Miami may be known for cafe Cubano and Latin American coffee stands, but Panther Coffee is carving out an entirely new space in the Miami Coffee Scene. After a long coffee career in Portland, Oregon, Joel Pollock and his wife Leticia packed their bags and relocated to sunnier Miami.  

Their coffee shop in the arts district of Wynwood is amazing - there’s such a sense of community and dedication to sustainable practices.  In fact - Joel is currently working on a project in Haiti with St. Thomas University to help set up long term-solutions for sustainable and fair trade coffee production.  

Check out our most recent Hungry in Miami, and just below the video embed, you’ll find tips from Leticia and Joel on how to buy your beans.  Enjoy!

Joel and Leticia’s Coffee Advice:

• Before you buy a bag of coffee, check for the roast date.  Nothing substitutes freshness!
• Try to buy just enough coffee for the week.  Again, freshness is key to great tasting coffee!
• It’s important to grind your beans at home, just before brewing.  Invest in a small burr grinder, which keeps the flavor and aroma of the coffee beans intact and grinds the coffee to a uniform size.  Make sure you grind your coffee right before you brew it!

If you liked what you saw and find yourself in Miami, make sure to check out public cuppings held at Panther Coffee at 3 PM every second Friday and third Sunday of each month! 

My friend Michael Cyril Creighton and I go way back - back to the days when we dressed up as holiday characters together for our special editions of Best Night Ever at Vh1.  Ah, the good ol’ days.  But now we each have our own web series, and we thought it was about time for another collabo.  

Michael plays Jack in his creation, Jack in a Box, a hilarious show about the trials and tribulations of actor with a ‘tude, working in a box office selling tickets - and his soul. And Jack has vices.  Lots of them. Including cupcakes.  

So I decided to make the perfect cupcake full of vices in honor of my favorite comedic character.  Watch as I teach Michael how to make the perfect naughty treat:  Caffeine Cupcakes with cocoa, coffee and cola.  Watch the video and follow along with the recipe below! 

CAFFEINE CUPCAKES RECIPE:

Makes 18

• 2 Sticks + 2 TBSP Butter
• 3/4 C Cola (suggested: boylans) 
• 2 TBSP Instant Espresso
• 1 3/4 C. Flour
• 1/3 C. Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
• 1 TBSP Baking Powder
• 1/4 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 1/2 C. organic cane sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten 
• 1/4 C. milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING 

• 2 sticks butter
• 1 lb confectioners sugar
• 1/2 C dutch process cocoa powder
• 3 TBSP cola 
• Sprinkles for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake tin with baking cups.  Set aside. 

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cola and instant espresso over low heat. Once the butter is melted, allow it to cool. Meanwhile, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.  Add the sugar and whisk. 

In another bowl, combine the milk, eggs and vanilla.  

Add all the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, being careful not to over-stir.  Fill each of the baking cups 2/3 of the way with batter and bake for 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  

Transfer them to a wire rack and allow them to cool. 

For the icing, beat all the ingredients together until light and fluffy.  Frost the cupcakes, and top with sprinkles.  

Enjoy!