Guatemala Casi Cielo

Almost Heaven.

Guatemala Casi Cielo is a blend of coffee that fits its name. For me, at any rate. It’s not a coffee that is beloved by all, but it does have a loyal following of people, like myself, who do not lament the end of the Christmas Blend season as much as others, because we know that Casi Cielo is close behind.

I found this video on YouTube recently which explains a bit about the origins of Casi Cielo and how it came to be –

I think it’s amazing that it was created in partnership with this restaurant as a coffee to pair with their evening desserts. Especially since, as was said in the video, most people think of Starbucks brewed coffee as a morning thing.

So in this post, I wanted to focus on the flavor profile of Casi Cielo and some of the food pairings that I have found go really well with this coffee. We have been trying the Casi Cielo a lot since it’s come out, both because many of the partners in my store were excited about its arrival, and because our store is currently certifying another Coffee Master, and part of his last 10 feet project is a “learning station,” with increased coffee tastings designed to increase our knowledge of the coffees we have available, so that we all can find something positive to say when we talk them up to customers.

So far I have tried this coffee paired with the following – the Double Chocolate Brownie, the Chocolate Cinnamon Bread, and homemade “Samoas” bars (recipe found at this link), which I brought in to our recent meeting as a treat and because it hit more than one of the flavor notes in the profile of Casi Cielo.

The Brownie and the Chocolate Cinnamon Bread were okay. They brought out the rich chocolate notes, and accented the body of the coffee pretty much in the way I expected. They are a good pairing and a nice recommendation to anyone who is looking for something to nosh with their Casi, or looking for a coffee to go with their brownies.

The “Samoas” bars paired beautifully with the Casi Cielo, for me. They did a beautiful job of bringing out the caramelly sweetness, and those chocolately undertones that make Casi such a beautiful dessert coffee. While I don’t recommend making these bars yourself unless you have a lot of patience, if you can get your hands on those flavor combinations (read: find a Girl Scout before the season is over), it’s definitely worth trying. Particularly if you love coconut as much as I do. It enhanced the coffee in a remarkable way.

I love this coffee, and I especially love it paired with a sweet treat. I think for future adventures, I’d like to explore some savory coffee pairings as well, and you can be sure that I will blog those experiences as well.

Have you tried this year’s Casi Cielo? What do you think of it? For more reading, check out Starbucks Melody’s blog where she tries Casi with Strawberries (YUM).