Qahwatea Adds a Great Coffee Shop to the St, Louis Suburbs

My dad and I go out for coffee twice a week. This all started when he retired and it has quickly become one of my favorite activities. My brother comes along sometimes. So does my buddy Kirk. We get to hang out, chat with each other and have some good coffee, and sometimes, some good food. We have visited a bunch of shops over the years. We try to go to newer shops after they've opened, but we hit up our favorites more times than not. I prefer Sump here in Saint Louis. My dad is a Shaw's fan. Kirk and Seth don't seem to mind where we go, so it is left up to my dad and I.

Today it was just my dad and me. Seth and Kirk both had work. My dad has told me about a newer shop out my way. It's a Yemeni coffee shop. It has replaced what used to be the Blockbuster that my family went to when I was a kid. Apparently he went a while back with my mom and they both liked it. Today it was my turn to give it a try.

The shop is called Qahwatea. When we walked in, the vibe was great for me. The place was big and spread out. It felt and looked very clean. All of the pastries were up front and easy to find. The staff greeted us and we were helped instantly. I was so intent on what I was going to get that I don't even know what my dad ordered. He let me have a drink and it tasted like brown sugar and cinnamon and it was very tasty. I got a banana mousse thing and an iced pistachio latte. The banana mousse was dynamite. It had a white chocolate type cover on it and it was excellent. The mousse was even better. It was sweet, but not too sweet. The banana flavor was there, but it wasn't overpowering. It also had little pieces of banana in it, and that added a solid texture that I wanted. And the jam/cake thing that was on the bottom was wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed my treat.

My pistachio latte was on a whole other level. This is, and I'm not being hyperbolic, one of the better coffee drinks I have had in a long, long time. I'm usually more of an espresso tonic or a citrus forward coffee fan. I don't always get lattes because milk sometimes messes up my stomach. But I had to get this pistachio latte today. They had a whole thing on the online menu about it, I've been to one other Yemeni coffee shop before and got a pistachio drink and I have always loved the flavor of pistachio. Qahwatea took everything in this drink and blended it perfectly. I loved every single sip of this drink. It felt like I was drinking pistachios. And that is a good thing. I loved the nuttiness and coffee flavor throughout the drink. My dad tried it and he seemed impressed. We were both talking about the drink well after we finished it. I was amazed at how perfectly they got the flavor of pistachio in this drink. The milk didn't do anything to my stomach, the coffee was very good and not too strong and however they made the syrup was the absolute best. During one drink I got some of the crystalized pistachio flavor and it was so, so good. It was like a sugar crystal mixed with actual pistachios. I wanted more and more of it. I usually sip my drinks but today I inhaled it. It isn't too often that my dad and I finish our drinks before we leave a place, but we did today. We were both so impressed with the drinks that we did not want to stop drinking them. When we left I told my dad that I will for sure be coming back and getting this drink, as well as the rest of the menu. It was a little higher priced than other shops, but that doesn't bother me when the quality is this damn good. Sometimes a little extra money leads to a very good drink, like this latte.

I cannot recommend this place enough. If you live anywhere close to Ellisville, go to Qahwatea and get this pistachio latte, preferably iced. You will be a very, very happy person while drinking this drink. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Go Out and Get Yourself a Pistachio Croissant

Today while I was out for coffee with my dad and a buddy of mine I decided I was going to get some breakfast. This happens from time to time. On coffee days I decide to skip breakfast at home and decide I want a pastry. We went to a coffee shop that we hadn't been to in a bit and they had new pastries on the menu. So I decided to go for it, as did my buddy. We both got a pistachio croissant. Let’s discuss.

I enjoy a good croissant. I like how flaky and delicious they taste. I enjoy the sweet and savory croissants as well. I will more likely go for sweet if that is an option. That is what the pistachio was today. It looked very good on the countertop, so I figured it was going to be tasty. I was right. The look was that of a classic croissant, but it was covered in pistachios and powdered sugar. It also had a crust on top. I was sold on the "you eat with your eyes" thing first. Then we were given the croissants, and man did we both enjoy them. They were very good. They are definitely one of the better croissants that I have ever eaten. My first decision was to rip a piece off the end of the pastry and give it a taste. This was the correct choice. The inside of the croissant was like any other one, but there were pistachios and a pistachio glaze. The first bite was pretty great. It was soft with a crunchy exterior. The inside of the pastry was nice and chewy. The pistachios added an excellent crunch. And that glaze was to die for. The glaze was sweet with a hint of saltiness. The pistachios must have been ground together with sugar or something to form a jelly-like texture. That went throughout the entire croissant. It was something else in a very, very good way. Then we have the outside of the croissant. The crunchy top was akin to a crumble top. It was like the best part of a cinnamon crunch bagel or a pie crumble. It was sweet and added some wonderful taste. The pistachios were all over the outside of the dish. It had big pieces, it had slivered pieces and it had crushed pieces. And it all worked to perfection. The powdered sugar wasn't all over it either. I like that. When a coffee shop makes pastries and they add sugar on top it sometimes comes out too sweet. The sugar on top can overpower the rest of the dish. That didn't happen this morning. The powdered sugar was like a dusting of snow. It was enough to taste it, to get a little bit of sweetness, but that was it. It added to the flavor. It helped to bring out the other flavors of the croissant. It was a nice finishing touch on my breakfast.

I want to go back and get this croissant more and more. I hope it isn't a seasonal thing. I love the taste of pistachios and the way they made a jelly-like substance out of the extra pistachios. This is a home run dish. I highly recommend you get a pistachio croissant if you have the chance. It is very, very good. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Sweet Chili Pistachios are My New Road Trip Staple

I’m currently on a road trip with my dad for the weekend. We are going to Ann Arbor to watch a football game. We have stopped once for gas and to use the restroom and get snacks. I’m here today to talk about the delicious snack I just finished.

I try and eat as low carb as possible in the car. I don’t need to stuff my face with candy, chips, cookies, any of that stuff. I like jerky, diet soda and peanuts. You could even throw in the occasional sunflower seed. I enjoy a good ranch sunflower seed. But, when on the road, I do like to splurge on my low carb treat. Sometimes I’ll get fancy jerky or a nice bag of almonds. Today, I decided I wanted some pistachios.

Pistachios are my favorite nut. They are a little sweet, and it’s almost, almost like I’m getting something close to candy. I prefer the Wonderful brand of pistachios as well. They have come as close as any to perfecting the amount of salt to put on the shell and nut. I was going to go with the original with the shell on, as I thought this was the only flavor they made. Much to my surprise, they had a new flavor, sweet chili. I’ve been known to like my heat with a little sweet. That’s how I order my Chinese food. I like doing a hot bbq sometimes when I get wings. My favorite chips have some kind of heat and sweet to them. I was intrigued by these sweet chili pistachios.

I bought them, and I have to tell you, they are magnificent. They have that perfect amount of heat and sweet. My lips are still tingling, but in a good way. They’re also addicting. I got the 4 ounce bag, the bigger one, thinking I’d only eat half. I ate the whole thing. In about 20 minutes. I even got my dad to try one, and he said before trying it “I don’t like to work for my food”. Well, even he said he thought they were tasty. He liked the heat. He had a few more after trying one.

Whatever the people at Wonderful are doing, they’re nailing it. They pretty much own the snack game when it comes to nuts. I will most definitely be purchasing these again, and not just on road trips. This will become a home snack as well, I can tell. These pistachios were great, and I just had to tell everyone about them. If you like pistachios and spice, try these out. You won’t regret it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He, unlike his father, is not afraid to work for his food. On the next road trip he will be on the lookout for gas station whole lobster and crab legs.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.