Articles by Andrew Cohen

The Brouhaha on Cold Brew – Another “Local Flavor”

When it’s too hot outside to sip a hot caffeinated beverage, much less hold it, you’re more likely to choose a cold cup of java for your morning jolt or afternoon pick-me-up. Well, Mr. Dewie’s has teamed up with Timeless Coffee (Berkeley & Oakland) to offer another option:

Mr. Dewie’s “Cold Brew” Cashew Ice Cream! That’s right, not just cold brew, but frozen cold brew!

You’ve seen this cold brew coffee trend the last several years, but what makes cold brew coffee so special anyway?

First and foremost, cold brew has a stronger and more intense flavor than hot coffee. The method for making this delicious high end drink entails brewing in cold (or room temperature) water, rather than hot water. Shocker, we know. But there’s much more to it. Let’s delve into the details of this popular drink, in the hope to entice you to get over to Mr. Dewie’s and give the really cold “Dew-Brew” a try.

Cold brew is created by steeping medium-to-coarse ground coffee in room temperature water for 12 hours or longer and then filtering out the grounds for a clean cup without sediment.  Unlike regular coffee, cold brew is never exposed to heat. Cold brew uses time, rather than heat to extract the coffee’s oils, sugars, and caffeine. Iced coffee is created like any regular hot coffee brew method. It’s simply hot coffee that has been cooled down so that it can be poured over ice.

Pouring day-old cold coffee left in the pot over a handful of ice cubes is not iced coffee — at least, not optimal iced coffee. Letting brewed coffee sit around for awhile causes it to oxidize, making the flavor go bitter, flat, and otherwise funky.

Cold brew coffee is for those who plan ahead. It’s a long, gradual process, that can take up to 24 hours, like making sun tea, only without the sun. The result is a very smooth, rich infusion, with low levels of acidity, which can be a relief to those with sensitive digestive systems. But this process can flatten a coffee’s taste, leaving behind the nuances of properly ice-brewed coffee, which some describe as a full-bodied, Guinness-type mouthfeel. The upside: The cold-brew process, while it takes time, is less fiddly than ice brewing — basically, you just set it up and walk away till it comes time to strain the concentrate.

So, while it’s sunny outside, and while we still have some of this truly refreshing and intensely coffee flavored special available, hurry in and try some of our really cold coffee concoction!

Local Flavors

Mr. Dewie’s is teaming up with local businesses to create unique and delicious new cashew ice cream flavors!

The Bay Area is well known for it’s innovative and cutting edge foods, most of which are healthy and delicious, and made simply with quality ingredients. Over the last year or so, we have begun partnering with a few of these innovators, and have combined efforts to create new and fun creamy cashew delights. The results, so far, have been fantastic!

 

Last winter we brought you our “Hot TCHOcolate” made from our cashew milk and TCHO Chocolate’s dark chocolate cocoa powder. Why did we choose TCHO?

TCHO Chocolate is based in Berkeley, CA, and, like Mr. Dewie’s, theybelieve in sourcing high quality ingredients, fair hiring practices, and sustainability.

TCHO’s business model is built on the foundation of sourcing the best ingredients in a fashion that benefits farmers and creates a delicious chocolate. They strive to treat their growers fairly, source ethically, and reduce their environmental impact. They have done so in part by building TCHO flavor labs directly in the farming communities to help educate the farmers and researchers on best practices.The proof, as they say, is in the pudding – Once you try TCHO chocolate you’ll understand!

 

Next up was to make a truly memorable Espresso flavor with our friends at Tartine’s Coffee Manufactory out of Oakland, CA.

Tartine became known as the place to go for the best bread and pastry in the city, but they began to notice a trend. Some of their most loyal customers began bringing their own coffee to the shop. When asked why, the reply was simple: “You have the best food, but your coffee is only mediocre.” Well, that didn’t sit right with them. They didn’t believe in serving anything to their guests that didn’t meet their standards. So in 2017, in collaboration with their dear friend Chris Jordan (a coffee legend and former head of Global Coffee Quality at Starbucks), they partnered to serve a new brand of coffee, and the Coffee Manufactory was born. Last month, using their Espresso 01 bean, we created an exceptionally rich, and intensely flavored ice cream special that sold out…and just a bit too quickly! Don’t worry, we’ve got more coffee creativity on the way…

 

In keeping with the local chocolatier spirit, we have worked closely with our new friends at OCHO Candy in Oakland to create a very simple, but delectable new flavor called OCHO COCO CHOCO! (Try saying that 10 times fast)

The brilliant staff at OCHO Candy has been such a generous, thoughtful, and involved partner in the making of this new flavor, and we can’t thank them enough. When we reached out to Scott Kucirek, the CEO of the company, he welcomed us with open arms, and immediately grabbed onto the idea of the partnership. The result is OCHO’s chocolate coconut candy bar chunks swirled into our Mr. Dewie’s coconut ice cream – OCHO COCO CHOCO! And, so far, it has been a big hit with our customers.

Through this process we have come to understand that not only does OCHO make the best tasting candy bars in the market, but they use only the best ingredients and are considered top of the line in the organic candy bar industry! The first time we bit into one of their peanut butter chocolate candy bars, we knew that we were in for something special! In addition to the peanut butter and coconut bars, they also make caramel infused bars, and have some cool variations on the way.

We suggest that you hurry into one of our two shops to pick up some of this special ice cream, as these flavors move fast!

Bay Area Made

Mr. Dewie’s Cashew Ice Cream

Founding Member

How Mr. Dewie’s Began

Ari and Andrew Cohen are the creators and co-founders of Mr. Dewie’s cashew milk ice cream, founded in 2011. Our mission was to make a creamy, smooth and delicious ice cream that also met our personal dietary needs of being free of dairy, gluten, and soy. It was important to us to keep it local, artisinal, and use only natural, organic and healthy ingredients. No fillers, additives, preservatives, gums, or oils — truly homemade!

Our pints have been on the freezer shelves of select grocery stores in the Oakland, Berkeley, El Cerrito, and Alameda areas for several years. In 2016 we were excited to open Mr. Dewie’s Cashew Creamery, an ice cream retail shop on Solano Avenue in Albany. In addition to our pints, the shop menu includes cones, cups, sundaes, bon bons, ice cream sandwiches, and other delicious goodies, almost all of which are vegan as well.

Come visit us at our second location at the Emeryville Public Market, or grab one of 7 flavors at the Mr. Dewie’s kiosk inside of Paulista on Park Blvd. in Oakland’s Glenview District!

St. Mary’s Collegian Review

By Clarice Ong | Staff Writer

We all scream for ice cream! Unfortunately, the joy of consuming these frozen delights during a hot day is denied to the lactose intolerant and vegans amongst us. However, lactose intolerant individuals and vegans in the East Bay can now enjoy luscious ice cream, thanks to Mr. Dewie’s Cashew Creamery.

Founded in 2011 by brothers Ari and Andrew Cohen, Mr. Dewie’s Cashew Creamery currently has brick-and-mortar locations in Albany and Emeryville. Their products are also carried by the restaurant Paulista Brazilian Kitchen in Oakland and stores such as Alameda Natural Grocery, Berkeley Bowl, Berkeley Natural Market, and El Cerrito Natural Market. They offer creamy concoctions that are friendly to most individuals who cannot consume dairy. Made with cashews sourced by a local nut butter company partner from Vietnam and Africa, Mr. Dewie’s uses natural, organic, and healthy ingredients and eschews additives, preservatives, gums, or oils in their ice cream selections. The resulting frosty treats are creamy, silky, and decadent.

Like most children, Messrs. Cohen grew up as ice cream lovers. However, they later discovered that they were lactose intolerant and have developed sensitivity to gluten and soy. Ari’s children similarly have these dietary restrictions. Despite giving up on milk and milk products altogether, Ari instead developed his own pecan-and-date nut milk in his kitchen for his consumption. This delicious homemade pecan-and-date nut milk led to the development of salted pecan ice cream, which is the precursor to Mr. Dewie.

Mr. Dewie’s had an interesting trajectory. From offering their products at neighborhood grocery such as Farmer Joe’s in Oakland, their products were then distributed nationally through Whole Foods. However, the brothers found out that they only had so much control over the quality of their products in this business model. As such, they decided to buy back their share of the business and offered their ice cream locally where they could introduce more flavors and products (e.g. bonbons) and control the temperature of the freezers to keep the creaminess and scoopability of their ice cream at the optimal level.

By offering their products locally, Mr. Dewie’s has been able to connect with the community. Their customers help inspire some of their flavors, and they have partnered with other local businesses. Though they initially created flavors that are familiar to customer palettes (such as vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry) to woo customers towards cashew ice cream, they have developed other flavors upon customers’ suggestions. For instance, the roasted cashew flavor came to be because during their demos, customers approached them looking for cashew-flavored ice cream. Their turmeric spice flavor was supposed to be a seasonal special; but due to repeated requests from their customers, turmeric spice is now part of their regular menu and is one of their best selling flavors.

Mr. Dewie’s has also partnered with local businesses such as San Francisco’s Tcho to produce the Hot Cocoa, Oakland’s Ocho candy to produce the Ocho Coco Choco and San Francisco’s Tartine Bakery to produce their espresso ice cream. Currently, they are working with Oakland’s Paulista to develop an açai flavor, Berkeley’s Timeless Coffee to develop a cold brew flavor, and San Francisco’s Guittard to bottle Mr. Dewie’s vegan hot fudge for distribution.

Initially, Mr. Dewie’s used almond milk in their products. However, through their partnership with a local nut butter company, they realized that cashew nut, though pricier than almonds, may be a more stable commodity in the long run and just provides a better base for ice cream.

Through experimentation, they found that if they did not pump extra air, they could produce an ice cream that is more dense than dairy ice cream. They also found that using organic cane sugar helped produce silky ice cream. The result is smooth, creamy, and flavorful ice cream that is arguably better than traditional ice cream. Mr. Dewie’s cashew ice cream is low in saturated fat, has zero cholesterol, and is high in protein since each serving is made with more than an ounce of cashews.

Mr. Dewie’s offers fun and interesting flavors. Their banana nut is like eating a creamy banana nut bread. The roasted cashew is rich and should not be missed. The chocolate orange chip is delectable with a fantastic balance of chocolate and orange flavors. The caramel almond crunch is fantastic with its velvety caramel taste and pleasing almond crunch with every bite. The mocha chip is the perfect combination of cocoa, espresso, and chocolate chunks. The turmeric spice is a pleasant surprise with its combination of turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, anise, and other spices. Other flavors include coconut, strawberry, green tea, lemon crème, mint chip, and seasonal flavors.

Now that we are enjoying warm California days, head to Mr. Dewie’s and enjoy their delightfully luscious confections. Lactose tolerant, lactose intolerant, gluten lover, gluten sensitive…everyone can scream for ice cream at Mr. Dewie’s.

The “Dewie Brothers” on Viceland – May 1, 2018

Save the date or set your DVRs to record Viceland’s “The Ice Cream Show” episode, featuring your’s truly, us!

That’s right, the Cohen Brothers (Ari and Andrew), representing Mr. Dewie’s, will be a part of this episode featuring our dairy, soy and gluten-free version of a vegan, cashew, ice cream, and this will also be the first time that we’ve seen this episode, so…be nice…we have no idea how this is gonna turn out. No matter the outcome, we were (and are) very honored to have been selected to be a participant in this series, and we had allot of fun during it’s production and with the production team!

Hosted by another local ice cream entrepreneur, Isaac Lappert from Lapperts Ice Cream (3rd generation), we took him through the “Flight” of flavors, and it seemed that he truly enjoyed the experience. So, May 1, 2018, at 7:30PM PST, 10:30PM EST, and then again at 10:30PM PST, cozy up to your television sets or computers, tune or log into Viceland, and don’t forget to have bowl of Mr. Dewie’s cashew concoction at the ready to devour whilst watching.

Here is a YouTube version of the episode for you to peruse.