The world’s youngest Q Grader, Frankie Volkema, finds inspiration in the Colombian coffee producers with whom she works with Joven Coffee Company in Grand Rapids, Mich., for her holiday drink, Navidad.
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Barista Magazine is proud to partner with Pacific Foods Barista Series for a special holiday celebration that we’re calling Holiday Cheer (follow along on Instagram at #baristaseriesholidaycheer).
We invited eight outstanding baristas from all over the United States to create an original drink with a winter holiday theme using one of the products in the Pacific Foods Barista Series line. And that was the only rule! Some of them turned in boozy Hanukkah drinks, others created a drink that’s easy to scale up for a crowd during Kwanzaa. But every single one of them has quality and creativity in common—we can honestly say these drinks are some of the most fun, unique, and delicious holiday coffee beverages we’ve ever tasted!
Every few days through the end of December, we’ll be posting one of the drinks right here at Barista Mag Online, and the posts will include a PDF download of each drink recipe.
First up was Karla Ly Quiñones García, who owns Café Comunión in Santurce, Puerto Rico, with her husband, Abner Roldán. You can read all about her drink, Miel de Avena, a spiced honey oat latte that uses Pacific Foods Barista Series Oat to reach perfection, by clicking here!
Second was Emilee Bryant, manager of Everyman Espresso’s SoHo shop in New York, and current contestant on The Barista League: Online season 2! Read about Emilee’s wildly delicious drink, the Drunkin Donut, which uses Pacific Foods Barista Series Almond, by clicking here!
The third holiday drink was brought to us by the incredible duo behind Cxffeeblack in Memphis, Tenn.: Bartholomew Jones and Renata Henderson. They created a fantastic drink to celebrate the fourth principle of Kwanzaa, Ujamaa, which uses Pacific Foods Barista Series Hemp! Here are all the details about Bartholomew and Renata’s drink!
Fourth was a recipe by Cup of Excellence education manager and instructor Alex Pond. His drink, called National Winner, was inspired by the coffee producers and consumers around the world with whom he works through the Alliance for Coffee Excellence. Paying homage to the Giving Tuesday holiday, Alex created his drink using Pacific Foods Barista Series Unsweetened Almond. Check out Alex’s drink here!
And today, we are so excited to share with you an original drink made by Frankie Volkema, who a few years ago became the world’s youngest Q Grader. Now 14, Frankie operates her own coffee company, Joven Coffee, under her father’s company, Sparrows Coffee in Grand Rapids, Mich. Frankie was inspired to create the original holiday treat, December Horchata, by the young coffee producers from whom she buys coffee in Cauca, Colombia. It utilizes Pacific Foods Barista Series Unsweetened Almond, and is in honor of Navidad.
Stay tuned for more drinks from other outstanding baristas in the Pacific Foods Barista Series Holiday Cheer Project right here at Barista Mag Online, on the Pacific Foods Barista Series Instagram, and at Barista Magazine’s Instagram!
