The Single Source Scoop

Recently, I sat down with David Cohen, the owner of the successful and always-packed Spruce Confections (famous scones, coffee, etc, etc) to talk about his latest venture, Gelato Bacio (no website!! Can you believe it?). Cohen has been in business in Boulder for over 15 glorious years (the gelato shop only since November). In that time he’s owned several businesses, and gotten pretty well versed in Boulder’s sweet tooth. Gelato Bacio (pronounced BA-cho) means (appropriately) “kiss” in italiano. And this frozen goodness is just that—a sweet little smooch packed with creamy deliciousness, and only beautiful, natural, thoughtful ingredients.

Milk is the main ingredient in gelato, with a little bit of cream added, as opposed to ice cream, which consists of mostly cream and a little bitta milk. (so, technically, you could say it’s good for you…or at least better). The milk used in GB’s gelato is not, in fact, organic. But there’s a reason. “The milk we’re getting from a local dairy. You know, somebody asked me could I get organic, and I said yes, I could, but then it would come from some massive co-op and I wouldn’t know it’s origin. And this is a clean dairy, and it’s hormone free.” It’s simple, pure, single origin milk.

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Single origin is a term that has come up a bunch in this conversation. The idea of single origin, and the attraction of it, is that you get the most-pure flavor of the food you are eating. “It gives you a little taste of earth,  you know,  planet earth on that one spot. The whole terroir thing is interesting.” Terroir literally translates into “taste of the earth”. So, for example, a cup of coffee is a unique experience when it’s made from beans only grown on one farm in Costa Rica, as opposed to a blend of beans from several farms in several regions. You can taste the real, honest flavor of the farm. Combining batches of beans from several sources causes the flavor to become homogenized. Which, well, puns aside, is what Cohen is trying to avoid. So the gelato here is made with pure milk from one local dairy. Another really amazing thing to note is that this gelato is being made from milk (you might have noticed this by this point in the article). Many times gelato is made with a prepared base (“homogenized” might be echoing in your head at this moment…). Not the case here. Everything at GB starts as close as possible to its original form.

“Seems like the simpler you can make food the better it gets.”

The other ingredients that flavor the gelato ware equally unadulterated. Pistachio, for example, one of the classic, most popular and staple flavors in the kingdom of gelato, is often made with a mixture that one can purchase already prepared. Upon tasting this concoction, Cohen was immediately turned off. Speaking to him for even a few minutes makes you realize immediately that he is a purest. Perhaps it was the lack of true pistachio flavor, or possibly the electric green color that comes along with it. So, taking matters into his own hands, and after several attempts to find that genuine pistachio flavor, he went back to the basics. GB takes shelled organic pistachios, grinds them into a paste and then simply integrates the paste into the gelato. The result is a beautiful pale green and a pure nutty taste that is unparalleled in the world of frozen treats.

GB has a new product making its debut as I write: frozen yogurt like nothing you have ever tasted before. Like exactly everything sold at GB, the yogurt is made from scratch. And when I say scratch, what I mean is, they start with a cow…well not exactly in the store, but from the same local dairy that makes the milk for the gelato. Then, by adding appropriate cultures, they make their own yogurt, add organic sugar and agave nectar to sweeten, and freeze it.

And that’s it.

The result is a tangy and completely-utterly-refreshing frozen yogurt that’s probably not too bad for ya. And the taste is incredible. Another delightful example of single origin flavor.

It is the thoughtfulness and awareness that David Cohen and co. put into sourcing the purest and simplest of ingredients that make Gelato Bacio so unique. And the one thing we can all count on is that a walk down Pearl will never be without the temptation of a little “bacio” of creamy frozen heaven.

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A few examples of the amazing classic, unorthodox, rotating flavors at Gelato Bacio:

Pistachio • Earl gray • Mango Chili • Malt Chocolate Chip • Cinnamon Raisin • Blueberry • Cantaloupe Sorbetto • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip • Mocha • Chocolate Orange

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Mindful practices employed by Gelato Bacio:

Organic • Local • All Natural • Single Origin • Hormone Free • Recycling • Compost

Coming soon:

Wind Power credits to offset electric costs 

Decompostable cups

Solar Powered Delivery Car (wow)