A wallet is never something I have cared that much about and because of that I have had several different kinds, everything from traditional leather wallets to money clips or even duct tape wallets. I have never had a coffee bag wallet however and I think it is about time I do. I always have a bag of coffee around the house and it's about time I use the bags for something productive instead of just throwing them away.
There are several ways you can make your own coffee bag wallet, and I have found a few on one of my favorite websites Instructables.com. This Instructable (
Coffee Bag Wallet #1) is a little bit harder to do and requires a little more sewing, which is not my cup of tea, but I think it makes a pretty good wallet as far as construction is concerned. You could replace the sewing with duct tape but it just wouldn't look as good. The second Instructable I found uses the same folds as the Paper Wallet (
How to make a Paper Wallet) Instructable, but with some modifications (
Coffee Bag Wallet #2). This one only requires you to sew up the ends with I think I could handle.
Good luck and enjoy your new wallet!
I thought it was pretty interesting to see what chemicals and substances are in coffee. I drink probably too much coffee and have never really thought about what is in it other than the run off from coffee beans. I think people forget that things taste the way they do because of the different chemical reactions and changes that happen when you mix and cook things. This is perhaps why I like Alton Browns cooking show so much, because he explains all the science to you.
I think the WIRED article is interesing because it shows you all the differnet things in your coffee and what taste it adds to the drink. Something that most people don't think about on a regular basis. Anyways here is a copy paste from WIRED.
Caffeine
This is why the world produces more than 16 billion pounds of coffee beans per year. It's actually an alkaloid plant toxin (like nicotine and cocaine), a bug killer that stimulates us by blocking neuroreceptors for the sleep chemical adenosine. The result: you, awake.
Water
Hot H2O is a super solvent, leaching flavors and oils out of the coffee bean. A good cup of joe is 98.75 percent water and 1.25 percent soluble plant matter. Caffeine is a diuretic, so coffee newbies pee out the water quickly; java junkies build up resistance.
2-Ethylphenol
Creates a tarlike, medicinal odor in your morning wake-up. It's also a component of cockroach alarm pheromones, chemical signals that warn the colony of danger.
Quinic acid
Gives coffee its slightly sour flavor. On the plus side, it's one of the starter chemicals in the formulation of Tamiflu.
3,5 Dicaffeoylquinic acid
When scientists pretreat neurons with this acid in the lab, the cells are significantly (though not completely) protected from free-radical damage. Yup: Coffee is a good source of antioxidants.
Dimethyl disulfide
A product of roasting the green coffee bean, this compound is just at the threshold of detectability in brewed java. Good thing, too, as it's one of the compounds that gives human feces its odor.
Acetylmethylcarbinol
That rich, buttery taste in your daily jolt comes in part from this flammable yellow liquid, which helps give real butter its flavor and is a component of artificial flavoring in microwave popcorn.
Putrescine
Ever wonder what makes spoiled meat so poisonous? Here you go. Ptomaines like putrescine are produced when E. coli bacteria in the meat break down amino acids. Naturally present in coffee beans, it smells, as you might guess from the name, like Satan's outhouse.
Trigonelline
Chemically, it's a molecule of niacin with a methyl group attached. It breaks down into pyridines, which give coffee its sweet, earthy taste and also prevent the tooth-eating bacterium Streptococcus mutans from attaching to your teeth. Coffee fights the Cavity Creeps.
Niacin
Trigonelline is unstable above 160 degrees F; the methyl group detaches, unleashing the niacin—vitamin B3—into your cup. Two or three espressos can provide half your recommended daily allowance.
I want a little cute robot to make me coffee in the mornings. I know all i have to do is put coffee in the coffee machine and add water and hit a button and 2 minutes later i have coffee, but I want a cute robot to do that for me. Maybe I could even get one that does a little dance in the middle of making coffee, that would be awesome.
Anyways enjoy the coffee making robot.
I know this may seem like an unusual product to be writing about but I can’t help myself from loving unusual kitchen items. Bodum reigns supreme when it comes to making interesting and creative products. This is a new product by Bodum and is super cool. It’s a
gravity pepper grinder. All you have to do is shake it up and down over your food and the ceramic grinder will eject freshly ground pepper. How awesome is that. You can also adjust the grinder so you can grind all sorts of things like salt and spices.
I know you might be thinking what does this Bodum gravity grinder have to do with coffee? Well Bodum makes some of my favorite glassware and coffee products. So to satisfy your coffee craving I’ll offer this coffee product as a copout.
It’s a double walled porcelain cup this is apart of
Bodum’s 2009 collection. It’s made out of porcelain but it’s double walled which means it will keep your coffee hotter longer. It also has a silicon no slip grip so you don’t drop it you clumsy fool. They come in 16 different colors, which is super cool for person who wants them to match the kitchen.
Check all the colors out here.
An Oregon man while driving in an apartment complex Spilled hot coffee on himself and accidently hit the gas paddle. He then hit a parked car, hopped the curb, went through a fence, and right into the complex’s pool. Sounds like a bad day to me. The tow company was called out but was baffled at how to get the truck out with further damaging the pool. The man was not hurt in the accident.
I don't normally talk about such things on this blog but since coffee was the catalyst that cause the accident I deemed it appropriate.
Apparently Starbucks is testing out a new kind of store one where you can buy beer and wine with your latte or coffee. They are going to turn it into what a good coffee shop should be a store where you can get good beverages whether it’s coffee, beer or wine. They are still going to sell you the same coffee beans and the same basic product but with a more local and artsy scene.
Starbucks plans on making the coffee shop more local oriented by giving them local names and having live bands, poetry readings, and other similar events. I think this is a great idea but some people apparently don’t think so. They think Starbucks is trying to pull a fast one, a bait and switch as it were. I think Starbucks is simply trying to create a better coffee shop and I don’t see anything wrong with it.
photo credit
Topless Coffee House Plans on rebuilding
Donald Crabtree, the owner of the Grand View Topless Coffee Shop is planning on rebuilding after his coffee shop was burnt down. The police have ruled it an arson fire so there were obviously people who didn’t like the idea of a topless coffee shop in their town.
Donald Crabtree built his 18 and over topless coffee shop last February in central Maine. He had requested to the Vassalboro Planning Board on June 2 to remain open later and to be allowed to play music his waitresses could dance to. Later that night his coffee shop was burnt to the ground.
It's not as if all people hated his establishment. When he opened his store and was hiring he received 150 applications for only 10 employment spots. Seems as if there was a place for a topless coffee shop in central Maine. Maybe one of the fathers of the employees burnt it down, who knows?
Even though I wouldn’t go to a place like this I don’t think burning it to the ground is the right solution. Frankly if people want to drink coffee while topless waitresses wait on them I say let them. How is that any different than a strip club that sells coffee and little muffins. I bet the coffee house has pretty good coffee and if not who cares right. :)
Story VIA CBSnews.com
Photo credit: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3077/2548041489_6606103024_b.jpg
I think I have finally perfected the southern sweet tea. I have to say my sweet tea is delicious and sweet but must importantly it’s dark and strong with a really smooth flavor. How do you accomplish this? I’ll tell you.
What you will need.
- 1 gallon container
- 3 family style tea bags (I use Tetley tea)
- pinch of Baking Soda
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups Sugar (I know that’s a lot but it’s so good. You can use less if you like)
-
3/4 cap full of Lemon extract (optional)
Okay here is what you do. Put about 4 – 5 cups of water in a pot and throw in just a pinch of baking soda. This takes away the bitterness of the tea and helps to darken it. Just throw in a little pinch it will not change the taste. Bring the water to a boil and when you got a nice boil going take it off the heat and put in your tea bags and cover with a lid. Let the tea bags steep in the water for 10 – 15 minutes. I like to stir the water a little bit to help the steeping process.
After 10 – 15 minutes remove the tea bags and add your sugar. Mix the sugar with the tea and make sure it has dissolved completely. Once the sugar is dissolved pour the tea into your container. If any sugar is left in the pot just add some water and swirl it around and pour it in. At this point you can add the lemon extract I have also heard of people putting almond extract in as well. If use choose to use almond extract it will make the tea taste a lot sweeter so you might want to back off on some of the sugar to start. Now and add cold water to the one gallon mark and stir it up.
You are all set to have some of the best southern sweet tea in the world. Good luck and enjoy.
Update October 6, 2009 2:17 PMSo some people have been saying that this recipe has too much sugar in it. To that I have to say I don't think so. I put about 1.5 cups of sugar in a one gallon batch of sweet tea and it's great. What you really need to do experiment and see what you like best.
photo credit :http://baristamagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/icedCoffee.JPG
Ice coffee is a great escape on a hot day. If you don’t feel
like drinking hot coffee in the morning you can pour some coffee goodness in a
cup with some ice, milk, and sugar and your off to the races. Many people when
they want to brew ice coffee make it in a coffee pot double strength and then
put it on ice. Starbucks brews
it’s ice coffee stronger and then dilutes with a little ice to chill it down
and is then served over ice. There is nothing wrong with brewing ice coffee
this way but there is a better way.
Cold brewing your iced coffee is an easy and delicious way
of creating an iced coffee drink. When you cold brew coffee you get all the
caffeine and taste out of your coffee with less oil and bitterness. Cold
brewing takes longer so if you only have a couple of minutes to make an iced
beverage this is not for you. If you are the kind of person that can plan ahead
then this could be just the ticket.
How to Brew
Cold brewing ice coffee is easy all you have to do is maintain
a 4:1 ratio of water to coffee. 4 parts water 1 part coffee. Easy right? Mix
the amount of water with the appropriate amount of coffee and let it sit on the
counter for 3 – 4 hours. Yes this delicious drink takes time but it will be
worth it, trust me. After brewing pour the coffee through a strainer to get all
the grinds out. You can even use a regular coffee machine and pour it right
through your coffee filter. Pretty good idea huh? Make sure it’s clean before
using. Open the top and pour your ice coffee right in the top and the filter
metal or paper will trap all the coffee grind and the coffee will go into the
coffee urn. Once you get all the grinds out you can washout the container and
pour the coffee back in. Store your iced coffee in the fridge to help keep it
fresh and delicious.
There you have it great cold brewed iced coffee. The mixture
might be a little strong so if you want to you can dilute it with some water
until it tastes right to you. You can add some sugar and milk to make it sweet and
creamy. You can also buy simple syrups to put in it because liquid sweeteners
work better than granulated ones. You can make your own syrup by heating water
with sugar in it and reducing it. Keep it in a air tight container however
because it will evaporate and harden.
Did
you know that the four most common tea varieties all come from the same
plant? That’s right black tea, oolong tea, green tea and white tea all
come from the Camellia sinensis plant. So what makes these teas
different in flavor? The teas all taste different because they are
prepared in different ways.
Let’s start with the ever so
popular black tea. Black tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant as
does the other three but what makes this tea different from the others?
Black tea is first withered by blowing air over it and then oxidized.
After it has been oxidized the leaf is then dried to stop the oxidation
process. For this reasons black tea is dark in color and bitter. The
Chinese call black tea crimson tea which seems to make more since
considering the color of the drink, but black tea got it’s name because
the leaves are black after they are processed. One advantage to black
tea is that it holds its flavor for years. Green tea will loose its
flavor after a year or so. For this reason black tea was easily
shipped, exported, and traded around the world.
Oolong Tea is
a traditional Chinese tea that is a cross between black and green tea.
Black tea is considered to be highly oxidized, whereas Oolong tea is
anywhere from 10% - 70% oxidized. Oolong tea is rolled and bruised to
break open the cell walls. It is then dry roasted which makes the tea
less bitter and easy on the stomach.
Green Tea is different
from black and Oolong tea because it is steamed to seal in the color
and flavor. It has very low levels of oxidation and is known to have
lots of antioxidants in it. Green tea also has EGCG, which was found to
prevent HIV from attacking T-Cells. It’s has not been confirmed however
that it does this in humans. Green tea is prepared in many different
ways and is mixed and brewed in different ways. Something I thought was
really interesting about green tea is that the longer you brew it the
more the caffeine dissipates. After 15 minutes of brewing green tea
will contain less than 4 mg of caffeine per serving.
White
tea is similar to green tea in the way it’s prepared but white tea
consists of leaf buds and young tealeaves. These young tealeaves are
known from having more caffeine than green tea. Studies have shown that
white tea has more anti-viral and anti-bacterial qualities than green
tea.
I know what you are thinking; “there are many other kinds
of teas, Ones that you didn’t mention.” Yes, you are right there are,
these teas are considered herbal teas and are made from just about
anything that tastes good in hot water. Herbal teas can be made with
leaves, flowers, fruit, herbs or other plant materials. Many herbal
teas are made with a mix of these ingredients and can be very delicious
in deed.
Turkish Coffee is one of the few ways I have never brewed coffee. I have brewed coffee in just about every other way but never in an ibrik as known as a Cezve. An ibrik is a copper pot that is wide at the bottom and is narrow at the top. It has a spout for pouring and a long wooden or metal handle.
Turkish coffee is one of the few brewing methods that doesn’t involve filtering out the coffee grinds. For this reason to make Turkish coffee you need to grind the coffee as fine as you can get it.
To achieve this you need a Turkish mill. It looks like a salt or pepper mill but it’s designed to grind coffee really fine. If you have a nice bur grinder that will grind fine enough for Turkish coffee this will work too.
How to Brew it
You want to add some cold water to your ibrik and add your finely ground coffee to it. 1 heaping teaspoon (aka a standard spoon not the measuring cup) per coffee cup of water ( 5-6 oz not the standard measurement). Time to add the sugar. Traditionally Turkish coffee is made with sugar so put 1 teaspoon of sugar per 2 teaspoons of coffee. Stir that in while the water is still cold.
Bring on the heat! You want the mixture to boil up to the top to the ibrik. When it does remove it from the heat. Once the bubbles go down you can place it back on the burner. Let it boil up again and remove it before it goes over the top. Do this a third time and after you remove it you can serve it. If you want a cleaner cup you can stir the mixture up to knock the grind out of the bubbles and boil it a fourth time. Once you remove it don’t stir it and pour your coffee into your mugs. Pour a little in each cup and alternate so that the strength of the coffee is distributed.
There you go a great an exotic way of brewing coffee.
Yesterday I talked about the nespresso a capsule based espresso machine. Well today I am going to talk about the Keurig Single cup coffee maker that is built of the same concept.
I think that Keurig machines are basically that same as the nespresso machines based on general principle. Espresso is made by forcing hot water quickly through finely ground and packed coffee, which is basically how both these machines work. Nespresso is a little bit more of an espresso machine whereas the Keurig is an espresso machine that just produces more liquid and perhaps not as fast making it a really watered down espresso AKA Coffee.
I have tried the coffee from the Keurig machine and I have to say that it’s not bad. I would say though if you were accustomed to drinking poorly brewed coffee that you will probably love this machine. It takes all the guesswork out of making coffee. The proportions are all set for you all you have to do is hit the button.
One thing the bugs me about this machine is that you can set it for different sizes of cups. I wonder how that works with the amount of coffee used. Normally you would use more coffee beans to make more coffee but it seems that if you use a little cup it will taste stronger and if you use a bigger cup it will taste weaker. If they wanted to do it right they should really offer capsules that have more coffee in them to facilitate the larger cups of coffee.
I think this machine is great for people who don’t want the mess of cleaning up coffee grounds. Or for people that suck at making coffee and don’t want to deal with it. I have also seen these machines in offices and I think it’s a great idea. No one wants to come into your office and drink coffee that has been sitting on the burner for who knows how long. This offers a fresh cup to people who want it.
Every bone in my body wants to hate this little machine. I worked at a coffee shop and the fact that all you have to do is put a little plastic capsule into this little machine bugs me. Making good espresso usually means having a big machine where you pack the espresso into the portafilter paying attention to how fine the grind is and how hard it was packed, making sure the shot is not under extracted or over extracted. Making a good espresso shot is an art and a craft. This little machine can make some really good espresso in a little tabletop machine that uses little disposable capsules.
Now don’t get me wrong there is a big difference between coffee house espresso and the nespresso. That and there is more to a good espresso shot than good crema on top. nespresso has good crema but that does not make it a good shot. If you were going to make espresso at your house I think that it can’t get any easier than the nespresso. No only can you get one of these things for about $200 buck but you can also get refillable capsules from a 3rd party company that will allow you to use your own coffee. The capsules are about 55 cents apiece. Which is not that be if you were going to buy your own coffee and you could do it for about 25 cents or less.
If you were going to do it the traditional way you would have to get an espresso machine a descent one will cost you at least $200 bucks. Then you need a good grinder, which will cost you $100 bucks or more. Don’t skimp on your grinder it’s important. Then of course you have all the clean up of cleaning out the portafilter and the machine try.
If you want an easy and clean way to make espresso at home check out the nespresso machines.
find the refillable pods here http://www.nexpod.ch/?l=en
For people who love coffee there’s nothing quite like the perfect cup. Once you start making your own coffee you discover that there are many ways that you can make it. Post people use a drip coffee makers and have never tried coffee brewed in other ways such as the French press. You can also brew coffee in a percolator, also referred to as a vacuum pot, as well as in a cezve (pronounced: chehz-vuh) which is designed to make Turkish coffee.
Well most people have never heard of a Clover. Clover is a special machine designed by Stanford engineers. The machine is known for making the best single cup of coffee in the world. What makes it so great is that you can individually craft each cup of coffee. You can control the temperature of the water was well as the brew time. It really brings in the best of both a French press and vacuum pot.
As the guy in the video will mention Starbucks has bought Clover and has placed them in some select stores. As of yet there are only in the four corners of the US, Washington, New York, Miami, and California. So if you want to try a cup of Clover coffee you will have to go to one of those stores.
If you are thinking that you would just buy one of theses machines well you can’t because Starbucks won’t sell them to you and they also cost $11,000. So you’re better off just trying to get really good at making French press coffee or working on your vacuum pot skills.
Starbucks is trying to revamp it's image by getting back to its roots and remind people why they Love Starbucks. Starbucks wants to let people know that they aren't just about making coffee but making relationships and making people happy. They want to create that perfect cup of Starbucks coffee in an environment that is enjoyable to the customer. I think that this campaign will be good for Starbucks especially if they follow through with it all. I have been watching as Starbucks has been trying to turn their focus back on making good coffee and less on how much merchandise they can sell.
I have been watching as mugs and glasses and stuffed animals start to disappear from Starbucks shelves. I couldn't be happier with Starbucks decision to bring back what I think is the heart of Starbucks. Good Coffee, Good friendly people, who love serving and perfect cup of coffee. Here is a video that Starbucks has posted on youtube that explains their new Ad campaign.
I have to say that this makes me happy and proud to have worked at Starbucks. Because when you put your everything into making good coffee it's nice to see your company backing that up.
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