2010 Kona Coffee Cultural Festival
Who wants to go to Hawaii? If you’ve been yearning for an awesome time at the beach, scrumptious food, and excellent coffee, there is no better time to visit Hawaii than in November. From the 5th of November to the 14th, the annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival is going to be held in the Big Island. This is no ordinary food and cultural festival as it has received numerous awards and has been in existence for no less than 40 years!
This year’s festival is already being built up – although there isn’t much need for that as those who know about it are already waiting in anticipation. Some of the most exciting events include:
• International Lantern Parade, November 5 at 6:30 pm. Alii Drive, Kailua Pier to Hale Halawai
• Holualoa Village Coffee & Art Stroll, November 6, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Have a taste of more than three dozen estate label Kona coffees!
• KTA Super Stores Kona Coffee Recipe Contest/Big Island Showcase, November 7, 12:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa Convention Center. This cooking contest should be fun to watch AND you get to sample the concoctions! Of course, 100% pure Kona coffee will be used in the recipes. How cool is that?
• Gevalia Kona Coffee Cupping Competition – Preliminary Round, November 10, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Keauhou Beach Resort. This competition will determine the best Kona coffee there is. You wouldn’t want to miss that!
For more information on the events and schedules, visit the official web site of the 2010 Kona Coffee Cultural Festival.
Three Coffee Myths You SHOULDN’T Believe
There are myths about practically everything on this earth. I guess the trick is in knowing which really are myths and which just might be true. In some cases, it doesn’t really matter if they’re myths or not, right?
Of course, when it comes to coffee, you ought to know the difference between myth and truth! Otherwise, you might end up with the short end of the stick. Worse, you might end up with a bad cup of coffee. Yuck. (At the very least, you might end up looking like a fool!)
So let us take a look at three coffee myths which are quite popular. I hope you haven’t fallen prey to any of these!
Myth #1: Dark roasts have higher caffeine content than light roasts.
I think the rationale behind this myth is that dark roasts have stronger flavor. But, come on, use your common sense. Dark roasts are roasted for a longer period of time. That means more is burnt out of them, right? If anything, they may have slightly less caffeine in them! The next time you need more caffeine, don’t settle for one cup of dark roasted coffee. Get two or three cups instead!
Myth #2: We say eXpresso.
Riiight. And do you say “asteriX” as well? There’s this coffee shop in a town an hour away from where I live that’s called Xpresso, but really, it’s eSpresso, not eXpresso.
Myth #3: Coffee is very very acidic.
Well, coffee does contain acids, but the truth of the matter is that it is not that acidic. In fact, the pH of coffee is around 5.0 – 5.1 – beer and other fruit juices are much worse!
There you have three of the most popular myths surrounding our favorite brew. Spread the word!
Decaf, Caffs, Coffee, and Coffs
All weekend, I was pretty much out of it. I think that if there were a sleeping contest, I would have won hands down. I have been dead tired during the day for a week now.
The culprit?
The 2010 World Cup. I am sure I am not alone in this situation – millions of people are in the same boat to be sure. All I can say is “Thank God for coffee” – the real kind, mind you, and not decaf.
Speaking of decaf, I was trying to perk myself up earlier by reading cartoons. (Yup, sometimes they work as well as coffee does.) I came across one that explains the meaning of decaf, which is short for decaffeinated, in case you are unsure. 
Now you probably think my brain is addled, but does caffeine really give coffee its taste?
That cartoon got me thinking…and researching. Before I knew it, I was deep into an article about the basics of coffee – the bean. Grounds for Coffee tells us about coffee oil, which is supposed to be the source of flavor:
A good roaster must be part artist, and part scientist, to maintain quality and consistency. It is during the roasting process that the sugars and other carbohydrates within the bean become caramelized, creating a substance which is known as the coffee oil. Technically, this fragile chemical is not actually an oil (since it is water soluble), but it is what gives the coffee its flavor and aroma.
It doesn’t say if this chemical is caffeine, though; although I doubt it. Does anyone know the answer?
Magic Power Coffee: Stay Away!
We’ve heard of all sorts of coffee drinks that claim various benefits. I am talking about slimming coffees and the like, but until a few minutes ago, I had never heard of Magic Power Coffee! Some of you might know about it, but for the sake of those like me, allow me to briefly describe this product.
Magic Power Coffee is being marketed all over the United States as an instant coffee drink. The uniqueness of this product lies in the claim that it functions as an aphrodisiac. Yup, it is supposed to stimulate sexual arousal in both men and women!
So what’s wrong with that? It could very well be a better alternative to Viagra, right?
The FDA, however, disagrees, and has released a statement to the effect that it can be harmful. The government agency is quite worried about the fact that the coffee drink is labeled as an “all natural dietary supplement.” You know how it is these days – people market products as “all natural” and as a “dietary supplement,” and these products are supposed to be 100% safe.
I guess there is no such thing, though. A spokesperson from the FDA says that the label is misleading, and that in fact, Magic Power Coffee can cause serious damage. Men who are using certain prescription drugs, for example, can experience a sudden plummet in blood pressure due to the interaction of the active ingredients.
If you still wish to try the potency of this magic drink, I suggest you check with your doctor first. Better yet, just stick to the good old brew!
…And Free Internet For All
Coffee shops have sprouted up all over like mushrooms after the rain, and when we talk about coffee shops, the first thing that comes to mind is Starbucks. While some see them as a corporate “evil,” there is no denying that Starbucks is arguably the most popular coffee shop chain in the world.
They’ve had their own share of struggles, and in an effort to widen their customer base yet again, Starbucks is now offering more than the usual fare: free Internet.
Over the years, coffee shops have become synonymous with laptops and all sorts of mobile devices – and that means Internet access as well. However, the Internet access in Starbucks stores as it currently is is quite limited. You need to have a Starbucks loyalty card, and having one does not automatically mean you can surf all you want – it just gives you 2 free hours of Internet.
The new scheme, which is going to be implemented on the first of July, is going to open up wireless Internet access in almost 7,000 Starbucks stores all over the United States. The service is going to be offered to in collaboration with AT&T Inc. Do take note, however, that the stores that will be offering this are only the company-operated ones. Franchised stores will not be part of the scheme. (Boo!)
Here’s the question: will this change entice you to camp out at Starbucks if you don’t normally do it? Will free Internet affect your choice of coffee?
Free Coffee At Barnes & Noble
Books and coffee – what better combination is there? (Ohh yeah, I left the cigarettes out of the picture, sorry!)
If you’re the type who enjoys sipping on a nice hot coffee drink while drinking in words from your nifty e-book reader, then I suggest you head on over to the nearest Barnes & Noble branch. They have an ongoing promo where they will give a tall cup of coffee for FREE to any customer who shows a server an open e-book.
Which readers are qualified? Thank goodness, Barnes & Noble isn’t being nitpicky about this – they’re not limiting e-readers to their own Nook. You can use any of these e-e-readers and still qualify for that free cup of coffee:
• iPad
• iPhone
• iPod touché
• BlackBerries
• HTC HD2 devices
• portable Mac or Windows computers
Isn’t that nice of them? Oh, there IS a catch. The software that you must use to read e-books is the BN e-reader software, of course.
So what’s the point of offering free coffee to those who read e-books in the store?
It all points back to the use of the BN e-reader software. They have been on a campaign to push the use of this piece of software, along with the Nook. One cool thing about the software (aside from the free coffee that you get if you use it) is that you can read selected titles in the store for free for an hour everyday!
Coffee + free books = heaven!
