spicy coffee goodness!
Gettin' Down in the Dagoba System
April 9, 2005

Since we're currently stuck with a container of wimp-ass coffee until we get our next Blue Bottle hit, I was NOT looking forward to my daily cuppa this morning. However, as luck would have it we were out of bread. How is that lucky? Oh, you just wait. We hoofed it up to our little organic corner grocery store (I swear, only in California is your corner grocery store guaranteed to be 100% certified organic) to get some breakfast stuffs. And then some.

After I didn't stop with the loaves of the Semifreddi's Country Levain and Rustic Sourdough, I also didn't stop with the scallions, Pink Lady apples, avocados, grapefruit, and big bunches of herbs. And I certainly didn't stop with the Moosewood macaroni and cheese, the pomegranate molasses, the rose water, or the Lebné yogurt. (I have REALLY big plans this weekend -- Shh! My kitchen doesn't suspect a thing.) I was wandering down the aisles, happily acquiring cold bottles of Izze (one of my newest passions) when Dr. Mathra laughed, "Ah, Dagoba!" We love the name because of, you know, Star Wars, but we've never tried any of it. I looked at their line of organic hot chocolates and cocoa powders and pulled down their Xocolatl -- hot chocolate with chiles and cinnamon. Let me list the ingredients for you: "Certified Organic cane juice, Certified Organic cacao powder, Certified Organic dark chocolate, chilies [sic], cinnamon, and of course, love." So simple, so pure, and suddenly? I was looking forward to my coffee.

Given that I'm a self-proclaimed coffee wimp, I have no problem admitting that it's an old trick of mine to add hot chocolate mix to my coffee when I don't have any cream or milk on hand. And let me tell you, honey, with the slender Xocolatl cannister in hand, I could think of no better way to spice up my Wimp Ass Coffee than with chiles and cinnamon.

You know what's great about trying new things? When the expectation of enjoyment of those things falls far short of the experience. I dumped a spoonful of the Xocolatl into the bottom of my empty cup, poured hot Wimp Ass Coffee over it (it mixes better this way rather than if you pour the coffee and then add the hot chocolate mix), and stirred. Then I took a swig. DAMN! The chiles hit the back of my throat with a sensuous sting while the cinnamon flowed over the top of my tongue and into my nostrils. My whole mouth came alive with a single sip. And it didn't stop there, either. Each sip was just as powerful and intense as the last.

Cafe Yoda's "Drink or Drink Not, There is No Sip" Coffee

1 cup Wimp Ass Coffee

2 teaspoons Dagoba Xocolatl hot chocolate mix.

Add Xocolatl mix to empty cup. Pour hot Wimp Ass Coffee over it until filled. Stir and drink. Resist the urge to bellow and scamper around the apartment to simultaneously cool down your mouth and demonstrate your nirvana.

Now that's how I like to wake up in the morning! As I write this Dr. Mathra's still in the kitchen whooping loudly after each sip. It's getting rather annoying, actually, but I'm just glad he's stopped with the constant Gregorian chants. Don't ask -- it's what a day of non-stop listening to NPR does to you.

Tune in later this weekend for more updates on how I finally got my culinary groove back, but also check out my Desperate Housewives recap from two weeks ago. Love that Edie. And read about my night out in the Marina with fellow KQED Bay Area Bites bloggers. I'm the girl in green with the blond stripe in her hair.

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