What Do Celebrity Roasts And Granita Have In Common?

Everyone who loves to laugh, loves a good roast. Whether a celebrity, new groom, or long time friend celebrating a milestone birthday, we all enjoy a friendly ribbing about embarrassing moments and quirky idiosyncrasies.  If you're a foodie, you probably enjoy roasts of another nature as well. Oyster roasts, pig roasts, and pot roasts are among several Southern favorites. If you're a coffee lover, however, there is no roast more dear to your heart than the fresh, fragrant, richly delicious roast prepared by your local independent coffee roaster!

What? You don't have a personal coffee roaster? One who custom roasts the highest quality beans of your choice and packages them securely to seal in that freshness and flavor?  Well, allow me to introduce you to Coastal Coffee in Summerville, SC.

Brad & Holly selecting beans to be roasted

Recently, Holly Roberson, owner of GoCharlestonDeals, and I had the pleasure of touring a wonderful, fledgling business dedicated to first class customer service, sustainable practices, and family values.  It's the kind of business many people daydream about while toiling away endless hours at jobs they despise, but endure for the sake of 'making ends meet'. The kind that makes you feel good about family, friends, the environment, and life.

For owners Brad and Jacki Mallet, along with children Richard, Rachael, and Ryan (not the quarterback), that dream became a reality last year when they decided to leave corporate America, move South, invest their savings in a building near the coast, buy a coffee roaster, and focus on their passion: Great Coffee.

The shiny, new, made in America, roaster!

Here's a little background in their own words:

"We're a locally owned, family operated business that's dedicated to sourcing the best beans and roasting them fresh for our customers.

Coastal Coffee Roasters began as a simple idea...

That idea: to share our family's passion for fresh, sustainable coffees with the world. We use Organic, Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, Bird Friendly and Swiss Water Process certifications and are always looking for the best practices We love the coast as much as we love our coffee, so we headed toward the South Carolina coast with our vision for transforming the best organically grown beans into the most amazing, freshly roasted coffee. We use a creative, locally roasted process to bring our passion for great coffee to life in every bag. We want our name to be synonymous with the best cup of coffee that you have ever tasted. Period.

Coastal Coffee Roasters is passionate about bringing the culture of coffee to your cup."

Brad and crew are constantly sourcing the highest quality beans, and are committed to providing the freshest coffee from the best coffee regions of the world, while combining it with the friendliest customer service possible. (If you visit, you can even shoot some hoops with 'em in the back of the warehouse!)

A portion of their wide selection of beans

Every batch is roasted fresh and carefully monitored to ensure the optimal flavor profile.

After a great visit, I left with several new friends and a sampling of some wonderful coffee that was roasted fresh before my eyes just minutes earlier!

If there was ever a small business worthy of support, Coastal Coffee Roasters is it! For more information, to order online, or just share some love, visit their website here.  Also, follow them on twitter here.

Now, for those of you thinking; "I thought this was a food blog. Where's the recipe?", don't get your panties in a wad! I'm including a recipe to ease your tension and show that coffee is for more than just a hot morning drink!

Simple, cool, and refreshing granita:

Coffee GranitaServes 2

Ingredients
1 cup brewed coffee
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons simple syrup (or your preferred sweetener)

Method

1. Brew coffee as usual and mix with milk and sweetener.
2. Place in small shallow pan and reserve in freezer. Every 15 minutes scrape ice crystals with fork. Do this until the entire liquid has frozen into small crystals.
3. Serve in small glasses as a light dessert served with fresh berries or drizzled with dulce de leche.



Recipe and photos are courtesy of my friend Marnely Rodriguez of the blog Cooking With Books. Be sure to show here some love too!

So, what do celebrity roasts and granita have in common? Hmmm...if you make some fresh roasted Coastal Coffee for your neighbors, you'll be a neighborhood celebrity. And, if you're smart, you'll make 'em some coffee granita, too!  Enjoy ;)

p.s. For a coffee ice cream recipe, click here.