Coffee + Tea Bar Staples
I recently shared my full list of pantry staples here on the blog, and this time I’m sharing my Coffee + Tea Bar Staples for ya! We have a long wooden table with a butcher block top that we build years ago for the butler’s pantry in our old 1920s house. Ever since I can remember in our marriage, we’ve had dedicated (un-fancy, but fun and functional) coffee/tea stations in our homes, even for the one year we were in a rental home when we first moved to Tennessee.
I love having a space for all my mugs to be displayed - it’s one choice that this enneagram 9 actually likes making each morning.
This print in the center - ABCs of Life - from Little Truths Studio is a great reminder every morning.
I’m all about sharing things that help create connection, and one of those is the ability to have a friend - old or new - over for a warm drink in the coziness of home, where real, vulnerable life is lived.
We have so many great local coffee shops that I frequent when I’m in work mode or on a date with one of my girls, but I love having the ability to make the perfect tea or coffee latté at home to start the morning, as a little pick-me-up in the middle of the day, or to put into the hand of a friend.
Plus, the farm is a pretty unbeatable setting for morning coffee…gonna miss the wildflowers this winter…
Here’s what’s always in my Coffee + Tea Station:
Fair wage coffee beans. Ethically-grown coffee has been important to me as long as I’ve known better. Our favorite locally-roasted coffees are Muletown, Bongo Java, Legacy, and Stay Golden. We also love Counter Culture from Durham, NC.
EcoTeas organic unsmoked yerba maté. This is my loose-leaf tea of choice for making tea lattés. I’ve been drinking yerba maté for years - it’s an herb that’s loaded with antioxidants and gives you natural energy from “mateine” rather than caffeine that’s in coffee.
Organic matcha powder. I got mine from Costco, but something like this would work. It might seem pricy, but you need such a tiny amount of powder to make one mug of matcha, so it really goes a long way. Sign up here on our Kindred Farm email list, and you’ll get a download of seasonal recipes, including how to make the perfect matcha latté step by step.
Maca powder. I sometimes add this to the milk when frothing it for the hormone-balancing benefits. It adds a slightly nutty flavor.
Frothed milk. I prefer Whole Foods 365 canned coconut milk, slightly thinned. I open the can and pour it into a mason jar with a little filtered water. Keep it in the fridge until I’m ready to use it. Give it a shake and pour it in the frother.
Burr coffee grinder. We’ve had this one for years, and it works amazingly well.
Thermal French press. We have this one, but you can find one similar. Some people like a clear glass French press, but we’ve broken one too many of those! This type keeps the coffee warmer for longer.
Electric tea kettle. An electric tea kettle like this one heats the water quickly!
Frother. An absolute must. For many years, I warmed my coconut milk with a hand-held frother, and it was great, but broke easily, and I had to first warm the milk in a saucepan before frothing. Now I can do it all in one with this Miroco milk frother that warms it as well as froths.
Cinnamon shaker. A tiny luxury! It made my morning when Steven got me this bonafide restaurant-style cinnamon shaker for the perfect dusting of cinnamon on top.
The routine…
Every morning around 5:30 or 6:00 am, I select a mug at the drink bar in the dining room, one of my favorite spots in our home. I find literal joy by selecting a mug each morning, thinking about who gave it to me or the memory it holds, like the large, smooth white pottery mug with the word “DREAM” stamped onto the side in a typewriter font and think of my friend Jenni in Houston who mailed it to me years ago in a snail-mail exchange.
Then it’s morning quiet time—a sacred routine Steven and I have carved out in the last year or so. I’m definitely an introvert (albeit a very social one), but I’ve finally realized that my day absolutely has to start with quiet, or I’ll be a reactive, uptight, slightly anxious version of myself for the rest of the day. We’ll often sit in silence at first, taking those first hot sips of our drinks, and I’ll read, or journal some thoughts and prayers. Then we’ll often preview the upcoming day or just process what’s going on in our lives right now. It’s a treasured time for us to connect.
Here’s a fun memory in our old dining room in Dallas with our close friends Tommy and Linda in the background on a Saturday morning when we shared breakfast together. Love these memories over warm drinks and yummy, rustic food.
And this was a perfectly crisp fall morning on the farm recently when I basically had an entire photo shoot with my coffee mug. Ha!
So…how do you make it?
Here’s my basic method latté method:
Brew coffee or tea, and make it strong. We grind whole coffee beans and brew in a French press. Fill your mug halfway to 3/4 of the way with coffee or tea.
Warm and froth some milk of choice and add sweetener of choice.
Pour frothed milk on top.
Add sprinkle of cinnamon.
Enjoy!
You can also check out My Full List of Pantry Staples here…
