Spice of Life

Its all in the coffee bean

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 20:18:00 GMT

Up on our beautiful mountain, in our charming café, we use Chiasso coffee. We thought it might be fun to shed some light on one of our main suppliers. Now, we borrowed some history from their website which you can check out here www.chiassocoffee.com.au

Chiasso (pronounced Kee-ar-so) is Italian for “create an uproar” – and owners Andrew and Sharon certainly did that at Spice’s owner Heike’s 50th birthday party (we love our suppliers THAT much). Heike, Andrew and Sharon cut up the dance floor together and managed not to speak business but instead let their dance moves do the talking.

Andrew and Sharon have operated Chiasso (est. 1999) since 2011 and have continued to develop their passion for quality coffee – an interest we certainly both share.

Andrew’s drink is a _____________ and Sharon goes for _______________.

Chiasso actually created a specific blend for Spice of Life under the guidance of a master roaster from Monza, Italy. You can pick up a bag of this blend (either beans or ground) – from our online store or off the shelf at the café)

You can visit the Chiasso roastery in Capalaba and pick their brain about different origins of coffee and the roasting process. You can catch a glimpse of their A-grade (or higher) quality beans and check out which have Organic and Fairtrade certification.

Which milk in your coffee is for you?

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 03:32:00 GMT

It seems there’s an abundance of options out there to personalize your morning brew – well, any time of day really. At Spice, we aim to provide a wide range for our variety of customers… Variety after all, is the Spice of Life… All right, lame jokes aside – let’s jump in to the types of milks which baristas commonly use.

Cow’s milk – full cream

PROs – wonderfully flavourful, creates the silkiest froth. The most popular choice at Spice. Good source of protein and calcium as well as nutrients including Vit B12, iodine, whey, casein and magnesium.

Considerations – It is high in fat and therefore calorie content, contains lactose, contains animal products.

Cow’s milk – skim/skinny

PROs – less caloric content than its full cream counterpart whilst still maintaining a flavour profile that does not affect the coffee’s taste

Considerations – Contains lactose and animal products.

Rice milk

PROs – Vegan friendly and contains no lactose.

Considerations – Adds a sweetness to your coffee and alters flavour profile, can be ‘runnier’ than cows milk

Almond Milk

PROs – Less calorie content than cows milk. Vegan friendly and contains no lactose

Considerations – Some describe a nutty flavour and runny texture. For those who like their coffee hot – almond milk can separate and require stirring. More watery texture than cows milk

Soy Milk

PROs – Vegan friendly, contains no lactose. A ‘thicker’ choice of the milk alternatives

Considerations – Like almond milk, can separate.

Coconut Milk

PROs – Vegan friendly, contains no lactose.

Considerations – Whilst some choose it for the coconut flavour, some avoid it for the same reason

Lactose Free Milk

PROs – Texturises well (good frother), Lactose free… obviously… therefore easy to digest. Contains cows milk and so keeps nutritional benefits of calcium and Vitamin D without additives.

Considerations – Can taste sweet compared to regular cows milk, not vegan friendly

So, which is your milk of choice? Got a particular brand you like? Are we missing an option? Reach out at info@spiceoflifecafedeli.com

Our first blog from Tamborine Mtn!

Mon, 06 Sep 2021 20:18:00 GMT

Well, we finally got around to putting the metaphorical ink to metaphorical paper and to pair nicely with our revamped website we’ve decided to add a blog.

Now – lets put a little caveat in place upfront… Running a busy café and being locally owned and operated means we have no idea how often new blog posts will go up – but so help us we’ll sip enough CHIASSO to power an energizer bunny and see how we go.

A little history:

Spice of Life Café Deli was founded in 2005 and has always had the same owner – however has had a few directional changes since its inception (link to renovation/ past lives of the café). We used have an a la carte menu only for breakfast – and our lunch menu was mostly a variety of curries and salads to be picked out from the cabinet. Now, we are open from 6am to 5pm, have two different a la carte menus for both breakfast and lunch and take home options from the cabinet for dinner. Cakes (link to other blog post) have always been a feature of Spice of Life since its birth so no changes there (Germans LOVE their cake). But now you can order these cakes for your celebration from our online store. Catering has become a bigger part of Spice’s operations including weddings, picnics and parties.

And because we live in such a beautiful location with several lookouts and national parks, we have added picnic baskets as another feather to our hat.

It’s quite a lot (and that’s not even mentioning our delicatessen and giftware) but as they say

Variety is the Spice of Life