National Coffee Day brewtastic

National Coffee Day is brewing Celebrate the beans, the brew, the tools and the “quiet time” when National Coffee Day rolls around on Sept. 29, 2021. Maybe you’ll abstain from coffee until this day so that your cup will taste extra good. Who am I kidding? Let’s get started now with these ideas: Coffee for dinner Some of us can’t get enough coffee, in any form. For about the price of one fancy cup out, get a Don Pablo Coffee Spice Grinder to season your meats, etc. You can see the coffee beans peeking out of the Bourbon Coffee, Pepper & Sea Salt grinder. It’s artistic. Grind some Adabo with the addition of chopped garlic, onion and oregano for something new. Because I’m so into heat, I favor the Organic Coffee Peppercorn & Red Pepper. There’s more. Suggested uses include beef, pork, chicken, seafood and French Fries. When I mention I’m trying these, people look a bit “confused” by the concept. One taste should convince them. www.donpablocoffee.com

Nostalgia It’s not everyone who can harken memories, create a business around them and deliver a good brew for another generation’s memories. “We’re a little Nostalgic,” is Taylor Fields’ message on the package. Fields put the feeling of a neighborhood café into brew bags for no-equipment, no-hassle flavor, Dunk twice and drink. This 100 percent roasted coffee smells so good. What would you expect after Fields partnered with world-class growers and producers for an award-winning roast. This is the perfect travel treat to take wherever you can get hot water. Here’s another Fields note: “We bring craft and care everywhere we go… from origin to cup.” I like the motto and I like the coffee. I tried “Memory Lane.” www.nostalgiacoffeeroasters.com Cool Coffee Clique If your coffee makes you laugh and be a little proud, comes with stylish branded gear, you’ll be good to go each morning with your cup. Cool Coffee Clique Pink and gold accent swag for the basic product, just good coffee. Dare you try Strong AF (AND FLAVORFUL) premium coffee? I’m glad I did. It’s sources from “the best coffee farms worldwide” and “roasted to perfection.” You’ll feel rich and bold and strong just smelling it. www.coolcoffeeclique.com nutpods Celebrate the sweet but not the sugar with a new line of sweet selections from notpods. I’d mentioned them recently and this new “almond+coconut” creamer comes out in little boxes of sweet crème, French vanilla and caramel. It’s all the way good and I tried it with nutpods coffee labeled “a little coffee for your creamer.” These are plant-based, dairy-free and soy-free splashes that will brighten your morning. www.nutpods.com NanoFoamer for latte art I was skeptical. Now I’m a believer. Subminimal NanoFoamer makes barista-quality microfoam milk for cappuccinos, etc. Just the basic tool, with a screened head about the circumference of a quarter, gets inserted into a cup of milk that churns it into a creation you can hear. Seriously, I hear those little bubbles and hold the cup up to my ear like a seashell for this sensation. It’s mindful. Change out screens and go for “thick.” The box calls it “stunning velvet textured milk” in just 20 seconds. I’ve also added cardamom and chocolate powders. Tag your coffee art on their social media. www.subminimal.com To go with: So plants make your coffee, your creamer and your snack to go with. Super Power Bars are very delicious plant-based organic double dark chocolate brownie bars. They have a richness I don’t feel guilty about with 10 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber and 1 gram of sugar. They actually taste like something you cut out of a pan, but they’re packaged to stash in your purse. These gluten-free babies from www.reset360.com are certified organic and Dr. Sara Gottfried puts her name on them. Un-Honey Is your Un-Honey a blonde? I love the copper, which is “chocolatey and carmelly” according to the label. That doesn’t go through spell check but it I’m gonna let it pass on warm toast. Try these beauties from The Single Origin Food. Co. in your coffee. Un-Honey is plant based so no bees were harmed in this so-like-honey-it-may-crystallize creation. “Cruelty Free and Still Killing It!!” is another boast on the label. Blonde comes from coconut, Amber has cane and Copper comes from dates. These are organic, unblended nectars. That’s why some of this heavenly sweetness reminds me of my dad drizzling some Steen’s cane syrup over hot French bread after a trip through Louisiana. This is a modern take on a classic that can go right into your coffee or on an appreciative breakfast side dish. www.thesofo.com Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie who understands the power of coffee. What’s your best coffee tip? Share with her at darraghcastillo@icloud.com

Get to the Hi Mountain for party to field dressing flavors

Hi Mountain’s for home cooks/field dressers Riverton, Wyoming is a far piece from the Gulf Coast of Texas. While I’m surveying the pantry for the never-ending hurricane/rare snow/whatever’s next season, I’m grateful for some shelf-stable dip mixes on the shelf. Hi Mountain Seasonings caters to the briners, smokers and field dressers who go for beef, venison and fish. A lightweight like me can go to town with Cucumber Dip Mix and Sun Dried Tomato Dip Mix. These powders mix into cream cheese and sour cream, but I’ve found that a sprinkle into Greek yogurt gets you flavor with fewer calories. Don’t be afraid to blend up the richer version for celebrations. Ready for that? I especially enjoyed the cucumber taste so late into the season and dipped with colorful bell pepper slices. Buffalo Wings Burger Seasoning – I worked at Bennigan’s in the ‘80s when this area got a buffalo wings introduction. Now the flavor is known to all and Hi Mountain’s blend lets you shake it on any sort of meat, so some flank steak got the treatment. I’m dreaming of tinting a giant, steaming baked potato with Greek yogurt and a shake of the orange seasoning. Satisfying for cooler weather meals, this can also go onto the cauliflower version popular for air frying. * Half my last turkey got Emeril’s seasoning found in my late mom’s stash. Hi Mountain Garlic Pepper Rub got patted onto the other side with great results. This is the kind of spice you may walk by in your pantry and just open the bottle to get a rich whiff. When I told friends about my Garlic Pepper turkey, one said she hoped I had enough left to try this spice on potatoes. A big old “yes” to that idea. Note to Southeast Texas has anglers and hunters enjoying the bounty of Sabine Lake, The Big Thicket and other points of our great outdoor: If you’re the kind to make your own sausages, visit www.himtnjerky.com for ideas on how to care for your catch.

Coffee in bourbon, woke style Coffee with a cause is kind of a new thing. Coffee with flavor has always been a thing. Serve yourself up some of these blends to make mornings meaningful: Don Pablo Coffee Growers & Roasters began as a love story. Darron and Eliana fell in love and traveled around Columbia and Latin America to learn the trade. How romantic. And that’s just from the single-serving cup version of Bourbon-Infused Coffee. Wait until you see the old barrel-style packaging on the whole beans. You’ll be grinding that aroma all over your house. My first cup did, as promised, knock my socks off. This is presented as an after-dinner, special occasion flavor. Don’t be afraid to wake up to it. www.donpablocoffee.com Caribbrew is Haitian direct trade coffee and hot chocolate and even coffee scrub. Aside from fulfilling aroma and flavor, it’s hard to pick my favorite thing about these products, but I’ll begin with colorful artwork on the bags, from a woman brewing a rustic coffee outside her yellow home to a couple gazing out on the fertile mountains of their homeland. See for yourself at caribbrew.com and find out why their whole beans are not shiny. It’s so much fun to read about your product. The Arabica coffees are intense and the drinking hot chocolate is a thick powder that makes a memorable sweet tonic for these winter months. What comfort. If you love to smell coffee, consider taking it to another room with coconut rum moisturizing body butter and coffee scrub. You can get “coffeed up” inside and outside. What is no-mess scrub? You’ve got to feel it to experience it. When these coffees are over (booo!), I’ll console myself over their loss by making something crafty from the bags, until more arrive. www.carribrew.com. This one is def coffee for a cause.