This winter, kick up your feet and throw some lava in your java with the perfect holiday gift from Counter Culture Coffee and Ujjo, the first hot sauce for coffee. With four single-serve coffee bags, two travel size hot sauces, and a book of exclusive recipes to bring them to life, it’s an ideal bite-sized gift to put in someone’s stocking (or keep for yourself!).
Ujjo and Counter Culture Coffee’s Winter Break collaboration was born as a nod back to the “winter break” days of our childhood. Even though the holidays are often a hectic and stressful time for many of us today, this limited-edition gift set makes it easy to take a little break and savor some “me time” by having a little fun with our coffee. Each of the four recipes that Ujjo and Counter Culture crafted takes less than 10 minutes to make and puts a spicy spin on classic holiday flavors.
The Winter Break gift box will be available on Ujjo’s website starting in November!
Featured Recipes
Dirty Horchata - Chock-full of cinnamon and vanilla, horchata is the definition of “sugar and spice and everything nice.” It’s traditionally made by boiling rice and spices in water, then blending + straining it to get that rich cinnamony flavor, but we’re going to take a shortcut by using readymade rice milk. With a dash of coffee and some subtle heat from Ujjo, it’s a cozy, fiery take on an already delicious drink.
Ingredients
½ cup rice milk
½ cup Counter Culture Forty-Six single-serve coffee
¼ cup coconut cream
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 ¼ tsp Sweeter Ujjo
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp vanilla extract
Steps
- Prepare your coffee. Steep your coffee bag in ½ cup boiling water for 5 minutes, dunking periodically to strengthen the brew.
- While your coffee steeps, prepare your horchata. Bring ½ rice milk and ¼ cup coconut cream to a simmer and stir in maple syrup, Ujjo, cinnamon, and vanilla extract, scraping the bottom of the pan to make sure the sauce doesn’t stick and burn.
- Once your coffee is done steeping, remove the bag and pour in your horchata.
- Stir and enjoy.
Marzipan Cafe au Lait - Marzipan is one of those under-the-radar holiday desserts that’s so delicious, it really should be available all year round. This take on a spicy marzipan brings together the sweetness and nuttiness of almonds with subtle floral notes and just a hint of spice.
Ingredients
¾ cup Counter Culture Big Trouble single-serve coffee
½ cup creamer (we like Silk’s Sweet and Creamy Almondmilk Creamer)
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp rose petals
¾ tsp Spicier Ujjo
½ tsp almond extract
Steps
- Prepare your coffee. Steep your coffee bag in ¾ cup boiling water for 5 minutes, dunking periodically to strengthen the brew.
- Prepare your marzipan cream. Bring creamer, maple syrup, rose petals, Ujjo, and almond extract to a simmer, stirring periodically.
- Once marzipan cream has reached a simmer, remove from heat and froth with a whisk (or a milk frother if you’re feeling fancy).
- Remove the coffee bag and stir in marzipan sauce.
Spiced Orange and Cardamom Affogato- Okay okay, ice cream may not necessarily be your go-to wintertime dessert…but add some strong coffee and a dash of spicy orange syrup, and it becomes the perfect cozy treat.
Ingredients
2 scoops vanilla ice cream
¼ cup Counter Culture Big Trouble single-serve coffee
1 tsp coconut cream
Zest of one orange
¾ tsp maple syrup
½ tsp Spicier Ujjo
¼ tsp cardamom
Steps
- Prepare your coffee. Steep your coffee bag in ¼ cup boiling water for at least 5 minutes––affogatos are typically made with espresso, so we’re going to mimic that roastiness by brewing our coffee extra-strong.
- In a small bowl, prepare your spiced orange sauce. Whisk together coconut cream, orange zest, Spicier Ujjo, maple syrup, and cardamom, adding extra Ujjo to taste if you want your affogato even spicier.
- Scoop out two (or three, or four) scoops of vanilla ice cream into a bowl.
- Once your coffee has steeped, pour on top of ice cream and top with spiced orange sauce.
- Dig in before it melts!
Spicy Peppermint Mocha - Spicy? Peppermint? Sounds crazy, but let’s nerd out on chemistry for just a sec. Capsaicin and peppermint activate two related sensory nerves––TRPV1 (capsaicin) and TRPM8 (peppermint), which basically boils down to: similar effect on our brains, opposite sensation in our mouths. Get ready for a chilly, spicy, wacky, chocolatey thrill ride for your taste buds.
Ingredients
1 cup Counter Culture Forty-Six single-serve coffee
¼ cup almond milk
3 tbsp chocolate syrup
3 tbsp maple syrup
¾ tsp Sweeter Ujjo
⅜ tsp peppermint extract
Steps
- Prepare your coffee. Steep your coffee bag in 1 cup boiling water for 5 minutes, dunking periodically to strengthen the brew.
- Bring almond milk, chocolate syrup, maple syrup, Ujjo, and peppermint extract to a simmer as the coffee brews.
- Remove chocolate sauce from heat and froth with a whisk or a milk frother.
- Remove the bag from your coffee. Pour milk into your mug, reserving the froth for the top.
ABOUT UJJO
Ujjo started out as the world’s first hot sauce for coffee. If you think that’s totally crazy…you’re right. And Ujjo’s founder, Lauren, thought the exact same thing until one day, a friend dared her to throw some hot sauce in her coffee. (Spoiler alert: it was terrible.) But it got the gears turning: Lauren had grown up drinking her grandmother’s spiced chai; she loved ordering spicy mochas at her local coffee shop; and she never passed up the opportunity for a jalapeno marg. So she couldn’t be the only one who wanted more spice in her drinks…but why weren’t there any good ways to create that effect at home?
Lauren set to work in her kitchen, and after 10 months and 93 product iterations, the first two hot sauces were born. What started as a joke turned into a side hustle, and after selling to all 50 states and 16 countries, Ujjo became much more than a hot sauce for coffee––it became a way to breathe some fire into all drinks. Now, you can find Ujjo online at www.ujjo.com, online through Neiman Marcus and Huckberry, and in participating retailers nationwide.
ABOUT COUNTER CULTURE COFFEE
In 1995, Counter Culture Coffee was founded in Durham, North Carolina by two guys who just wanted us to have nice things. Because, look—why just have good coffee when you can have coffee that does good? Right? Makes you think.
Nearly 30 years and hundreds of ethically sourced, lovingly selected coffee varieties later, Counter Culture continues its relentless pursuit of coffee perfection by spreading fresh-roasted knowledge far and wide. Whether supporting its customers through hands-on education or supporting its partners with seed grants, Counter Culture Coffee’s enthusiasm and ethic makes it the perfect choice for a spicy team-up with Ujjo. Learn more about their beans, their brand, and their bold commitment to do-gooding at https://counterculturecoffee.com/