I never thought of ceramics and coffee as spiritual siblings.
This, despite the ceremonial pairing that sits before the world’s estimated 1.2 billion coffee drinkers—and me—most mornings: a steaming jump-start poured into a porcelain cup.
But there’s another way the two relate, as evoked with texture by Boulder Creek’s own Gold Dot Coffee Roasting, which is on my mind now because I just got my first shipment.
That shipment, by the way, presents a peak unboxing experience. Every season, Gold Dot mails out its latest bean roast with instructions to pour the box’s contents carefully into a bowl, because the beans also cradle a beautiful—and seasonally themed—coffee vessel that tumbles out.
The spiritual connection: In the hands of Gold Dot co-creators Mitra Mostofi and Rocky Lewycky, both bean craft and kiln skills involve more than ritual.
“We’re makers at heart,” the life partners write on their website. “Between us we share four decades of ceramic work and a lifetime appreciation for coffee. We’re especially drawn to process and to the parallels between roasting coffee and firing gas kilns. Both require patience, intuition, and attention to subtle transformation.”
The results are eye-catching, stylish and tasty. And don’t take it from my remedial coffee mouth. Perhaps the most finicky coffee enthusiast in my orbit, holistic-forward physician Aimee Leigh Rowe, M.D., is all about their current Peruvian medium roast.
“It’s complex without hitting you over the head with its strength—it goes down smoooooth,” she says. “Mama likey.”
On top of that, she might likey the earthy and elegant goblet, which could sell as a vertically challenged vase, more than the beans. Together, they complete the connection between the elements—and heighten the satisfaction of receiving a Gold Dot subscription.
DINING WITH THE FISHES
The rare local chef position with built-in international impact has a new occupant.
Brand-new Monterey Bay Aquarium executive chef Paul Corsentino began his career at Chicago’s acclaimed MK Restaurant before working at New York standouts Bouley, Rouge Tomate, Dumont and the National alongside name chefs like César Ramirez and Geoffrey Zakarian.
I met him 15 years back when he came on at Ventana Big Sur’s Sur House; lately, he’s advised the relaunched Monterey Beach Hotel and created VIN by the Sea’s menu.
His commitment to smart sourcing with farmers, fishermen and foragers mates well with the aquarium’s sustainability-focused dining and Seafood Watch program, which inspires guests and chefs alike to think about what they’re reeling in.
SWEET SNIPPETS
The Apple-a-Day Festival gets to the core of seasonal flavor at the Felton Farmers Market with apple scavenger hunts, foodie facts, farmer interaction, apple pressing, Ecology Action Bicycle Blending, live music, face painting, art-making and “all the standard joys of this sweet neighborhood market,” 1:30–5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8; santacruzfarmersmarket.org.
California Pizza Kitchen is looking to debut up to 1,000 automated food machines across the country that issue pizza in 90 seconds, starting with airports and expanding to hospitals, universities, hotels and sports venues.
A “Celebrate Summer’s End” chef-driven barbecue buffet on La Bahia Hotel & Spa’s Seaside Roof Deck gets smokin’ from 5–9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12. Tickets are $75 for ages 5–12 and $150 for adults; labahiahotel.com.
Last week brought news of the loss of two supernovas—Yayoi Kusama and Dolly Parton—but they gave us way, way, way too much that lives on for them to ever feel gone. So, double-quote time for one-name icons.
Yayoi: “All of my works are steps on my journey, a struggle for truth that I have waged with pen, canvas, and materials.”
Dolly: “If I see someone without a smile, I give them mine.”
