Though you think you’ve covered all your bases, there’s likely someone who managed to slip right under your gift-giving radar. Hairdresser? Massage therapist? Piano teacher? As long as they’re coffee lovers, we’ve got a great last-minute suggestion for you.
Head down to any of the Kaldi’s around town and pick up a 12-ounce bag of the local roaster’s Holiday Roast 2010. Each year, Kaldi’s produces a blend of beans specially designed for the holiday season and this year is no different. Blended from two radically different beans, the 2010 blend offers coffee lovers a complex but not over-the-top java experience. This year, the blend incorporates coffee from Costa Rica, and the Helsar de Zarcero along with Dama Yirgacheffe, an organic Ethiopian bean.
Both of these blends hail from Kaldi’s line of Relationship Coffees. Kaldi’s buyers have a personal relationship with the growers of these beans, which ensures the coffee is grown in an ecologically sound manner and that the farmers are treated fairly.
The coffee is good for your palate as well as your soul. The Yirgacheffe boasts citrusy notes while the Helsar de Zarcero chimes in with hints of cherry and cranberry. Together, they provide one gutsy and flavor-forward cup of joe.
This article appears in Dec 1-31, 2010.