3 Delicious Ways to Enjoy Your Summer Coffee

This 3 Delicious Ways to Enjoy Your Summer Coffee post is brought to you in collaboration with one of my favorite local coffee brands: Thomas Hammer Coffee.

I recently talked about how I can’t really get into the fall groove of things when the weather is still lingering around the high 90’s.

Although most may associate back to school or the end of August with the end of summer, it actually isn’t officially over until September 22nd. So, don’t worry guys, there’s still plenty of time!

And I’m not ready to say goodbye to summer just yet. Are you?

When I had the opportunity to collaborate with Thomas Hammer Coffee it was a very easy yes. As many of you guys know, I recently moved from Portland, OR to Spokane, WA. I loved Portland, but I also love Spokane. It is a beautiful, artistic, and thriving city, filled with great food, music, and art, and surrounded by nature.

I’ve been a volunteer at the Spokane Humane Society for the past few months, and it’s been one of the best experiences of my life. Tonight, we had an event downtown to celebrate the Spokane Humane Society’s 120th birthday. There were drinks, raffles, food, and adoption events. I was in charge of a puppy. A gorgeous, sweet, incredibly playful Mastiff-Pit Bull puppy, to be exact. That warranted a cup of coffee first, right? Right next door to the beautiful event space we were in was a Thomas Hammer Coffee. Yes! 

I’m happy to say that my cup of Thomas Hammer gave me a ton of much-needed energy, AND that my puppy got adopted! I was so beyond happy I could have cried! I do owe some of it to my cup of coffee, for helping me be awake, alert, and social! (Although I almost adopted that sweet babe myself after carrying him around in my arms for 3 hours.)

And, speaking of coffee, I wanted to share with you guys three delicious ways to enjoy your summer coffee—from how to make the perfect cold brew to how to enjoy a proper affogato. All with my favorite local roaster, Thomas Hammer Coffee. THC is a Spokane-based small-batch coffee roastery with 18 locations in Eastern Washington and Idaho. But you don’t have to be here in Spokane to try it! Thomas Hammer Coffee is available on Amazon. You can order their bold French Roast, smooth Blue Eyes Blend, lively Signature Blend, or fair-trade organic Starry Night Sumatran.

3 Delicious Ways to Enjoy Your Summer Coffee

Delicious, refreshing, and relaxing ways to enjoy your summer coffee—from your morning cup to dessert.

Al Fresco

One of the best ways to enjoy your summer coffee? Outside, of course.

Summer always reminds me of a slower, more relaxed pace of life. Whether you have the summer off or not, there’s truth to that ever-popular lyric “Summertime, and the living’s easy.” 

We had a horrible winter here, and I will gladly take as much sunshine as I can get, for as long as I can get it! I love to start my morning sitting outside with my dog and sipping a piping hot cup of coffee. Summer mornings are still cool enough to sit outside comfortably, and I love the quiet stillness of them. I use this time to water my garden, read a book, or meditate. Even just spending 5 minutes outside in the morning can change the whole course of your day. It gives you some quiet time to reflect, a healthy dose of vitamin D and sunshine, and a chance to connect with nature.

For me, I want my morning cup of coffee to be as strong and as bold as possible. I love THC’s Starry Night Sumatran in the morning. It’s a bold dark roast that is fair-trade and organic.

Cold Brew

How delicious is a good cold brew coffee?

It’s my favorite way to enjoy my coffee on a crazy hot day or as an afternoon pick-me-up. But feeding my summer cold brew obsession can get pretty pricey.

Luckily, it’s incredibly easy to make at home.

Cold brew is as the name implies. It is a version of iced coffee that is never heated, which results in a brew with a lower acidity level. This mean it’s smoother, richer, and way less bitter. (And, bonus: it has more caffeine, too!). There are tons of different inexpensive cold brew machines on the market, but cold brew can be made in anything from a French press to a glass pitcher.

You should start with a 1:5 coffee-to-water ratio, depending on taste. Typically, a good recipe to start with is 3/4 cup of coffee beans to 4 cups of water. You then want to grind the coffee beans to a coarse grind. You want the beans to be ground on the coarsest setting—a fine grind will produce cloudy, mucky coffee.

Then, simply place the coffee in your container and pour in the cold, filtered water. Stir it gently to combine and moisten the coffee grinds, and either place in the refrigerator or leave out at room temperature. Now comes the hard part: waiting. A good cold brew should be left to its own devices and allowed to chill for at least 12 hours, but preferably 18.

Once brewed, strain your cold brew coffee through a fine mesh strainer or sieve lined with cheesecloth. Keep your cold brew refrigerated, and serve over ice with your favorite coffee additions! I love using THC’s super-smooth Blue Eyes Blend for my cold brew, and serving it with some coconut milk and a splash of vanilla.

Affogato

So, yes, I am Italian. And I will always recommend a classic affogato as one of the best ways to enjoy your summer coffee. I mean: ice cream and coffee, what’s not to love?

Although an affogato (Italian for “drowned”) is typically made with espresso, sometimes I like to make it with regular ol’ coffee. A small shot of strong coffee will have less caffeine than espresso, making it a nice after-dinner dessert that won’t keep you up all night.

I like to keep things very, very simple. I use Thomas Hammer’s bold, dark French Roast poured over creamy, quality vanilla bean ice cream and a touch of cinnamon. Perfect.

Thank you to Thomas Hammer Coffee for sponsoring this post on 3 Delicious Ways to Enjoy Your Summer Coffee! What are YOUR favorite ways to enjoy your summer coffee? Let me know in the comments below!