Coffee And Bikinis
Earlier this year, the talk was about the topless coffee shop in Maine. It did achieve success but its luck turned sour when someone burned it down not long ago. This time, there is another coffee shop running its operations along similar lines, though it is not as controversial as the topless shop.
Bikini Espresso has opened in Torrance, California and it does not take smarts to realize that their highlight involves bikini clad servers and baristas. They have only been open for several days but it seems that the people in the neighborhood think that they have a hit in their hands.
Barista Chelsea Turnbo says that they are having a lot of fun and that their clientele has been varied. While more men queue up for drinks, they also get women – even old ladies!
Perhaps the fact that they are quite near to the beach adds to the accepting spirit of the customers. Then again, customers are saying that while the bikini clad baristas are the unique feature of the coffee shop, the coffee isn’t all that bad. In fact, they say that the coffee is quite good.
Still, the coffee isn’t so good that the critics have been silenced. There are still those who don’t favor the idea. It is no surprise, I think. I think that it is not that much of a big deal, though. I mean, you see people in bikinis every time. What might be more interesting is to actually work in the shop, don’t ya think? Not that I would even be considered for the position!
In The Interest Of Preserving The Integrity Of Coffee
Now if that isn’t one of the most pompous drivel that I have read for a long time (well, probably since yesterday). This is exactly what was going through my mind as I read about Jeff Simmermon’s experience at the Murky Coffee store in Arlington, VA. So what happened?
Simmermon reportedly ordered a triple shot of espresso dumped over ice. Now you probably know that this is not commonly done but hey, who said you had to drink coffee in a certain way? Well, the management of Murky Coffee says so. Read the barista’s reaction as Simmermon himself described it:
And the guy at the counter looked me in the eye with a straight face and said “I’m sorry, we can’t serve iced espresso here. It’s against our policy.”
This reminded so much of a similar incident that my husband and I experienced at a local Starbucks store. The coffee became lukewarm because we were chatting and smoking. So he went back to the counter to ask for it to be reheated. We know that purists disallow reheating coffee as the heat “ruins” it. Despite my husband’s repeated requests, they wouldn’t heat the coffee!
So what is the deal here? Preserving the integrity of coffee or giving in to a customer’s request? Probably because I am not a purist, I tend to lean towards the latter. We all enjoy our coffee in different ways, give us some leeway here!
Photo courtesy of Aaron Landry
Cheese On Your Coffee, Anyone?
Uh, I don’t know about that. I mean, my second favorite drink in the whole wide world is coffee (first is water – yeah I am boring) and I can’t get enough of various types of cheese (check my last grocery bill and you’ll see LOTS of different cheese in there). I have not really thought of mixing the two together, have you?
This girl in Canada, Laura Perry, thinks otherwise and judges of the Eastern Regional Barista Championship in Montreal agree with her! The story featured in Ottawa Citizen narrates her victory:
Mascarpone cheese is not the first ingredient the average coffee drinker would put into an espresso. But Kanata’s Laura Perry is no ordinary coffee aficionado, using the unusual concoction to win the Eastern Regional Barista Championship this week in Montreal.
The 22-year-old’s victory will make her the only Ottawa resident to compete in October at the Canadian National Barista Championships, the Grey Cup of competitive coffee-making in Canada.
The drink, named Mascarpone Macchiato, is a shot of espresso marked with a bit of steam milk. It is blended with a variety of ingredients, including whipped mascarpone cheese, sugar cane and cinnamon bark.
For those who wince at cheese and coffee, Perry says she uses mascarpone for its light cream qualities. “It doesn’t really taste like cheese.”
For someone who likes cheese, I am pretty ignorant about a lot of types and I have not heard of mascarpone before. I found this at Wikipedia:
Mascarpone is a triple-cream cheese (though more accurately a lightly-whipped cream) made from crème fraîche, denatured with tartaric acid. Mascarpone is milky-white in color and is easily spread. When fresh, it smells like milk and cream. It is used in various dishes of the Lombardy region of Italy, where it is a specialty. It is a main ingredient of tiramisu.
I feel a bit stupid as I love tiramisu but now I understand how mascarpone can go well with coffee. I wonder if we’ll ever get to taste the likes of this coffee?
Starbucks To Cough Up $100 Million For Baristas
A San Diego judge has just become a hero to a hundred thousand (estimated) Starbucks baristas. How so? He ordered Starbucks to pay its baristas – both former and current – more than $100 million. This order is the result of a case filed against the giant coffee chain claiming that the company did something illegal by allowing supervisors to receive tips, which should have gone to the baristas. Here’s the report from The Telegraph:
In a ruling that the company immediately said it would appeal, the judge said the company must pay back around $87 million in tips plus interest of $19 million.
Starbucks recently launched a series of initiatives aimed at boosting its business, which has suffered from a dip in sales and a near-50 per cent fall in share price over the past year.
It was not immediately clear how the $100 million might be divided up between the estimated 100,000 current and former baristas [who make the coffee] who have worked for Starbucks in California since 2000.
Terry Chapko, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, was quoted by the Los Angeles Times as saying that the baristas were “subsidising Starbucks labour costs” by helping the company pay its supervisors.
“This is about getting money back to the lowest-paid employees,” he said.
Do you give tips when you go to Starbucks? Does it bother you if the tip went to the supervisors as well as the baristas? I think they should all share it – but that’s just me. If I were a barista, I’d be one very happy camper right now, though.
Why People Prefer Coffee with Jelly Drinks?
Every item, drink or food that is presented in the world today will always have its impact on people. People always look for something new. Adding whipped cream, caramel syrup and even this new entry in the market, that of which have been termed coffee jelly, will always arouse the curiosity of people in any region.
Coffee jelly is something that is not different from the usual jelly bits that people would consume. The only difference is that of its color and appealing coffee flavor. There is no nutritional additives that would make coffee different from the usual beverage that a person would consume. It is more of a person finding some new ways of enhancing their drink wherever they may be.
One can say that such would be more of a psychological attribute towards drink or food consumption. But with regards to new food and beverage preferences, people will always find something different to make such things addictive to the average consumer.
Technorati Tags: coffee, coffee jelly, starbucks, coffe drink, dessert
How People Brew Their Coffee
There are various ways to which coffee drinkers all over the world prepare their favorite hot coffee drink. Some would use the traditional autodrip where the proper coffee machine maker will spell the difference between a good coffee brew and plain coffee as acceptable.
There is also the known use of percolating where continuous brewing of ground coffee beans are placed in boiling water which becomes the boiling coffee brew those coffee lovers would usually order in food establishments and coffee shops.
The Turkish or Greek manner of preparation entails boiling the finely grounded coffee beans that are brewed. In this type of preparation, sugar can be added once boiled or not, depending on the preference of the one making the actual brew.
Finally there is also the concentrated way of brewing where coffee preparation calls for large amounts of coffee brewed into small amounts of water brewed to make concentrated coffee. People who would want to drink a cup simply have to add some hot water to enjoy their coffee drink which can be hot or cold.
Technorati Tags: coffee, caffeine, coffee preparation, coffee beans
Drinking That HOT Irish Coffee
Irish coffee is a familiar item that people would see in the menu list of coffee shops and has been among the preference for people since it mixes coffee, sugar, cream and whisky in one good hot drink for the body. Originally invented at Foynes by Mr. Joseph Sheridan it was conceived to be a warmer drink for the travelers who would find themselves in colder climates like that of the United States and Europe. Irish coffee was believed to hit the spot and has been brought out until today regardless of weather conditions for its unique mixture and blend.
Whiskey and wine may arouse the curiosity of minds, but surely, it has been a preferred coffee mixture today. Noticeable is that the cream would usually float above the coffee but due to its warmth, it melts and maintain its position on the upper part of the drink. A lot of manufacturers have taken up Irish coffee concoctions today such as Baileys and Kentucky coffee and has been common tag towards coffee to this day.
Technorati Tags: irish coffee, coffee brew, whiskey, baileys
Coffee in the Afternoon Meeting
Busy people would usually find themselves headed to the nearest available coffee shop to meet up with business associates or acquaintances to discuss matters regarding business or compare notes. Coffee has been known to be an identified factor with regards to ambiance and business since it is always present in offices and business meetings for important matters for anyone.
Coffee with meetings has become a tradition for people. Some consume if because they have inherited it or actually see it from big-time executives. Individually, a person can resort to juice, tea or soda, but coffee has the distinct taste that people have identified as of late. And so in most coffee shops, this has been the sight.
Business professionals meeting up and talking, or even some doing paper work as they prefer to garner that tag of being a businessman at work aiming for the top and higher positions of the organization he is in.
Technorati Tags: coffee, caffeine, business meeting, ambiance, coffee shop
Matching Aroma when Tasting Coffee
The tempting smell of brewed and prepared coffee would usually set the stage for coffee lovers to start sipping from their cup and satisfying the coffee taste that they have once the scent sets in. The process is only normal. Matching aroma and taste should produce one common output, both satisfying the expected taste of coffee as they perceive it to be.
In most instances, the actual aroma and smell of freshly brewed coffee would invite and tempt the normal coffee enthusiast to grab his cup and incrementally consume it at his desired intake. Most of the time, the expected taste that will satisfy the taste buds of a caffeine addict will be settled at approximately more than 80% most of the time.
Coffee aroma can also be tricky. The expected taste may find its way towards the sense of smell but not the sense of taste for some people. This usually occurs for people who are not well educated on the manufactured coffee beans, since they would either be to strong or too bland, depending on the preparation done for it.
Technorati Tags: coffee aroma, blends, taste, coffee beans
Coffee Inside or Coffee Outside
The desire of people who look towards coffee as a means of making their day can either be appreciated from the coffee shops or from their homes. Of the two, the common sight is to see people preferring to sip their brewed hot drinks at the nearest coffee shop such as Starbucks or the Coffee Beanery. The reason for this may include lesser worries of having to clean up, ambiance and relaxation.
Some would even consider it as a form of status symbol since being able to afford to have coffee outdoors may not sit well with people who are careful or are on a budget. While immediate preparation from their homes can be done, there is a certain something that people see when they buy their drinks outdoors in coffee shops.
This has been the traditional practice which would bring together people for a light moment or business meetings where they can use ambiance and the tempting aroma of roasted beans for coffee to go with their agenda for doing so.
Technorati Tags: coffee, aroma, blends, brewed, coffee preparation
