sugar has such a nice, rich taste, and to make it even better: it’s vegan-friendly. More information on sugar at the end of this post.}
  • About 1/2 cup crushed ice

Method:

  • Place the almond milk in a blender.
  • Break the dark chocolate square into small pieces, and place into a small bowl with the cream.
  • Heat the cream and chocolate in the microwave on high for 15-20 seconds.
  • Remove from microwave and stir until smooth and creamy. {At first it will be somewhat grainy and look as though it won’t mix together, but it will after you’ve stirred it for a minute or so.}
  • Add the espresso powder {or shot of espresso}, vanilla and ground cinnamon to the chocolate mixture, and stir until everything is blended together.
  • Pour the crushed ice into the blender, then the sugar and chocolate mixture.
  • Blend until smooth, and enjoy! :)

For more information on sugar, visit:

Nov 9 2009

Starbucks Christmas Blend Coffee – Product Review and Tips

Sitting inside a Starbucks with my husband Joe on one of our weekend Starbucks coffee dates, I couldn’t help but be drawn into the smell of the Starbucks Christmas Blend coffee. I decided to purchase a small bag to take home. This coffee is simply amazing. It is light, and best used for a breakfast coffee. Maybe even a light after-dinner coffee. It has a bold aroma, but is very light and smooth to drink. With this coffee, if you want it stronger definitely use 3 scoops of beans instead of just 2 when grinding. This coffee works great as an espresso for use in many christmas beverages because of the spiced flavour. It almost has a hint of cinnamon…I’m not quite sure what else. Very pleasing taste, and I highly recommend a trial of this blend before it’s no longer available! 

Note: I’ve found that a great way of brewing a single cup of espresso (or coffee) with fresh grinds is to use a single cup coffee maker. (I like to use a french press when brewing regular coffee so that I get a different texture and the full flavour of the coffee bean, but here I will discuss a different method that works particularly well for espresso–well obviously not espresso machine espresso, but just super strong concentrated coffee.) This is basically a piece of plastic that has two parts. One part contains a nylon coffee filter,the other part has a handle (shaped like a cup) with holes on the bottom. This piece fits on top of the bottom part with the nylon coffee filter. The whole item fits on top of your coffee mug. You place the grounds into a paper coffee filter, and set the filter inside of this “cup” that sits on top of your coffee mug. You boil water in a kettle, and pour the water slowly and evenly into the coffee filter. 

Tips: 

  • When using this method to brew coffee, pour slowly and evenly otherwise the grinds will not be fully covered by the water. If you pour too fast, you will also spill over the edges, resulting in grinds leaking into your mug.
  • Ensure that the water is not being poured in right after being boiled, but let it sit for about 1 minute after being boiled otherwise you will burn the grinds resulting in a burnt flavour and aroma in your coffee.
  • For a weak coffee, grind the beans to a coarse grind. For a stronger coffee, grind them a little finer. For an espresso, grind the beans super fine with the texture being just slightly more coarse than a powder.
  • It’s best to use about 2 1/2 scoops (tbsp) of beans per coffee mug, however when experimenting with different coffee beans, and your own tastes, this is only a general guideline.
  • When buying coffee beans, resist the urge to be lazy and have the beans ground for you at the store. As tempting as this is, you will miss out on the freshness of your coffee after your first couple of cups. As soon as you can smell the coffee, it’s already slowly starting to go stale. Store your beans tightly sealed in the bag, inside of another airtight container. Purchase only small bags at a time to prevent the chances of your coffee going stale. Invest in a grinder for your own personal use at home, there are many available in every price range. Lastly, only grind the amount of beans that you need to use at that time.

Starbucks Christmas Blend