Coffee snob tour of California

Jose is a self-confessed coffee snob, and I'll admit I'm probably turning into one too. While I still frequent Starbucks (the horror!) if I'm feeling desperate, I'm definitely beginning to see the light in terms of truly well-roasted and well-brewed coffee. There are no gourmet coffee shops in Los Altos, which is tragic, but I think Red Rock in Mountain View is probably worth a try.A great part about these shops, though, is that you can buy their beans to brew at home.
Please enjoy these photos from my recent pilgrimages with Jose to notable coffee roasters in Northern California and the LA area!

Barefoot Coffee Bar

5237 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara, CA

Perks at UCSD brews this coffee, and it's AMAZING! Fun atmosphere, yummy pastries and not too far from Los Altos.

Verve Coffee Roasters

816 41st Ave, Santa Cruz, CA

Our favorite cafe of all of the places we visited, definitely a great place to relax and caffeinate. It was also my favorite espresso of all, and the best part is they roast the beans right next door to the cafe! Their employees and baristas are chill (it is Santa Cruz after all) and it was a fantastic stop. 

Samovar Tea Lounge

3 locations - we visited 297 Page Street, San Francisco, CA

 Ok you caught me, this isn't coffee. But it deserves a spot in this blog because of its ridiculous selection of specialty loose leaf teas. It has everything from black to white to herbal to oolong. Not cheap by any means, but a fun destination for a little snack and more caffeine. By this point in the day, we were definitely buzzing...

Element Coffee 

2364 Ventura Blvd, Camarillo, CA

Our daily breakfast stop while in Oxnard, which brews Intelligentsia coffee beans. It's a relaxed, open atmosphere with a comfy couch (a big plus for me) and yummy pastries. Element was probably my favorite place we visited in the area, and it's Jose's hangout spot when he's at home. Try their vanilla latte sweetened with agave syrup - AMAZING!

Intelligentsia Coffee

5 coffee bars across the country - 

we went to 1331 Abbott Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA

Coffee at its most pretentious... I can't say I loved the "experience" of my coffee here, it was too rushed, a little crowded, and not comfortable to sit for any period of time. The baristas were snobby, but I guess with all of their awards, they're entitled to a little pride. However, there's no denying that their coffee is fantastic and the blackberry thyme muffin we shared was pretty foodgasmic. Worth a trip, but don't plan on bringing a book or making friends with the baristas!

Purple

I really really like the color purple. A lot. I'm not going to elaborate more because it's kind of obscene, but it seemed a natural choice to blend my loves of purple and baked goods into the tour de force of this blackberry cupcake. I originally developed this recipe to enter it into a contest to have it served at the Emmys, which I'm not going to win, but I'm SO glad I did because it's hands down the best cupcake I've ever made. I tweaked some of the proportions to get a super light and fluffy cake, and changed around the frosting to maximize the texture and white chocolate flavor. In the end, my experimenting was a big fat success that had its fair share of speechless test tasters. Bottom line? Make it. There's no better way to celebrate summer than with the combination of fresh fruit and a dollop of frosting :)

Blackberry Cupcakes
Adapted from Une-Deux Senses
Makes 12 cupcakes
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 C granulated sugar
1/2 C unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C blackberry coulis (recipe below)
1/2 C buttermilk (you can substitute whole milk + 1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice - just mix and let sit at room temperature for at least 5 minutes)

Blackberry jam

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a cupcake pan with liners or nonstick spray. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. Whisk in blackberry coulis. Alternate adding dry ingredients and buttermilk so there are three additions of dry and two of buttermilk. Divide batter into pan, filling 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the top of the cupcakes springs back when lightly touched. Remove from pan and let cool completely. Using a small paring knife or apple corer, cut out a small space in the center of each cupcake and fill with blackberry jam. Frost and enjoy!

Blackberry Coulis
Makes about 3/4 cup

6 oz blackberries
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 C water

Directions: Mix all ingredients together in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 5 minutes and remove from heat. When cooled, puree in a food processor and strain.

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from AllRecipes
Makes enough for 12 cupcakes

2 oz white chocolate
8 oz (one package) cream cheese, softened
1/2 C unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 C powdered sugar
2 Tbsp heavy cream

Directions: Melt white chocolate over low heat in a small bowl over simmering water (double boiler). Allow to cool to room temperature. In another bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in white chocolate and vanilla. Gradually add powdered sugar until mixture is fluffy. Beat in heavy cream. Store refrigerated!