Taste a Different Side of Austin: Cold Brews and Chocolatiers

Indulgence is a welcomed notion for any food lover, and today I indulged in two flavors known to regularly bring a smile to my face…chocolate and coffee.

I selected three local cold brew coffees and four local chocolatiers and hit the kitchen with an open palate, a patient photographer and trusty beverage consultant Darren Mykowsky.

After tasting each of the uniquely different locally drawn chocolates, my esteemed brood of tasting professionals (a kitchen full of buddies) and I divvied up the chocolate remains and paired each with its rightful cold brew cocktail partner. Let’s get caffeinated!

Doctor Up Your Brunch

The first meal of the day is said to be the most important. Why not start with a disarming pairing of Chocolate Pharmacy and a Chameleon Cold Brew Cocktail?

Chocolate Pharmacy creates raw, spiced chocolates for the adventurous or health driven patients. Their truffles provide a medicinal impact and healing benefits. Using the raw capabilities of cacao, these chocolates are known to help lower blood sugar, improve digestion and even combat depression. I paired these chocolates with a brunch style cocktail that will kick off any AM affair.

The following two chocolate types from Chocolate Pharmacy provide a subtle and natural taste when paired with a coffee and orange juice based breakfast cocktail:

• Happy Tummy – Powerful trio of fennel, mint and ginger, along with raw cacao to calm your stomach.
• Base Note – Blend used as the base recipe for the entire line of spiced chocolates. Deliciously earthy bitter flavors, then lightly sweetened with Yacon Syrup, which can be used in place of many other natural sweeteners.

To create my Chocolate Pharmacy drink pairing, I chose Chameleon Cold Brew concentrates, which can be consumed straight up or mixed. They made a pronounced appearance in my Breakfast of Champions.

The original blend used in my recipe is a custom black coffee, harvested from Central and South American beans.

Breakfast of Champions

• 1 oz Solerno
• 1 oz Chameleon Cold-Brew Original Black Coffee
• 1/2 oz Orange Juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup

Classic Cuppa

The next pairing takes a well deserved nod as my Top Taste pick. Each local product takes skill, technique and quality production to renowned levels.

The silky Wayward Chocolat ganache piece yields a perfectly crunchy, dark chocolate shell, creating a flavorful duet that leaves you wanting another.

Wayward specializes in Parisan style chocolate, designing ganache pieces made with all natural, anti-oxidant enriched dark chocolate.The Belgian machinery used to craft each artisan-crafted chocolate is the only one currently being used in the U.S.

These chocolates pair beautifully with the ancho spice featured in our next coffee cocktail.

Cuvee Coffee has taken your average cup of coffee, toyed with the science and technique, and created a velvety cold brew that lends flavor and texture to any recipe. Cuvee Black & Blue is the company’s newest product, served on tap and in boldly branded blue cans.

The nitrogenated recipe cascades from tap or can into your glass, ready to drink, and is a great way to shake up your daily coffee routine. A refrigerated can is a perfect accompaniment for your active lifestyle.

Mixed with the sweetness of the crème de cacao and the spicy finish from the ancho liquor, Darren fashioned a silky blend that will have your trading in your afternoon coffee for its more sophisticated sister.

Invisible Morning 

• 1 oz Ancho Reyes
• 1/2 oz Bols Crème de Cacao
• Top off with Cuvee’s Black & Blue Canned Coffee

Another way to pair Cuvee’s smooth Black & Blue with Wayward’s pristine ganache piece is a classic coffee drink I chose to serve up cold and with a kiss of cinnamon, following true Irish kissing tradition.

Irish Coffee

• 1 oz Tullamore Dew
• 1/2 oz Cinnamon simple syrup
•  Top off with Cuvee’s Black & Blue Canned Coffee

Surprisingly Caffeinated

Less is more for the following duos. The coffee cocktails will surprise your palate. While they were both crafted with a coffee base, the appearance and flavor profiles are refreshingly different. With this pairing, I’m also introducing bold flavors incorporated into the chocolates.

Rio Bites Brazilian Chocolates are hand rolled, chewy chocolate morsels made using a traditional recipe and technique. However, they’re always made to order.

The Brigadeiros are a premiere line from Rio Bites. Each chocolate is fit with its own colorful personality with a familiar sweetness in every bite.

The team at Rio Bites is passionate about their chocolates and their impact on the community. Lending a touch of sweetness to Ronald McDonald House, Candlelight Ranch and more, the team at Rio Bites warms hearts and bellies alike!

Coffer introduced the world’s first naturally carbonated cold brewed coffee into the Austin market in 2014. The unique clean palate of the Coffer recipe, combined with the fizzy micro-bubbles took me back to a day of root beer floats and backyard sprinklers.

The identifiable resemblance to its caffeinated soda cousin sets Coffer apart from other cold brews, allowing the use of recipes that incorporate its effervescent and delicate flavor.

Ye Old Time

• 1 oz Ancho Reyes Liquor
• 1/2 oz Galliano Ristreto
• Top off with Coffer Carbonated Coffee
• Serve over crushed ice with garnish

My final chocolate introduction goes to Delysia Chocolatier, who finds a chocolate for every mood and a mood for every chocolate. No need to save these award winning artisan chocolates for a special occasion. Delysia has designed a vast assortment of chocolate products using sustainable ingredients crafted by hand with precision and detail.

Delysia recently opened a Chocolate Culinary Center which will be used for tastings, classes and other chocolate driven fun.

The mocha truffle from the Delysia’s Coffee Collection along with Rio Bites’ Praline Pecan lend a sweet kick and soft finish to our next juicy cocktail.

Submarine

• 1 oz Monkey Shoulder Scotch
• 1/2 oz orange juice
• 3 strawberries, sliced
• Few drops of simple syrup
• Top off with Chameleon Vanilla Concentrate

Sweet and Subtle

The remaining 3-component cocktails are drafted and served simply. They incorporate tequila or scotch with cold brew, then shaken and served straight up.

These final coffee cocktails are sweet enough on their own. However, I selected the earthier, nuttier flavors of Delysia’s Pecan Cayenne Bark and Coffee White Chocolate Bark, as well as Rio Bites White Chocolate Coconut Brigadeiro and Chocolate Almond Brigadeiro to accompany the drinks.

Fog Lifter

• 1 oz Milagro Anejo
• 1/2 oz Amaro Nonino
• Small splash of simple syrup
• 1 1/2 oz Chameleon Vanilla Coffee Concentrate

Hey, Hey, It’s the Monkey

• 1 oz Monkey Shoulder Scotch
• 1 1/2 oz Chameleon Cold-Brew Original Black Coffee
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• Small squeeze of Crème of Coconut

With the holiday season approaching, keep these local purveyors in mind to veer from the standard. These chocolate/drinks pairs are the perfect solution for gifts and unique party creations. You can find information on purchasing at each of the linked websites.

@CrisMueller wants to know:

Which of these local chocolates and cold brews have you tried?