Beyond butter: quirky spreads to jazz up your toast

"It may not look wholly appetising, but this dark paste could be the future of coffee," said Jonathan Wells in The Telegraph. The "thick, glossy" mixture in question – one that comes in a tube and is similar in appearance to Marmite – is actually a blend of ground coffee, coffee extract, sugar, water and naturally fermented xanthan gum.

Swiss hikers Alexander Häberlin and Philippe Greinacher came up with the idea for the quirky spread while climbing Mont Fort in 2023 after getting "fed up with carrying bulky coffee-making equipment" on their expeditions. Once home, the pair "knocked together a prototype in their kitchen" for No Normal Coffee.

What does it taste like? "On toast, it's strong." The paste is "almost yeasty, like a dark, thick soy sauce", with notes of "bitter dark chocolate". That isn't to say it's "unpleasant" but it is rather strong so "only the thinnest coating is required" on your toast.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Still, it's clear the ingredients are top quality and the "sweet touch" from the organic Swiss sugar beat is the paste's "masterstroke", helping to balance what could otherwise have tipped over into "overbearing bitterness". If you aren't ready to brave it on toast, a teaspoon of the paste can be dissolved in boiling water to make your morning brew as a "more authentic" alternative to instant coffee.

Häberlin and Greinacher aren't the only ones thinking outside the box when it comes to inventive toast toppings. A "new generation of bakers" are elevating the "humble slice" to another level with a slew of "upmarket spreads", said Grace Cook in the Financial Times.

Among the highlights are Pollen Bakery's wildly popular Croissant Butter – an "indulgent" mix of caramelised pastry pieces with toasted white chocolate that sells out "within minutes" – and the nut-based brand Mada Mada's delicious Black Sesame Praliné. As you would expect, these spreads are "disgustingly more-ish". So "why not batch eat them with a spoon?"