SUMMER HOURS OF OPERATION

Good morning!

We will open starting at 8am over the summer. 

CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT

After a year of working together, we are parting ways with our General Manager, Kimhak. We are sad to see him go, but we wish him the best. We will to continue to build on the foundation of quality that he has established for Hazelrock.

Look forward to new changes to come!

PEEK INSIDE

Our soft opening is going along nicely. We've met some awesome people in the community, and we are excited to meet more! Soon we will install a plethora of power outlets for the convenience of our customers. We want our cafe to be an awesome place to meet-up, hang-out and relax or even to get some work done. 

SOFT OPENING Starting May 15, 2015!

After months of hardwork, we are proud to announce that we are soft opening starting this Friday, May 15, 2015 from 6am to 10pm! So excited! Thank you everyone for all your hard work so far! Shout out to our lovely bakers, baristas, cashiers, management, friends, family and neighbors! Great job guys!

THE FERRERO COOKIE

A Duet of Hazelnut & Chocolate Chip

We present to you, the Ferrero Cookie, a decadently loaded chocolate chip cookie slathered in Nutella and topped with hazelnuts. 

The cookie base is robust, densely packed with dark and milk chocolate chips. The crunch from the cookie cuts through the richness of the Nutella creating a well-balanced texture. The chopped hazelnuts further enhance the flavor and prevent stickiness.

This cookie was inspired by the popular confection, Ferrero Rocher, a singular hazelnut, enveloped in a yolk of chocolate cream, a crispy wafer shell, a thin layer of chocolate and finished with minced hazelnuts.

The Ferrero Company is responsible for both the Ferrero Rocher and also Nutella, as well as a myriad of other beloved treats. Our cookie is a tribute to this accomplished company.

Come by our shop to try this premium cookie!

BREWING WITH CACAO NIBS

Back in February, our manager won a raffle prize during the Valentine's Event at Cortez Coffee. The generous gift basket that he won was sponsored by Brazen Chocolate, a local company in Scottsdale specializing in craft chocolate. As if that wasn't enough, they also gave him a bag of their cacao nibs. We've been experimenting with these fine nibs, and here are some of the results:

Coffee infused with Cacao Nibs

Straight out of the bag, the nibs have a strong acidic flavor. When brewing, the acidity transfers directly to the coffee while adding a gentle chocolate aroma. We mixed ground coffee and nibs together for a pour-over brew. It was tricky to control the grind of the nibs because they had a lot of colloidal solids that clogged up the filter.

Brew of Roasted Cacao Nibs

We took the nibs and roasted them in order to tone down the acidity and bring out more flavor. The roasting aroma was intensely chocolatey, like the concentrated smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven, and this intensity was transferred into the cup producing great flavor. The color was a beautiful milk chocolate brown. 

There was a layer of natural oil from the nibs that gave the cup a buttery finish. The brew had great body and was not gritty at all. Overall, this was very rich and delicious.

Cold Brew of Roasted Cacao Nibs and Peruvian Coffee

We had some Peruvian beans that had a very neutral flavor. We thought this would be a good choice to blend with the roasted cacao nibs so that the chocolate flavor wouldn't be overpowered.

The result was excellent. The final color was an enticingly deep caramel, while the flavor was very clean and refreshing, with the chocolate rounding out the mild flavor of the beans. This cold-brew was very easy to drink and pairs perfectly with sweets. 

We love working with awesome ingredients, and these nibs are definitely awesome. Experimenting with them was really fun, and we are really excited to bring some our results onto our menu. 

TODAY'S BAKING PRACTICE

Our kitchen is still under construction, but we've been busy practicing recipes in our test kitchen. Here are some of the items that we produced today.

Today's Pastries:

Chocolate Cupcakes with Orange Cream Topping

These cupcakes turned out well. They had a rich flavor and were very moist. The cream was surprisingly light and tangy, made with whipped cream cheese, orange zest, and a squeeze of fresh orange juice.










Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies were still soft from oven heat and were just starting to develop a nice chew. There was a mixture of different chocolates inside along with some toffee bits.














Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

These quintessential oatmeal raisin cookies had a wonderful chewy texture. The sweetly spiced flavor would pair well with a strong drink such as black tea or dark roast coffee.

Brownies with White Chocolate Chips

This brownie loaf was fresh out of the oven and had an awesome chocolatey color and aroma. A few more hours of resting and cooling were needed for it to develop more density.