Boise Beverages Get Creative this Season
story by Chelsea Chambers
photography by Pete Grady
As the sun creeps over the mountains and the frigid morning air dances across the room, almost nothing in the world sounds more appealing than a hot cup of coffee to draw you out of bed and ready yourself for the day. While winters in Idaho tend to be unpredictable, there is one guarantee – it’s going to be cold. Oftentimes it’s hard to get going when our limbs are frozen and our bodies crave a state of warm hibernation under a blanket. Fortunately, not all is lost this season, and there is still hope for a much more productive and comfortable winter.
A piping cup of coffee in the morning seems to effectively lure even the most bed-ridden of us out to face the cold winter world. However, a hot beverage throughout the day does wonders for those who must brave the outside beyond our cozy blankets and fireplaces. In our rapidly advancing age of industry, businesses are becoming more and more creative in their menu options, allowing us a myriad of hot beverage choices to thaw the limbs and warm the soul.
One such establishment, with a wide variety of natural ingredients and recipes, is Kind Cuisine Café, in their newly opened location on State Street. They offer a unique array of teas, coffees, and lattes to beguile the senses. The Matcha Green Tea Latte is delicious and provides an incredible amount of antioxidants and detoxifying properties that aid in both bodily health and mental concentration. They’ve also released the Spicy Cacao Maca Latte that boasts a bold, tantalizing flavor as well as all of the health benefits and immune system boosts of maca.
Bardenay, with two convenient locations in Boise and Eagle, serves a large selection of evening warmers to entice every flavor spectrum, from a Raspberry Toddy to their renowned Hot Buttered Rum. Their Autumn Night warmer, with Bailey’s and Godiva chocolate liqueur, has a heart- warming cinnamon taste amid a wonderland of decadent chocolate flavors. The Keoke Coffee offers the pleasantly warming simplicity of chocolate and coffee with the perfect blend of Kahlua and brandy.
Shangri-La Tea House, on the corner of Overland and Federal Way, has one of the largest selections of naturally brewed teas to enjoy with the accompaniment of their frequently played live music. Their teas can be enjoyed by the pot or be purchased as a loose-leaf tea to take home and savor. Our personal favorite is the Fairy Flower, which is an eloquently blended mix of lemon balm, linden leaves, lemon verbena, lavender, and rose. Steeping pots are placed over a tea- light warmer in order to maintain optimum temperature levels throughout your stay.
Another fantastic restaurant in Boise that offers a wide selection of hot beverages is Red Feather Lounge, located on 8th Street downtown. They also offer an exceptional Hot Buttered Rum, as well as mulled wine specials from 4 to 6 p.m. Red Feather is home to one of the best local apple cider drinks, with fresh pressed citrus fruits and ginger, guaranteed to sooth the winter chills. Their Verte Chaud is a unique, locally made, spin on hot chocolate crafted with green chartruse.
A large majority of Boise restaurants and coffee houses are beginning to experiment with new blends of ingredients to cater to the rising desire for a nice, warm pick-me-up. Whether it be hot buttered rum, a flavorful coffee, or a steaming pot of tea, a hot beverage is sure to put up a winning fight against those winter chills.
