Give me a buzz

Seven ways to caf up, without a cup

Charlottesville coffee fiends, take note: You can savor your favorite local beans in dishes from savory to sweet at area restaurants.

Devil’s Backbone Brewery in Nellysford recently featured a Baltic-style ale brewed with fresh-roasted Trager Brothers beans from Lovingston, and Clifton Inn chef Tucker Yoder makes a “black butter” combining Lexington Coffee Roasters’ organic Costa Rican, black cocoa powder and vegetable ash to serve with raw turnips or radishes as a first course.

Downtown, Shenandoah Joe espresso beans grace the C&O’s beef fillet with a smoked coffee dry rub and also appear in a Nutella, banana, soy milk and espresso smoothie at Calvino Café in the Main Street Market. Plus, in the tiramisu at its sister restaurant, Orzo Kitchen and Wine Bar.

Coffee Creme Anglaise sauced a recent warm chocolate dessert at Keswick Hall’s Fossett’s restaurant and chef Dean Maupin says that kitchen staff have been known to down a fortifying afternoon affogato—ice cream splashed with a shot of Shenandoah Joe espresso—to prepare for the evening’s rigors.

Mo’ Joe

More than just giving you the fortitude to tackle the day ahead, your morning cup of coffee has benefits that last beyond the 9 to 5.

According to recent studies from Harvard Medical School, coffee may help lower your risk of certain types of cancer, decrease your likelihood to develop Parkinson’s (if you’re male) and Alzheimer’s, as well as increase your metabolism, thus helping to prevent diabetes and excessive weight gain. One study even found that coffee drinkers may have longer lives than those who don’t down the java. And you thought your cup o’ Joe was a bad influence.

Coffee, at all costs

Here’s what a small cup of black coffee will run ya ‘round these parts.
7-11: $1.31 with tax
Blue Ridge Country Store: $1
Bodo’s Bagel Bakery: $1.58 with tax
Cafe Cubano: $1.75 with tax
Chaps: $1
C’Ville Coffee: $2 with tax
Greenberry’s Coffee and Tea: $1.74 with tax
Hoo’s Brew: $1.36 with tax
Java Java: $1.90 with tax
Mudhouse: $1.64 (8 oz. small); $1.91 (12 oz. medium) with tax
Para Coffee: $1.64 with tax
Shenandoah Joe Coffee Roasters: $1.54 with tax
Splendora’s: $1.25
Starbucks: $1.64 with tax

Hold your grounds

Stretch your morning java a little further by using leftover coffee grounds. The fragrant crumbs make a great insect repellant, fabric dye, cleaning product and—ready for this?—cellulite reducer. (Don’t believe us? Check the label on cellulite creams. A major ingredient is coffee.) Mix your grounds with warm water and a dash of olive oil and, standing over an old towel, spread the concoction on your trouble areas. Cover them with shrink wrap and wait 10 minutes before removing.