The story behind our rose coconut basil latte.
In 2019, we spent long, lazy days in Portland, Oregon.
There was a time when a four-hour drive felt scary and wasteful, but after months of living in Seattle, we grew restless and hungry for something different. Portland became that happy escape, a city dotted with lakes and waterfalls and long, stunning stretches of coastline. So every few months, our family of three would get dressed, find a dog-friendly restaurant or hiking trail, and start driving east.
We remember Portland to be a metropolitan landscape filled with young but grey brick buildings, iron bridges, and four-wheel drives. But, magically, it was also filled with the kind of nature that makes you hold your breath in awe. Past the unhoused camps and graffitied buildings were trees that towered over you with grace and majesty, that filled you with respect for the earth and the God who made it. Tucked behind bars and cul-de-sacs were nature trails that felt ripped from storybooks with moss, creeping vines, and knotted tree roots transporting you to a whole new world. You don’t feel like yourself when you’re in that kind of landscape. You feel reborn.
As a young couple exploring Portland, we went anywhere and everywhere. We got tattoos in the city on our way back from nature walks. We drank iced lattes from shops pressed into the sides of cliffs. And we visited the International Rose Test Garden which sat at the edge of Washington Park.
The Rose Garden.
If we could go back tomorrow, we would go spend hours in that oasis of life and beauty. Imagine what felt like miles and miles of the most vibrant colors nature has to offer. Imagine reds so sharp, your eyes had to adjust to take them in. Yellows that seemed out of place in a mosaic of white flowers. Imagine tall, green trees that hugged the sky and huge bushes flourishing in the fertile Oregon soil.
Not even our overcast day could dim our mood. We loved it. And so did Brooklynd who is happy anywhere he gets to smell things.
That day at the Rose Garden, we were more quiet than usual, focusing on reading the flower names and staring at them long enough to hold onto those memories forever. We took photos. We cracked small jokes. And we walked around, in true awe at a place that felt too special to be real.
The rose coconut basil latte is inspired by the Rose Garden. It has a smooth rose flavour complimented by a dash of coconut. But the thing that’s really special about this drink is the earthy taste of basil that completes the drink. The basil flavour gives you pause, just like the Rose Garden did for us and it will change your mind about basil’s delicacy and versatility. We hope it takes you to Portland, Oregon like it does for us every time.
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