Christmas (Pudding) and Coffee

In my personal experience, I find that I have a number of special treats, amongst all the goodness that comes at you, during the Christmas Fest. As a child, I recall the stuffing in the turkey being a novelty; it also tasted better than its host.

Here is an interesting piece of news, President Joe Biden used his powers to order a stay of execution on the two turkeys that had been booked for the White House Thanksgiving celebrations. Apparently, it wasn't his idea, it may have been JFK who was the first to say, let's give the turkeys something to celebrate. Traditionally they have always been donated by a "local turkey breeder" I just wonder how that works for their marketing strategy. I'm not an American, so I will stay out of this one.

The other highlight of my Christmas dinner was, and still is, Christmas pudding, accompanied religiously, by brandy butter. The preparation of which was an event in itself! My mother had a penchant for the stuff, so it was important to get it right; some years were better than others. This lack of consistency added to the risk and therefore the tension around its preparation, and what kind of brandy butter year, it would turn out to be.

Moving to the present, the turkey has become a rare occurrence in my life, possibly this is due to a general wokeness towards turkeys. Possibly US presidents have set a precedent.? I do not know, but without the turkey, there is no stuffing. On the other hand, the Christmas pudding and brandy butter, have not lost their rating. In recent years there is something that I have grown to enjoy with these two complimentary delights and that is coffee!

Somehow, the three are a wonderful combination of taste, texture and sensation; with beneficial after-effects that are definitely part of it. The trick is to stop after one helping but that is not easily done. I might add that the experience can be repeated on Boxing Day and again, anytime after that, until one, or all, of the richly delicious ingredients, runs out.

I can't help with the first two, but I will take the liberty of recommending the single-origin coffee beans that we offer on our website. They are grown by an old school friend in the highlands of Zimbabwe. They are roasted by another friend in Cape Town. Both of them are very good at what they do. The coffee plants themselves grow in the ideal soil, at an optimum altitude. How they get from the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe to Cape Town, is a story in itself, but the short version is.... by bus.

If you consider all these factors and then bring everything together by grinding the beans at the same time as the brandy butter is beaten. You may be setting yourselves up for a very rewarding experience.