Blog

It's easy to do all of these in the Bay Area, a part of the country that lives and breathes that creed. Once you start moving east and not NYC, these goals become somewhat challenging as the winter months set in. As coffee is a seasonal agricultural product, they try to buy the coffee that is closest in it's season and a lot of times they actually cook with it! For the holidays they decided to make a braised swiss steak for dinner, using Gimme! Coffee's Java PTP.

The harvest season for this coffee is June through October. Harvest meaning the ripening of the cherry, picking off the trees, sorting, milling, drying the wet milled coffee then dry milling (separating the bean from the pergamino) then bagging for export. The shipping period for the Java is commonly July through December. Winter is a great time for this coffee, and the perfect choice for the recipe (if you like beef). They wanted to share their recipe, using Gimme! Coffee.
                                     
                                             Braised Swiss Steak

The Java Estate coffee and soy sauce gives this dish a depth of flavor and tenderness. The CHUCK section comes from the shoulder and neck of the beef, and yield some of the flavorful and economical cuts of meat. The downside is that these cut tend to be tough and fatty, and they have more than their fair share of bone and gristle. These are perfect cuts to braise and stew. The ROUND steak comes from the rump area and may be labeled 'top round' or 'bottom round'.

3 lbs blade roast or chuck roast, or 3lbs. round steak, trimmed of fat
1 tablespoon canola oil
¼ cup soy sauce
1 cup of Gimme! Coffee (we used The Java PTP)
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons oregano
1 garlic clove
2 medium onions, sliced

1.    Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the oil and sear meat on both sides.
2.    In a large roasting pan, combine the remaining ingredients. Add the meat, turn to coat both sides.
3.    Bake 3½ to 4 hours at 325˚. Baste as needed. Add more coffee & soy sauce if needed.

To serve: shred beef and serve as a sandwich, or serve with mashed potatoes as an entrée. Note: this recipe works well in a cock pot or a pressure cooker. Use this recipe to make shredded beef sandwiches.

It's a FANTASTIC dish and I thought it was great that they experimented with coffee as food, rather than just a beverage. It ties it to the idea of coffee as an agricultural product, with harvest seasons and peak times for different regions of the world. They did end up making a French Press of the Java while they cooked. Once a coffee lover, always a coffee lover.

* the photos were taken late summer when you could still see the grass!! Get this mug here.