As the resident nut butter enthusiast here at Sprudge, itโs my solemn duty to stay abreast of any legume- and/or spread-based news as it pertains to the world of coffee. Iโve seen espresso collabs, cinnamon curds, and foul-mouthed peanut butters (though the uncontested champion remains Lotusโs Biscoff spread) in my time as the goober governor. So what has piqued my peanut this time? Is it the deathโand subsequent rebirth as a two-bit Baby Yoda knockoffโof a century-old brand mascot in a feeble attempt to go #viral? Absolutely not.
Weโre here to talk about coffeeโฆ thatโs made from peanutsโฆ that tastes like coffee.
News of this strange brew came our way via the Virginia Pilot, right in the heart of the American peanut lands, and perhaps uncoincidentally from Suffolk, the โself-appointed caffeine capital of Virginiaโ due to Hillโs Brothers and Folgerโs roasting facilities within the city limits. The peanut coffee goes by the name Virginia Gold and is the product of fifth-generation peanut farmer James Harrell, who came up with the idea six years ago.
โI was drinking coffee and smelling coffee right before harvest,โ remembers Harrell, โand I said, โWhy canโt you turn peanuts into coffee?โโ
Why indeed. It took a few years for Harrell to get his methodologies down; turns out you need to remove the oils and roast to a dark brown in order to get anything coffee-ish. But the result, per the Pilot, both looks and tastes similar to the drink it is imitating. Virginia Gold comes pre-ground and โdoes indeed look very like ground coffee, with that same rich brown color and tight powder.โ Flavor-wise, โitโs a bit like a smooth medium roast, though with none of the fruity aromas or acidic bite one expects from coffee. Itโs nutty, but not nutty like peanuts are nutty โ the roast takes over much of the flavor.โ
Of the tasters tasked with Virginia Gold, the โsnobbyโ third wave coffee drinkers said they liked it, while a chicory drinker stated they did not. Which, one on hand, chicory isnโt coffee so why would we listen to them, but on the other, peanut coffee isnโt coffee either, so maybe the chicory drinker knows better than any of us. Itโs very complicated.
The benefits of peanut coffee over regular, according to Harrell is that his beverage has protein, no acid, is not a diuretic, and is farmed locally here in the U S of A. Iโm not sure that lacking acidity is a good thing (it isnโt) or that being a diuretic is a bad thing (probably my second favorite thing about coffee), but sure, whatever helps you push your peanuts.
For those not going into anaphylaxis from merely reading this article, a 10-ounce bag of Virginia Gold runs just a cool $8.99 and comes in caffeinated and decaffeinated versions. For more information, visit Virginia Gold’s official website.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a butt nutter enthusiast.ย Read more Zac Cadwaladerย on Sprudge.
Top image via Virginia Gold
