As an admitted coffee junkie, I'm curious about this NPR story about this new drink from 85C, a coffee chain from Taiwan, sea salt latte:
"It's really unique," says Stephanie Peng, manager of the company's flagship U.S. store in Irvine, Calif. "The sea salt's in the cream, the foam part, so it just brings out more coffee essence."
The lattes sound exotic, but the salt flavor is incredibly subtle — you have to tease it out with your tongue. Sea salt lattes have helped establish 85C as the "Starbucks of Asia." The chain has more than 300 stores across Taiwan, and it plans to expand its presence across China, Australia and the U.S. over the next few years.
But the real gem may be the weird pastries that they sell:
One surprise crossover hit is a black squid-ink bread, made with Vermont sharp cheddar cheese and garlic paste. Each roll costs less than a dollar, meaning there's incentive to stray outside your flavor comfort zone.
NPR's Neda Ulaby has the story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127474607&ft=1&f=100
Has anyone here tried salted coffee? I have some sea salt, perhaps I should just salt my morning coffee tomorrow ...
The pastries are good with tons of selections. Just check out the number of reviews on yelp.