Today, coffee enthusiasts around the world unite to celebrate one of the most beloved beverages on the planet: C O F F E E. National Coffee Day is a day of pure caffeine-infused delight, and what better way to commemorate it than by adding one of our most beloved beverages to keep you and your guests fueled for a fun evening of dancing. Let's not forget about the Espresso Martini, we make a great one! Want to add homemade Biscotti (also National Biscotti Day) to your coffee station, we got you!
With so many fun and exciting ways to celebrate and serve coffee, we are delighted to share a few of our favorite ways to elevate your celebration with a caffeinated masterpiece.
Pure Joe Urns of French dark roast coffee, decaf, and assorted specialty teas, all condiments, white & brown sugar cubes, fresh softly whipped cream, cinnamon sticks, rock sugar swizzle sticks, and Belgian chocolate truffles.
Mexican Coffee Station
Deeply flavored and aromatic raw cane sugar-sweetened spiced coffee and Mexican hot chocolate, whipped cream, cinnamon swizzle sticks, and fresh Mexican wedding cookies.
Late Night Coffee & Donuts
Shots of iced coffee with a bit of cream and sugar, and teeny freshly made donuts. We also do a fabulous fresh-made donut station too :)
Bourbon & Beans Espresso & bourbon - a classy, original incredibly delicious perker-upper or end note.
Who takes more than a week to make a cocktail garnish?! I do, but wait, wait, before you think I’m nuts let me explain…it’s a special occasion, right? And these cocktails are seriously memorable, incredibly delicious and a standard casual garnish just wouldn’t do. I had just returned from a wonderful trip to a 255-year-old chocolatier in Paris, A La Mere de Famille, who also happens to glacé fruits beautifully. From them, I’d gotten a recipe for glacéed orange peel that I thought would be the perfect flavor for a tasteful little drink clip - and the flavors were eye-closingly divine together.
The cocktail is espresso & bourbon - a classy, original play on the Red Bull concoctions made in bars. An incredibly delicious perker-upper or end note, as one might choose. It's cold, small, and has just the perfect amount of sweet creaminess along with the bold bourbon forefront. This recipe I’d gotten inadvertently from a dear friend who owns The Clean Plate Club, the top catering company in Nashville, where they know how to serve bourbon.
Bourbon & Beans Recipe
This recipe makes a small pitcher, enough for 4-6 cocktails, we serve them in coupe champagne glasses but any small glass would work well.
Whisk up in a pitcher;
4 oz. bourbon
2 egg yolks (yes, not the whites)
4 oz. cold espresso
1 oz. cream
1 oz. agave syrup
pour over ice in a shaker, shake well, at least 20 times and then strain into glasses and garnish with a few drops of bitters & a sprinkle of cocoa if desired.
Glacéed Orange Clips
These are clearly optional, lol, but they do put the whole thing over the top I promise. BONUS: they are uber delicious candy too. These will hold very well in airtight container out of refrigeration.
2 oranges, washed & dried
2 cups water
3 cups sugar
Using a vegetable peeler take off 3″ long strips of zest and cut them in half. Boil a few inches of water & immerse the peels for 5 minutes to soften them a bit. Drain the strips.
For the syrup; bring to a boil over high heat the 2 cups water with 1.5 cups of sugar. Remove from heat & add the drained orange strips. cover & set aside on the counter.
The next day remove the strips with a slotted spoon, add ½ cup sugar & bring the syrup to a boil over high heat. Boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat add the strips back in & cover. Let it sit out again overnight. Repeat this two more times over two more days adding ½ cup sugar again each time, then allow fruit to steep for a week. Remove from the syrup, roll in sugar if desired & dry, and firm up hung over a rack to form the clips.
Savor every moment and brew up some love as you toast to the magic of coffee!
Cheers!
Lynette La Mere, Pure Joy Founding Executive Chef
Photos by Willa Kveta