Tienda Salsita founder Kathleen joins Herlinda Heras and Daedalus Howell in the studio on Brew Ha Ha today. This is her first time on the show. She produces shelf stable salsas in glass jars, in a wide range of flavors, using almost all locally-grown ingredients.
Kathleen has brought in some salsas and mezcal. Tequila is a type of mezcal, produced only in the state of Jalisco from local agave. Other mezcals are made elsewhere.
Kathleen from Tienda Salsita in the studio with a big table full of salsas and mezcal.
Kathleen tells how she fell in love with salsa, beginning with her great grandparents from Colombia and through living in Mexico. She studied Spanish in a full immersion program in Healdsburg in school. Then after college she moved to Mexico to live with her aunt. There she fell in love with Mexican table culture. “It’s my love language.”
She started making salsa by hand eight years ago with her own mortar and pestle. She supports local farmers and others in Mexico. “We are a flavor-forward salsa company.” She does a lot of pairings with salsa and beverages like mezcal.
Herlinda remembers when her friends introduced her to mezcal while she was on a beer judging trip to Mexico. The passion fruit flavor is her favorite.
++++++
Visit Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Check out their website and socials for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more.
++++++
Kathleen has brought a Salsa Macha, which is an oil-based salsa. It can be a finishing sauce or an ingredient. It doesn’t have a lot of spice but it has a lot of flavor. The Salsa Macha is a sauce born of two worlds, the Spanish and the Mexican. The Spanish tried to plant olives in Mexico, which did not take off on a large scale. But this is where Spanish olive oil and Mexican chiles came together. There are two types of mezcal and they will drink from a traditional gourd called a jicara.
******
Visit our sponsor Pro Chiller online for all the info about their new CO2-based Pro Green Solutions.
******
Next they taste the Salsa Verde Asado. Usually green sauces are thin but they add no water to this one. It would go with pork, roasted chicken, an avocado, or a brothy soup. Shoutout to their supplier Longer Table Farm.
Brew Ha Ha is funniest and best-connected weekly show about craft beer, sake, cider, NAs and more.