Vartan showed us how well organized the farm and the trees and vines are, allowing seven full-time workers on average at the farm to plant and harvest fruit. We talked about how important the “certified” in certified farmers’ markets is, and the business of retail, wholesale and the role of the fruit packers. We discussed the conspicuous “Dust Bowl” signs posted by larger macrofarmers along the I-5 corridor, its associated politics, and effects of current events on the working and economic conditions at the farms. It was encouraging that even amidst the times, a small well-run passionate family farm can survive and thrive.

For our Blue Bottle Coffee flavor we created not only a new flavor but a whole new method for making coffee gelato. James Freeman sat down with us to discuss what is different about Blue Bottle Coffee and we had a cupping of several coffees. A day later, in our own kitchen, we decided that a cold press method of making coffee would make a delicious cup of gelato. And it does.

When we met Michael Recchiuti we knew we would like him because one of the first things he said to us was, “You should come by our kitchen and have some chocolate.” We spent several hours tasting chocolate, discussing gelato and working out ideas for a few Recchiuti flavors of gelato. Our stores are now selling the result of that, and several other conversations, Recchiuti Chocolate & Malt. We have several new flavors in the works as well, but we like to take our time so Michael will keep inviting us back.

Our guests were blown away at how true our tea flavors tasted. Ahmed from Numi Tea was instrumental in that because he showed us how to get the maximum amount of flavor out the tea. There are several flavors of Numi Tea we will be offering. You can stop by now for Numi Earl Grey gelato which has a wonderful Italian Bergamont orange flavor to it.

TCHO Chocolate has been very popular in our stores. We are currently using the TCHO Chocolatey version which was very popular at the tasting. This chocolate is sourced from Ghana and is dubbed “chocolatey” because of the rich, fudge-like flavor.

Sample twenty-two (22!) never-before released gelato flavors created in conjunction with the founders at Numi Tea of Oakland, Blue Bottle Coffee of Oakland, Recchiuti Chocolates of San Francisco, TCHO Chocolate of San Francisco and St George Spirits / Hangar One of Alameda. From 6:00pm to 9:00pm on Thursday, February 4th, you will be able to sample as much as you like from a wide array of gelato made from the finest local ingredients available.

Some of the flavors include a sneak preview of: Numi Tea Aged Earl Gray, TCHO Chocolate Nutty, Blue Bottle Coffee Sidamo, St. George Spirits Absinthe, TCHO Chocolate Citrus, Numi Tea Rooibos Red Mellow Bush, and Blue Bottle Coffee Bella Donovan.

Several of our friends from these local artisans will be on hand to discuss or sample their products as well.

Proceeds from the event will go to Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) to aid the relief effort in Haiti.

*tickets need to be purchased in advanced*

Tickets are only available at brownpapertickets.com.

The reality of what we needed to do next sank in when we laid it all out in our gelato kitchen. We had nearly two dozen different tea varieties that needed to be made into gelato. That’s a lot of work so Chris and I came up with a plan, ask Todd do it.

We brought 18 samples of tea gelato back for the entire Numi office for a tasting. We were rewarded with huge smiles and kind words. They complimented our fine gelato and we praised their high quality tea. In a few weeks you will be able to enjoy several flavors of tea gelato made with tea sourced from Numi, another great Bay Area company.

Last week we met James Freeman at his beautiful new Blue Bottle roasting facility in Oakland. We explained how we make gelato and he talked about different ways they roast and brew coffee. Then we enjoyed a cupping of several single origin beans. Then James said, “Where’s the gelato?” He gathered some people and we enjoyed another kind of cupping.

From that one conversation we developed a whole new way to make coffee gelato, we call it the cold press method. Our Blue Bottle Coffee Gelato will be in stores soon.

Gingerbread
Egg Nog
Marsala Raisin
Snowflake
Irish Cream
Peppermint Bark

The Irish Cream gelato is inspired by Rick’s family tradition of making Irish Cream in the days leading up to Christmas and uses their family recipe. Peppermint Bark is inspired by my wife’s annual Christmas treat. Each year she makes a big batch of Peppermint Bark for co-workers, friends and relatives.

Bring one of our gelato pumpkin pies made with an all-natural crust and our hand-crafted pumpkin gelato and you will be praised for your thoughtfulness, admired for your cleverness and toasted for you sense of grace. Your name will be remembered next year and years to come and surely, more invitations will arrive at your door as a result.

But do keep in mind, our gelato pumpkin pies are only available through Christmas.

This year we have Apple Crisp, Apple Cider, and Pecan added to our daily todo list along with previous year’s favorites like Pumpkin, Butternut Squash, Maple and Guavasteen. We will carry these flavors through the end of November. And you know what the end of November means. right? December’s Christmas flavors are right around the corner.

In past years they had sold the fruit to Berkeley Bowl but the Grossmans didn’t notice the fruit selling well and they worried that people didn’t know what to do with it after they bought it. Rather than sell the fruit to Berkeley Bowl, they sold it to us. For the past four years we have bought all of the fruit and turned it into a delicious sorbetto sourced just a few miles from our kitchen.

So what is a Feijoa? You may know it as a pineapple guava or a guavasteen. Or you may not. It is a rare fruit after all. The taste is very sour but when we make it into a sorbetto it turns into a very unique and refreshing flavor, one that makes you wonder why it is such a rare fruit.

The periodic rain was much less of a deterrent than the loud music performance that took place directly above our cart. I felt like the neighborhood curmudgeon yelling, “Turn that racket down!”

One of the reasons we had such a long line was that our portions were so much bigger than some of the bites of chocolate being given away at other booths. The event raised an awful lot of money for Project Open Hand so it was well worth it.