January 20, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Zeke's Coffee
One of Baltimore's biggest success stories has been the wonderful rise to fame of Thomas Rhodes, better known as the founder of Zeke's Coffee. Thomas is selling Zeke's coffee all over town and has work lined up with local brewers, ice cream makers and restaurants.
We had a chance to catch up with Thomas at his roasting operation in Lauraville, where he served us a cup of the celebrated Kopi Luwak coffee. This extremely rare brew comes to us from Sumatra, where it is the by-product of the digestive system of the Palm Civet.
The civet eats ripe coffee berries, and the droppings are collected, thoroughly washed and roasted. Because of the digestive process, certain chemical changes occur, resulting in an extraordinarily smooth cup of coffee. The flavors are earthy and smoky, with a touch of quinine bitterness in the finish. Kopi Luwak, if you can find it, sells for a king's ransom.
Meanwhile, Jerry observed that he loves using coffee in cooking, pointing to a coffee rub that he has fabricated for grilled meats. Al did a little digging and found a very nice recipe for a coffee-based sauce that you can use with roasted root vegetables.
Coffee-Balsamic Sauce for Roast Vegetables
1 cup black coffee
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves minced garlic
bouquet garni of Herbes de Provence
2 tsp crushed black peppercorns
3/4 tsp salt
1. Blend all the ingredients in a small sauce pan over low heat. Set aside to cool, at least 30 minutes, then remove the bouquet garni.
