#ThingsThatGoWithCoffee

When I picked up a bag of coffee from The Barn—a roaster out of Berlin—with flavor descriptors of strawberry, rose hips, and elegant, I knew I was in for a treat. Not only did this Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Kochere deliver on it's promised tasting notes, but it also inspired a recipe for Strawberry, Coconut & Rose Hip Paletas. 

In an effort to embrace the last of the delightful flavors and temperatures of the summer, I paired these fruity ice pops with a Japanese style iced coffee—made with The Barn's Ethiopia Kochere, of course!  If you are interested, you can learn a little bit about this simple brew method in the video below.

Since exploring the flavor notes of The Barn's Ethiopia Kochere, I have become infatuated with rose hips. Rose hips are the fruit of the rose plant, they are naturally sweet, tea like in flavor, with bright citrus notes, and are packed with vitamin C. If you are wondering where you can get them from, I actually sourced a rose hip tea to use in this recipe (For the record, I've been enjoying the rose hips as a hot herbal tea too, and I can't wait to use them as an ingredient in other recipes).

I bought these strawberries at the local farmer's market but they are probably the last of the season which means summer is almost over—ack, I can't believe it! 

A lot of recipes call for canned coconut, but I recently stumbled upon frozen young Thai coconut in my local health food store, and it has been a game changer. Once defrosted, the meat is as close to what you'd get living in the tropics, without all of the mess and work involved in cleaning a coconut. It's a bajillion times better than what's coming out of the can, in my opinion, and makes for an extra delicious paleta. 

We're a bit plastic averse in my household, so as you can see, our ice pop/paleta mold is made of stainless steel. I'm a big fan. 

Strawberry, Coconut & Rose hip Paletas

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of frozen young Thai coconut, defrosted
• 3/4 cup filtered water
• Juice of 1 lime 
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 heaping cup of quartered fresh strawberries
• 3 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp ground rose hips/ roughly 4 sachets of rose hip tea

Method:

1. In a blender, combine defrosted coconut with water, lime juice, vanilla and 1 1/2 Tbsp of maple syrup. Process on high speed until smooth.
2. In a medium bowl mix together quartered strawberries, 2 Tbsp maple syrup and rose hips. Mash mixture with a fork until thick and with small chunks of strawberry—this may take some time, but don't worry, the rose hips require time to expand!
3. Spoon coconut and strawberry mixture into paleta molds, alternating between the two to create layers of color and flavor
4. Once the molds are filled, place in the freezer and chill for 5-6 hours or overnight. 
5. Enjoy!

What's the best thing to pair with paletas? Iced coffee of course! I followed a Japanese style cold brew recipe I found on the Barista Guild of America's website and used a 1:8:8 brew ratio (coffee:ice:water). This brew method is super easy, quick and makes for an incredibly refreshing cup of The Barn's Ethiopia Kochere. 

Special thanks to The Barn for sourcing and roasting this beautiful coffee, and to Boxcar Social for stocking it on their retail shelves in Toronto.