Yesterday the latest limited edition coffee from Nespresso went on sale in the UAE. The Hawaii Kona Grand Cru is made from 100 per cent Kona coffee beans from Hawaii and is the company’s first “special reserve”. Because of the scarcity of the beans and the specialist methods required to grow them, this blend is in short supply; once the capsules that have been shipped to the UAE have been sold, that’s it.
Pierre Debayle, the Market Director for the MEAC region, describes the coffee as “velvety and slightly sweet at first, with a soft, lingering aftertaste, that rather then being bitter, is gentle, fruity and rounded”.
Nespresso recommend that the Hawaii Kona is best served as a 40ml espresso or with a drop of milk (7ml) to enhance its nutty, toasted flavour. The coffee is being sold at select UAE Nespresso Boutiques (Abu Dhabi Mall, The Mall of the Emirates and The Dubai Mall) from October 29, with a sleeve containing 10 capsules costing Dh100.
If you happen to be visiting the International Fine Food Festival over the next few days, you'll have the chance to sample a range of Nespresso's Grand Cru coffees, talk to coffee experts, test out a selection of machines and taste another limited edition blend called Crealto.
When developing the Crealto coffee - which sees the beans being roasted at a lower temperature than usual, for longer - the company worked with chef Mauro Colagreco to develop some coffee based recipes. His recipe for the Orange Refresher drink (pictured above) is below.
Orange Refresher
Serves 2
Ingredients: 2 x 40ml capsules Crealto (or 2 x 40ml espresso) 100g sugar 100ml water 1 orange, zest only crushed ice 2 cloves 2 ice cubes
Tip the water, sugar and orange zest into a saucepan and place over a medium heat. When the mixture begins to simmer and the sugar has dissolved remove the pan from the heat. Leave to stand for five minutes, then strain through a sieve.
Fill two glasses with crushed ice, leaving a 3cm gap at the top. Pour 50ml of orange syrup over the ice.
Prepare two espressos (preferably Crealto) in a cocktail shaker, adding the two cloves and cubes of ice. Shake vigorously, then pour the mixture through a sieve onto the crushed ice. Serve.