Another Coffee Christmas

Christmas at my house usually officially starts when the L.L. Bean Holiday centerpiece from family in Maine arrives.  Followed by the Vocal Arts Christmas concert at the SLO Mission.  Now, those two events have been joined by our own Los Osos gem of a business – SLO Roasted Coffee Company.

For the second year, they hosted another Holiday Open House , coffee tasting, coffee roasting demonstration last Saturday.  The crowd was even thicker this year than last and, as word gets out and people put the event on the radar, I’m sure it’ll continue to grow. Great chance to see friends and neighbors, taste a wide variety of their coffees and schmooze.  Plus, learn something about coffee.
 


But this year they’ve added a new wrinkle.  A table displaying new products made with coffee.  Like a coffee scented candle.  Or, soap, shampoo and body scrub.  Or coffee cookies.  And what’s interesting about that is they’ve paired with two other local businesses to create these new products.



In the case of the soaps, Babylonian Soap Company in Morro Bay and for the cookies, the Brown Butter Cookie Company in Cayucos.  Very clever, one local business pairing with another local business to create more business
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They were also demonstrating some new products, including this portable coffee grinder.  Which is useful if you’re a foodie out hiking in the Himalayas looking for the Yeti and you just have to have a freshly ground cup of coffee. Or you’re just out camping and see no reason why you have to be suck with boiled coffee when you can have, instead, freshly ground beans made with one of of my new favorites – the  small, portable AeroPress, a kind of small, super-duper Espresso/French-ish one cup press that makes absolutely delicious coffee in the time it takes to boil water. The fast pressing removes all the bitterness and you’re just left with yummy. (The versitility of the AeroPress is handy.  Depending on the amount of coffee you use, you can end up with espresso, or cappuccino, or add water for an Americano, or add the full amount of water and make a regular cup of coffee.  All of them smooth as silk )



And to display some of their new products, they’ve set up a great new mini-store inside the front door.  If you’ve got friends and family living outside the county, SLO Roasted is a great way to send them a taste of Los Osos. Toss in some Babylonian soap and some cookies from Brown Butter Cookies and you’ll have a Care package from the central coast.
SLO Roasted is at www.sloroasted.com , the Babylonian Soap Co. is at http://www.babyloniansoap.com and Brown Butter Cookie Company at http://www.brownbuttercookies.com.

And to finish off starting the holiday season, coming up is our own Loving Hands At Home Los Osos Christmas Parade, Saturday, Dec 14 at 10 a.m. followed by the annual Needs & Wishes Fundraiser at the Community Center for the homeless shelter.