Hey there. Taking a break from the news cycle to drop a few reviews and a few recs of drinks I’ve had lately. Like most people, I started the year with some resolutions and every intention to stick to them. Last year, I did Whole30 and was pretty militant with it. This year, I thought let’s do it again but be a little loser with it, the main things I wanted to restrict were gluten, alcohol, and sugar (I’m already dairy free). Here we are 17 days into the month and I’ve broken all the rules I set for myself. A little work stress, solo vacation, and snow storm will do that to you. With that, here’s a few non-alcoholic drinks I’ve tried recently.
De Soi’s Purple Lune
The non-alcoholic brand co-founded by none other than Katy Perry has been around for a bit, but this was the first time I’ve tried any of their apéritifs. Their site describes this particular flavor as, “Rich and delicate, this elixir has notes of blackberry nectar, vanilla oak, and rose petals. It’s complex, but not exhausting.” Stealing that last part to describe myself (but let’s be real, I’m a little exhausting). I didn’t drink this on its own, but mixed it with various things I already had. One night was tart cherry juice, tonic, rosemary simple syrup (leftover from a different recipe), another night was cranberry cocktail, ginger beer, and simple syrup. It was pretty earthy so I’d recommend cutting it with something sweet. We’ll give her a seven out of ten, nothing wrong with a little complexity.
Kin Euphorics Lightwave
Please ignore the obscene amount of carrots I was chopping, but my household is currently addicted to this chicken soup so we double the recipe every time. Drank this straight from the can bebé. Their site describes this flavor as “like naked forest bathing at midnight” which I can’t say I was vibing that hard while chopping veggies, but maybe I should have closed my eyes and played rufus de sol rather than my podcast. We’ll chalk this one up to user error. I did taste a little lavender and vanilla and it wasn’t too sweet. She gets a six out of ten.
Ghia’s Lime and Salt
Ghia was one of the first n/a apéritifs in the space and they keep releasing more flavors. I couldn’t get my hands on the new berry flavor so I settled for the Lime & Salt. The packaging cannot be beat with a shiny metallic can layered with matte labels. It was a bit bitter than I was anticipating so even though it comes in a can, I would recommend mixing. Nevertheless, a good option. Seven out of ten.
Kann Coffee
Not technically an alcohol substitute, but it’s a beverage free of alcohol and worthy of recommending so here ya go. James Beard award chef, Gregory Gourdet teamed up with Deadstock Coffee’s Ian Williams on a coffee roast borrowing the name of Gourdet’s Portland-based Haitian restaurant Kann. The duo used Haitian Blue Mountain coffee beans to honor Haitian culture and history, which they mention on the back of each blue bag.
Haiti produced half the world's coffee, including some of the best beans, all grown on the backs of enslaved peoples. In fact, it was in part the conditions on these coffee plantations that led to the Haitian revolution, when the Haitian people freed themselves from French colonial rule and established the world’s first black republic in 1804.
The blend is super aromatic, opening the package I was hit with a wave of orange and clove. Also, I would add it was reminiscent of some of the better black teas I’ve had (is that sacrilege?). Since it arrived just before Portland was hit with a snow/wind/ice storm, our workaholic roommate (who perpetually eats catered meals at work or out at restaurants with coworkers) was forced to stay home. He’s lived here for over a year and this was the first time he would drink coffee from our humble kitchen. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve offered plenty of times. But even when he’s stayed home sick, he will still go out to a coffee shop for his 12oz of brew. There would be no better occasion to brew this coffee than for a man with the finest pallet in Portland. This was my time to shine. I’m embarrassed to admit that my tools were limited to a standard Mr. Coffee coffee maker (I KNOWWWWWWW), but in my defense I’m not the habitual coffee drinker of the family and the one who is prefers to set it the night before and have it ready when he comes up the stairs. But you better believe I scrubbed every inch of that Mr. Coffee to free it from all previous grounds, lingering flavors of meager Portland Roastery beans, until it was ready for the good stuff. After the house smelled like warm spices and fresh coffee and the last drips filled the pot, we all took a sip. I looked expectantly around the room, trying not to be obvious that the words spoken by [redacted] in the next few moments could make or break me. I impatiently said, “this is good” while he tilted the corners of his mouth down, stuck his chin out slightly as if to say, “meh” which worried me. But then he said, “I like it” and that it was good and described it as “flavorful without the bite / lingering after-taste that sits on the tongue.” I did it. Even though he was stuck inside the house against his will, forced to accept coffee made at home, I still felt that I had accomplished something. But the highest compliment came later that evening after we determined the snow was here to stay for another day, [redacted] says, “Another Kann Coffee morning tomorrow?” I had done what I came here to do: make a cup of coffee so good that it would be superior to anything this man could find at any coffee shops in the nation’s coffee capital. And no one can take that away from me, not even Mr. Coffee.
Thanks for indulging me. Have a great Wednesday :)