adrianLiem

UBC Ponderosa Cake is something that might be considered the ugly second-cousin of the more popular, or at least more publicized, UBC Cinnamon Bun. But beneath its often humble exterior lies a rich treat for any sweet tooth – and coffee lover.

Part banana bread, part chocolate chip muffin, one of the true secret weapons of Ponderosa Cake is the combo touch of vanilla and cinnamon  - all of which makes for a coffee drinker’s delight!

If you normally add sugar to your coffee and are looking at a way to work the sugar out of your regular cup, a slice of Ponderosa Cake might be one way to ease into it. With its three different sources of sugar (regular granulated sugar, brown sugar, and chocolate chips), Ponderosa Cake will more often than not tend to be on the sweeter side of the spectrum – a perfect balance for a nice dark creamy coffee.

Different food outlets out at UBC serve different variants of this staple. My recommendation is to go to the cafeteria in the SUB (UBC’s Student Union Building), or better yet, make it yourself!

A few years ago I started to develop a real appreciation for coffee.

It all first started with a late night class I was completing as a prerequisite for the teacher education program. No reflection of the class itself – it was a linguistics class which I took a particular liking and interest in – it all happened more as a result of a series of serendipitous events.

One cold, wet evening, I felt like having a cup of hot chocolate during a class break, so I ventured over to the building’s vending machine. I always thought that machine only spewed out coffee, hot chocolate, or maybe tea. But there was a whole smattering of choices: espresso, cappuccino, Irish cream, French vanilla, mocha… Feeling somewhat overwhelmed, I stuck with my original craving and went for the hot chocolate. But the seed was planted. Next class, I tried the mocha, and the following week, the French vanilla. And the next…well, actually that was as adventurous as I got for the time being. I was pretty impressed with mocha and French vanilla, from a vending machine no less.

Force of Habit

My real habit kicked in a couple years later. I had become a fairly regular mocha drinker – whether I made it myself or bought it from a coffee shop (or vending machine). And then I found myself in my last year of school in the teacher education program where I was surrounded by people who really enjoyed a good cup of coffee. Slowly, the ratio of coffee to chocolate in my mochas shifted. 20-80. 30-70. 40-60. 50-50. It was only a matter of time before it was 90% coffee (8% cream, 2% sugar).

Coffee’s Power and Mystique

Making it through my entire undergrad without drinking a drop, I sometimes look back and wonder if things would be different had I been a coffee-drinking student. Somebody somewhere must have done research or is doing research on the effects of coffee (or more likely caffeine) on mental acuity, attention and the like. It wouldn’t take much to convince me that coffee has a definite effect on my own mental sharpness.

But all brain-boosting powers aside, I have a real appreciation for coffee. Coffee is almost something that intrigues me. Coffee has a culture. I’m thinking less about Starbucks and Tim Horton’s and more about the way that coffee drinkers in general converge and talk. One conversation I have started to have on a regular basis for the last couple years at least is the title of this post: “…Goes good with coffee”

Introducing the New Category on the Block

I have a running list of things that “go good with coffee”. Grammatically incorrect? Sure, maybe. But insightful information? Well, probably not. But interesting and fun to talk about? You bet!

After some internal debating (internal with myself), I’ve decided to start sharing my list of things that “go good with coffee”. This deviates a little from what I normally write about, but if pressed, I’ll justify it by saying that coffee can play an important role in any business or web strategy.

[Geek Warning] In my mind I have some ideas as to the actual factors that influence how well something goes with coffee: sugar ratio, texture, time of day, pre/post meals, company, ambiance are but a few. I may dive into some of these at some point, but the bigger point is to start sharing some of what I’ve found goes good with coffee, so that’s where I’ll be going with my new category “Goes Good with Coffee”.