Coffee Granita with Cardamom Whipped Cream

(photo from The Bitten Word)

Mmmm, coffee granita reminds me of my trip to Rome years ago when I happened upon Tazza d’Oro near the Pantheon. They made the BEST coffee granita (well, the first one I had ever tried) and they topped it with the perfectly whipped cream. It was so delicious and it was Italy…I mean, c’mon! The urge to find a replacement for it didn’t hit me until recently. Granita is one of those things that is pretty easy to make. It’s elegant and perfect now that our Bay Area “summer” has arrived.

And then there’s the Philz twist: How about coffee granita with cardamom whipped cream? Sounds like a frozen Tantilizing Turkish or Philharmonic blend…delicious!

Coffee Granita with Cardamom Whipped Cream
This recipe is from Bon Appetit’s April 2010 issue.

Ingredients
* 2 cups water, divided
* 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
* 1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
(instead of using espresso powder, try making a really strong brew of Turkish or Philharmonic)
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 3/4 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Preparation
*Bring 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar just to simmer in heavy small saucepan over medium heat, stirring mixture constantly until sugar dissolves. Stir in instant espresso powder and vanilla extract. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in remaining 1 1/2 cups water. Pour into 9x9x2-inch metal baking pan. Freeze mixture 1 hour; stir, mashing any frozen parts with back of fork. Cover and freeze mixture until firm, at least 1 to 2 hours longer and up to 1 day. Using fork, scrape granita, forming icy flakes. Return granita to freezer.
*Beat cream, cardamom, and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in large bowl until peaks form. Divide granita among bowls or glasses. Top granita with whipped cream.

Philz represented at Outside Lands 2010

We had two booths at Outside Lands Music Festival up in San Francisco…and it was pretty busy…

Phil talked about coffee…
Jacob was excited to see Kings of Leon (or at least listen to them)

Some photos of the festival by Wendy Goodfriend.

Philz Dogz: Scooter

Say hello to Scooter!

Scooter doesn’t stay still (as can be seen in the photograph). He always accompanies his owner on morning walks past Philz because he loves Philz too…just not for coffee…for our complimentary dog treats!

Scooter’s favorite thing @ Philz: our dog treats
Owner’s drink of choice: Any blend with lowfat milk in his own mug

Super Blend: Fulphilmint

ful·phil·mint /fʊlˈfɪlmint/[fool-fil-mint]
–noun
1. A new medium-light coffee blend at Philz Coffee.
2. Specially formulated for those folks at Google by Phil with love.

This new blend was formulated with those folks over at Google in mind. Google employees get stocked with this blend in their offices…what a treat! We, here at Philz, are always looking to fulfill your coffee cravings — as hokey as that might sound, we really do! We enjoy making great coffee…it can be so fulfilling to drink.

Fulphilmint is a medium-light roast (so it gets you some caffeine…) but with full-bodied flavor! It’s also smooth to drink and won’t upset your stomach because of its low acidity! We’ve brought this special blend to our stores so next time you’re in, you should definitely check it out!

Vote for Inspired Cookie – Vegan Cookie of the Year

VegNews Magazine (which has a pretty awesome website, btw) is hosting the 2010 Veggie Awards. One of our SUPER SUPPLIERS, The Inspired Cookie, is competing in the cookie category!

Sarah Gill is the mastermind behind these delicious cookies! Her Peppermint Chocolate Chunk is mint chocolaty goodness and doesn’t even taste like it’s gluten-free and vegan. It’s my go-to snack when I’m craving something sweet.

Her other cookie flavors — Lemon Lavender and Espresso Lemon Chocolate Chunk — are pretty darn delicious too! If you wouldn’t mind clickin’ and votin’ for her…we’d be much obliged…(The survey is long but you can skip over all the rest except the second to last page the ONE question “Do you subscribe to VegNews Magazine?” and then fill in your name and email at the end.)

Ooh, and one more thing, did you know she developed a gluten-free, vegan brownie?? Wowsers, these things are the moistest, chocolaty, rich brownies I’ve tried…and they taste even better when they are frozen and then eaten. Let me leave you with this picture:

Don’t they look moist and yummy? Go vote for her…and then get yourself to Philz to pick up her cookies/brownie!

Coffee in space

Have you ever wondered how the astronauts get their java jolt while in space? Endeavour shuttle astronaut Don Pettit brought up some instant coffee for his trip to space a couple years ago and he managed to invent a new way of drinking it.

Normally, the astronauts have to drink liquids in pouches with straws but now with Mr. Pettit’s invention, the surface tension inside the pouch holds the liquid safely. He took a page out of his Flight Data File mission book to create the zero gravity cup shown in the video below.

Check out this great video of him showing off his invention:

Philz Dogz: Spanky

Here’s a new feature we’re starting at the Philz Coffee Blog where we feature the dogz of Philz Coffee. It seems that a lot of dog lovers are also coffee lovers. It’s a great combination…so say hello to Spanky.

Spanky has been coming around Philz Palo Alto since we opened (and probably before too). He loves our deck and will hang out for endless hours in the morning to enjoy himself (as can be seen with the picture above).

Spanky’s favorite thing @ Philz: Playing with his tennis ball on the deck and getting the occasional hot dog or cheese bites from his owner.
Owner’s drink of choice: The blend depends on the day but I can tell you this — it’s 12 ounces of straight-up unadulterated Philz Coffee in his cup.

More Coffee Bean Uses…

Do you have any extra coffee beans or ground coffee laying around getting stale? If it’s from us, hopefully not …but there are other uses for coffee beans besides drinking their brew.

Coffee beans in your purse? Yes, ladies, another thing that we should stash in our purses. A little bag of coffee beans…because when you are all out of mints or gum, you can suck on a coffee bean and your breath will smell clean and fresh!

Do you know what your olfactory bulb is?? It’s your sniffer, of course! That silly thing gets worn out if you smell too many perfumes and don’t let it rest properly. You can reset your sense of smell if you take a quick whiff of some coffee beans. It’s weird, but it totally works!

Some more smells that just don’t go away – you know the culprits – garlic, onions, fish… Even after a few times scrubbing at the sink with some soap doesn’t help. Coffee beans can help with that as well. You can rub a few coffee beans on your hands and the oils being released from the beans will absorb the smell. When the odor is gone, wash your hands in warm, soapy water. Double yay for our noses!

Don’t have any baking soda to freshen up your fridge? Use coffee beans instead! If there is any foul smell in your fridge, just place the beans inside a bowl and let it sit in your fridge. Odors be gone!

Coffee grounds are great for cleaning around the house too! The grounds can be used to clean any stain resistant surface, especially greasy kitchen surfaces and even greasy pots and pans! You know…that one you used to cook up some bacon this morning? And don’t worry, the beans won’t stain. They wipe right up!

Smell something gross in your kitchen drain and want to get rid of it? Slowly pour a cup of coffee grounds, mixed with boiling water, down the drain and odors will simply disappear.

Grounds for gardening… I know I’ve said this before. Adding coffee grounds to the soil used for your plants can be an effective way of helping them thrive. Use the coffee grounds sparingly in most of your garden so as to not raise the acidity of the soil and work it thoroughly into the surrounding soil.

How about using some coffee as your SECRET INGREDIENT in your sauces, glazes, marinades??
Here’s a sampling of some delicious looking recipes…
Turkey with cane syrup coffee glaze
Coffee Marinated Bison Short Ribs (I know! They are getting all fancy with the bison! I’m sure you could just use beef short ribs!)
Alton Brown’s Molasses Coffee Marinated Pork Chops
Brown Sugar and Coffee Barbecue Sauce
I think I see a pattern here…coffee seems to go hand in hand with sugar of some sort. Coincidence? I think not.

Another new beauty regimen! Have you been yearning for smooth, exfoliated hands? Grind up your coffee beans to semi-coarse (for that extra exfoliating action) and rub them around with some liquid soap while you’re washing your hands. Smooth hands will be your reward!

Mint!

Did you know that mint is really good for you? It’s not just a garnish on our coffees & teas…

If you try our mint tea, the mint is steeped with green or black tea (your choice) and the flavor is oh-so-heavenly. It’s good for stomachaches and bad breath too!

Oh and supposedly, mint is known to enhance male virility and improve woman’s sensuality. Aristotle warned Alexander the Great to not allow his soldiers to drink mint tea during campaigns, mainly because the philosopher believed it to be an aphrodisiac. Slightly harder to prove but what’s the harm in trying, right?!

From the corner of 24th and Folsom to the bottom of my heart <3

Have you ever been to the Philz on 24th and Folsom? Photos and memorabilia blanket the walls, the comfy living room is filled with mismatched furniture, and the bounty of plants and sky mural above make you feel as though your in some other world. It is here where the magic was born. Below are scanned artifacts from this special place that help tell the story of how Philz Coffee came to be.