At the heart of coffee

At the heart of coffee…

There is connection.

And what makes connection special?

The people we share it with.

Connection with family, friends, farmers, customers, community. Connection is all about il cuore – the heart.

For whatever reason, coffee seems to inspire us and connect us in so many ways. Whether it’s our inspiration to get out of bed in the morning when we imagine that inviting steam rising from a fresh mug, letting us greet that first connection of the day with delight, or our inspiration to stay up late at night doing all those things we never get to, maybe connecting with ourselves or with a good book. No matter the circumstances it inspires. It connects.

Last week it was inspiration for me to RE-connect with some wonderful partners who share a love of coffee. There used to be a small group of us who held a slight obsession with coffee, and who connected on a weekly basis to share in that. Someone would always bring a press or two or three, and typically we would go in blind. Our senses would take in the scenery, smelling for notes of this or that, slurping and tasting until we were sure we had identified at least several of the core characteristics of the coffee. And almost as special as the coffees themselves was what we would bring to pair it with. Typically a home-made treat, or at a minimum something picked out with tender care on an extra trip to the grocery store. Our tastings were always full of heart.

As with many things, life, work life in this case, eventually got in the way, and we gave up our weekly tradition. More than a year or even two went by since I saw these fabulous people, since I connected with them over coffee. And so I decided to change that.

Inspired by a recent recipe I found (that I thought would be even more incredible paired with the right coffee), and dying for a chance to try it out, I set up a little reunion. This weekend, in preparation, I made a trip to the specialty grocer for some ingredients, and whipped up a batch of chocolate baci (“baci” is Italian for “kisses” – they’re a traditional, delicious treat that’s incredibly easy to make and will make you never want to eat another Hershey’s “kiss” again). Special thanks to the incredible Bell’Alimento blogtress Paula for sharing this baci recipe on her BellaNutella site).

What a perfect basis for getting back to the heart of it all…getting back to some connection with wonderful people, delicious food, and a fresh press of coffee (we ended up pairing with Guatemala Casi Cielo and Guatemala Antigua).

And so I turn it over to you. What inspires you to connect? Is it a special coffee? A delicious pairing? Wonderful people?

I’ve set the table…now you can fill in the blanks. The baci recipe is at your fingertips…who and what will you pair it with?!