After her favorite candy store ran out of the salt caramels she was
craving, special education teacher Kate Amitin was inspired to try her
hand at candy making. Armed with her collection of vintage aprons,
her mother's candy thermometer, and the highest quality ingredients
she could find, Kate took to her kitchen. The first batch turned out a
lot darker than the caramels she was used to. Truth be told, Kate
thought they seemed a little burnt. Still, when she tasted them they
were rich and creamy. Though they were different from the caramels she had intended to make, these burnt caramels were absolutely delicious. She loved the burnt caramels, but Kate was still determined to make a sea salt caramel that wasn't burnt. She fiddled a bit with her recipe until she succeeded in making the caramels she had been dreaming of. The caramels were dense and chewy, sweet with just the right amount of saltiness. With her craving for salt caramels satisfied, Kate soon decided to combine the caramels with something else she craved - coffee, but not just any coffee - coffee from local roaster Blue Bottle Coffee Company. The result of this combination was even better than Kate had hoped for and all the coffee loving friends who tasted them agreed.
Kate continues to make her caramels in small batches using completely
organic ingredients. She is also committed to using ingredients
produced locally in the San Francisco Bay Area whenever possible. The
caramels are cut by hand and wrapped using wrappers cut by some of her former students through a job-training program for high- schoolers with developmental disabilities.
Kate still thinks her caramels are delicious and she hopes you will to.