A few years ago we decided to try and open a little cafe here in Playa. We knew quite a few expats who craved the foods that they missed from home like us, and thought we would try to open a little shop to fill these needs.
What did we learn from this? I like to cook but I’m not a great business owner. Also, the logistics of opening and keeping any kind of business here was extremely difficult. There were so many laws that we didn’t know of and understand and it seemed we constantly needed new permits and papers and all of that took away from the fun part, which was the cooking and baking. Needless to say, the cafe was only open for a few months.
During those months, we learned how to make bagels, and, I’m not going to lie, they were GOOD. Maybe not compared to Gryfe’s bagels in Toronto or any bagel shop in Montreal, but we fiddled with concoctions until we got it the way we liked. We sold brownies, cookies, mini cheesecakes, and an array of frozen goods. All of this kept us pretty busy.
Needless to say, our working days were looooong. We would make the bagel dough the night before. My husband would wake up at 4:30 a.m. to turn the industrial stone oven on. Then he would wake up our then 12 year old son and 10 year old daughter on alternate days to help by 5 a.m. (I was the one who opened the shop so I got to ‘sleep in’ until 6 a.m.) My husband and kids would go through the bagel process. With their not-so-adorable hair nets on, they would boil, top, then bake the bagels. We only managed to get out about 50 every day. That, combined with me opening the shop, and returning home to bake and cook all day long, my work days were amounting to, very often, 16 hour days.
And so this is when I started drinking coffee. Yes, can you believe it? Even though I came from parents of coffee obsessed people and then even married one, I never quite took a liking to it until my 40’s.
But these were desperate times.
It also ended up being something that I sold at the shop. It did well and sold out quickly daily because, as I’ve mentioned, it’s always hot here and was a little more wallet friendly than the bigger coffee shops (you know who I’m talking about).
You can play around with this recipe until you get it the strength that you like. I had to try a few times before I got it the way I like. Also, if you don’t want to water it down, when you make your regular morning coffee, save the leftovers and freeze them for coffee ice cubes. They’ll keep your coffee cold without it ending up tasting like water.
You can drink it black, but below I’ve added my vanilla cream recipe, which came about because buying it was not cost efficient and I am a big believer that if I can’t find it, or don’t want to pay the money for it, I’ll make it. This is what it looks like before you stir it up
I found a tupperware-style jug with a lid to make the coffee in and bought two of them. I would do the first part in one, strain, and pour it into the other to keep in the fridge. That way I always had coffee ‘brewing’ and ready to drink. Find a good jug to do this in and adjust the measurements. Below you will see the measurements of mine.
Then, proceed to enjoy an iced coffee at home, saving those big coffee shop prices.
INGREDIENTS:
- 2000 ml water
- 250 ml coffee grinds of your preferred strength
DIRECTIONS:
Combine water and coffee grinds into just. Stir and or shake and secure lid. Let sit at room temperature AT LEAST 12 hours. I prefer 24 myself, sometimes I let it sit even longer. Strain coffee grinds though a paper filter, you may have to do this twice. Pour coffee into a container with a lid and refrigerate.
VANILLA CREAM
I use a 3 cup mason jar for this. Easy to shake up and store.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 (387 gram) can of sweetened condensed milk
- (about) 2 cups up milk to fill up jar (I use light)
- 1 TAB vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients in jar and stir with wooden spoon. Keep refrigerated.
ORANGELOLLS 