- Suzanne Podhaizer
- A coffee drink at Blank Page Cafe
Walk into the farm store at
Bread & Butter Farm in Shelburne between Wednesday and Saturday, and you’ll see more than a spread of fresh veggies, pastured meats and handcrafted local products. On those days, the counter is bedecked with baked goods. Behind it, on a burlap-covered table, is a stainless steel brewing apparatus. This is the temporary home of pop-up coffee shop
Blank Page Cafe, and it’s the brainchild of Michael Proia, who operates with help from his partner, Katie Horner.
The beans come from
Brio Coffeeworks in Burlington, and Blank Page’s basic cup is brewed in a Technivorm Moccamaster, handmade in the Netherlands to create “superior quality drip coffee,” explains Proia. If you prefer, for a bit more scratch, you can get a pour-over, or have yours made with an AeroPress.
- Suzanne Podhaizer
- Michael Proia
Proia’s most unusual offerings, though, are a pair of “paleo-friendly” blended coffees, one highlighting maple, the other, cacao. Both beverages are laced with hunks of pastured butter from Tunbridge's
Mountain Home Farm, as well as lashings of syrup. The cacao is the more complex of the two, with depth and richness coming from ground nibs. It’s spiked with maca powder and grass-fed collagen for a nourishing boost.
Proia, who has been drinking butter coffee since 2009, is not just bending to the trend. “I really believe in food as a means to achieve optimal human performance,” he says. “And I believe butter coffee optimizes performance and optimizes nutrition.”
The barista also makes the baked goods — such as Dark Chocolate Strawberry Crumble Bars, moist with coconut milk — all of which are gluten-free. Many are free of grains entirely, thanks to alternative flours such as cassava, arrowroot and chestnut.
The Bread & Butter gig is Proia's main focus right now, but he says he’s excited about the prospect of popping up at special events in the future.
The Bread & Butter Farm is at 200 Leduc Farm Drive in Shelburne. For now, Blank Page Cafe is there Wednesdays through Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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