# Eating coffee grinds, do you?



## w.debord (Mar 6, 2001)

I just made a recipe out of LA Cour De Saviers (sorry I need to re-look at how you spell that), his coffee mousseline cake. The photo looks so good, so I went for it...with-out reading ahead, oops.

His filling was literally butter, coffee paste and meringue (with a anise/coffee liquor soaking to the cake).....I thought that was rather off so I added some pastry cream for some depth (thanks to angery who made me aware of that, in her mousse thread). Then to finish off his cake he adds coffee grinds to his meringue.

I've read other recipes that call for coffee grounds. I find that really unapealing, is it just me (stuck in the mid-west)? Would you eat a torte that contained coffee grounds, really? Why not go a different route...can you imagine your nicely dressed clients crunching on grounds and smiling with them stuck between their teeth? Do Europeans really eat them in cakes?


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## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

Wouldn't it feel gritty on the tonge or the palate?

Not sure I would like the mouthfeel although I never had anything like that before.


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## pompeyams (Jun 4, 2001)

Hello from England --- I once had a chef who forgot to strain the coffee when making a chocolate St Emilion it is horrible with all those bits in your mouth you cant seem to digest them DONT DO IT Love pompey


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

Spent coffee beans are just that. The only thing I've come up with is, throw them in a oven and your bakery will smell wonderful. I love Treblit coffee extract from France. It's a wonderful corked product.
Hey DeBord, just lurking around. I too, had to leave. Just going to sit back and listen if you'all don't mind.


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## momoreg (Mar 4, 2000)

I love that Trablit too!! 

I have used very coarsely ground coffee beans in small amounts, not as the main texture of something, but to add slight texture and visual interest.  I wouldn't want to eat finely or even medium ground beans, but when they're larger, in small quantity, it can be nice.

Haven't you guys ever eaten chocolate covered coffee beans? It's kinda powdery, but it's good!


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## lynne (Oct 6, 2001)

Or Schaffenberger's Mocha bar with coffee bean bits...

But I have too say that too much would be a bad thing, especially if it's unexpected!


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## angrychef (Jan 15, 2001)

The Coffeebean and Tea Leaf shops make frozen mochas with chocolate covered coffee beans. Really good but that's about it. Try folding in chopped toffee bits in the coffee mousse.


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## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

Just as a side note,spent coffe grinds are great in your compost.
cc


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## w.debord (Mar 6, 2001)

It's been a long while but I've eaten chocolate covered coffee beans and I can't recall them being like grounds you accidentally get in a cup of coffee. Do they treat them differently so they are more powdery like you suggest Momoreg? 

I could see listing it on a menu and making people aware of what their about to eat. But in a torte on a buffet I would have felt like I betrayed my clients trust and might have lost some if they didn't "get it". I'm not sure anyone gets half the things we foodies dream up. 

Hum, I guess I need to get out more...........


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## pastrychef_den (Jun 30, 2001)

I've used espresso grounds in a tiramisu cake that we make in this famous Chicago Hotel. We only put a tad just to add the character of the cake. You could barely notice it though. This reminds me of Chocolate covered espresso beans. I think the recipe came from one of the owners of The French Pastry School in Chicago.

Trablit is a very good product. It imparts a very good coffee flavor to the end product. 

Au Coeur Des Saveurs is a very nice book, quite pricey though. Very European.


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## blanchtoque (Oct 29, 2000)

As a line cook one of my chefs had a Kona Chicken breast. We lightly dusted the breast in powdered (very finely ground ) coffee and sauteed it. Then finished it with with Marsala and chicken stock. I liked it but it never sold well.


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## momoreg (Mar 4, 2000)

All I mean by powdery is that once you chew it up, the texture is strange. Maybe powdery is not the right word. Sawdust-y is probably more accurate.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

I believe they roast those beans heavily before they coat them. Coincidence? Out to eat last night, great meal,dessert time, I just asked for the pastry chefs special.
He himself arrived at our four top to explain his creations,what prompts people to stick metal things through their tongue? anyway, 2 fruity selections, the usual, with Bourin purees strait? a great slice of plain homemade buttermilk pie and Tiramisu. We had no idea the spots were groung coffee beans, a horrible bitter end to an otherwise great experience.


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## w.debord (Mar 6, 2001)

I wanted that pale brown speckled look, lotus (totally like the photo), I had thought about using instant espresso in place of the real grounds...but I just ran out like two days before and haven't gotten any more in. 

That's good to know it works in a buttercream, I'll try it, think it would work the same in a meringue? As far as in the cake batter...thanks for the tip I'll remember that.


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## lotuscakestudio (Jun 28, 2001)

I add a tablespoon of caffeine-free instant espresso to a batch of white buttercream and it tastes divine. It's my most requested icing and filling flavor. (Well ok, maybe next to raspberry). So one day I was thinking it might do well in my vanilla sponge cake and it DID NOT work. *gag* It tasted like... geez... coffee grounds!


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## lotuscakestudio (Jun 28, 2001)

I would like to add that it makes the icing a pale brown and leaves it speckled. Adds a lot of character and I think it looks cool.


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## compassrose (Jun 1, 2001)

I've used very finely ground coffee beans (in small amounts, like a tablespoon or less) in chocolate-mocha cake batters, and they've been fine.

Of course, I also use whole-grain flour in my cakes, so that may disguise the texturising effect of the grounds in a general more solid and sink-your-teeth-in mouthfeel.

I ADORE chocolate-covered coffee beans! "Hm. I feel a little strange... Could it be the half-pound of coffee grounds and chocolate in my tum?"


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## angrychef (Jan 15, 2001)

I've also seen pastry chefs in uppity restaurants use finely ground cocoa nibs in the mousses and cakes. Maybe that would work?


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## katherine (Aug 12, 2000)

If you care enough to test a coffee bean for freshness by eating it, you should give up buying roasted coffee and roast your own. I bought a little home roaster, and I roast twice a week. Never a bad cup, and the coffee costs half what old, stale coffee does in the store.

Coffee roasting equipment and brewing supplies


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## lotuscakestudio (Jun 28, 2001)

With all this talk about coffee grounds and beans and whatnot... it's got me curious: how do they make caffeine-free beans? Are they just grown that way? Or do they do something to the beans during processing?


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## m brown (May 29, 1999)

when making tira mi su i leave in the espresso grounds with the soaking espresso, it adds to the texture and depth of the coffee influance of the dish. 
also leave some in when making espresso cremalata. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm


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## w.debord (Mar 6, 2001)

Sorry, I have to ask, what is cremalata? I've never heard of it....


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## m brown (May 29, 1999)

a combination of ice and cream. 
it is made by hand in the freezer.
really lovely.


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