Full Circle – Coffee Grinder Tablets

Even though I’m a bit of a coffee connoisseur I often don’t think about cleaning my coffee machines. It’s terrible, I know. Typically I’m most concerned about the quality of my beans that I don’t even think about cleaning my coffee machines to enhance the java’s flavor. It’s true though. A cleaner coffee machine will produce a better-tasting cup of Joe versus a machine that hasn’t been descaled.

[I sincerely apologize for the quality of these photos. I was left with my phone's camera which is lackluster in every aspect.]

A few weeks ago the folks from Full Circle coffee cleaning products contacted me in regards to sampling their products. I raved internally at the offer since I’d just seen Full Circle at Williams Sonoma weeks previously and had been questioning as to how well they worked.

Full Circle offers Grinder Cleaning Tablets, Coffee Machine Cleansing Powder, Coffee Machine Descaling Liquid and Powder, and Espresso Machine Cleansing Tablets. All of their cleaning products are all- natural, biodegradable, odorless and 100% phosphate free. They are priced at $9.99 per box, which isn’t a lot considering that you get several cleaning sessions from each package. Williams Sonoma appears to be the only distributor I’ve come across.

Most of my excitement stemmed from the Grinder Cleaning Tablets. Have you ever tried to clean your coffee grinder with soap and water? Please, don’t. Coffee grinders are a piece of equipment that can’t be wet since the blade is closely attached to the electrical mechanics of the device. Full Circle’s cleaning tablets make it possible so that you can rid the buildup in your grinder without ever even coming close to a running faucet.

This product is real simple to use. You simply grind a packet of the tablets in your coffee grinder (like you would coffee beans), dispose of the ground tablets (which is now powder), grind coffee beans in your grinder, and then dispose of the ground coffee beans. For some reason I was thinking the product would have a potent odor, but it doesn’t. Unless you thrust the tablets right beneath your nostrils you won’t be able to detect any smell. I highly recommend this product to fellow coffee grinder users.

Vegan Mocha Almond Latte Cupcakes

I promise I’m still alive. I haven’t disappeared off of the face of the earth just yet. All of my time has been spent towards school projects and work as of late. But I have officially returned bearing the gift in the form of a recipe for Vegan Mocha Almond Latte Cupcakes.

Since I’ve officially made the switch to vegan I’ve been playing with recipes more. I feel as though that there needs to be more vegan friendly recipes out there; including recipes utilizing coffee.

These cupcakes are a moist chocolate cake with a hint of coffee flavoring and are topped with an almond frosting. When I made these I didn’t realize I was all out of sliced almonds, but I insist you top yours with them. Sliced almonds take the level of presentation to a whole new level. Plus they let your friends and/or family know that the frosting is almond flavor and they won’t bite into the cupcakes with a shock at their finding.

Vegan Mocha Almond Latte Cupcakes

Makes 12

Original recipe from here

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance, melted
• 2 tbsp. ground flax seed
• 8 tbsp. water + 1 tbsp. instant coffee powder

Frosting:

• About 1/2 cup Earth Balance, softened
• 2 – 2 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1-2 tbsp. water
• About a 1/2 cup sliced almonds

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the granulated sugar, 1/2 cup melted Earth Balance, flax seed, and 8 tbsp. water + instant coffee. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until there are no lumps.

Evenly spoon the cupcake batter into your prepared muffin tin. Bake for about 18-22 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center of your cupcakes should come out clean when they are done. Let the cupcakes cool for about 30 minutes before frosting them.

Frosting:

In a mixing bowl combine the Earth Balance, 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar, 1/4 tsp. almond and 1 tbsp. water. Beat together the ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth and thick. Give the frosting a bit of a taste test and see if you need an additional 1/4 cup of Earth Balance and/or another 1/4 tsp. of almond extract.

Using a knife spread as little or as much of the frosting as you would like on your cupcakes. Sprinkle a few of the sliced almonds onto each frosted cupcake.