Ask Hilary

Stewing over a recipe? Baffled by an ingredient? Short on meal ideas?

QI am looking for “Costa Rica” coffee beans/ground coffee as it is an integral part of the recipe I used to make. It suddenly appears to have vanished off the supermarket shelves.

— Andrew Clark

A Costa Rican coffee fix? I asked the Checkers coffee buyer for an explanation: "We used to sell coffee beans from Costa Rica as part of the Foreign Ground Single Origin Coffee range, but increasingly it became a struggle to secure a constant supply — at a competitive price — so we no longer stock it. Should the demand for beans from Costa Rica increase, we will certainly look at re-stocking it."

So, Andrew, the solution lies in numbers. How about starting a Facebook group for lovers of Costa Rican coffee beans — and perhaps the supermarkets will pick up on the Costa Rican coffee culture?

PS: Interesting to know that

Costa Rica supplies less than 1% of the world’s coffee production.

QHow do I get a REAL coffee flavour in my baking? Using instant coffee just doesn’t cut the mustard! — Samantha van der Heerden

Even strong instant coffee dissolved in a little boiling water doesn’t do the trick. I find a double shot of espresso, freshly brewed, really works — cool it before adding to the mixture, though. The experts have another tip — adding a pinch of spice such as cinnamon or cardamom, they say, really brings out the coffee flavour without impacting on flavour of the bake.