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?
Coffee Exhibit At The Burke Museum
The best thing to do with coffee is to drink it, right? So what’s the next best thing? I dunno, but going to an exhibit all about coffee sounds pretty good to me and this is what’s in store for coffee lovers at The Burke Museum.
This museum is also known as The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture and is found at the University of Washington in Seattle. It has been the Washington State Museum since 1899. This year, they have something new to offer visitors. From the 24th of January to the 7th of June 2009, they will be holding an exhibit all about our favorite bean, or drink, if you wish.
Dubbed Coffee: The World In Your Cup, the exhibit aims to welcome everyone to the wonderful world of coffee – from the beans to the brew. This is what the museum has to say about the exhibit:
Coffee: The World in Your Cup presents the story of one of the world’s most widely traded commodities and how it has affected cultures, economies, and environments across the globe. Coffee explores the environmental and social impacts of the coffee industry and recommends ways for consumers to make socially and environmentally responsible coffee purchases at the grocery store or in a coffee shop. Learn about the impacts of caffeine, the world’s most commonly-used drug, on your body, discover coffee’s early controversial reputation as a “revolutionary drink,” and consider the culture that surrounds coffee in the twenty-first century. Photos, maps, text, selected artifacts, audiovisual presentations, and hands-on demonstrations help visitors explore the fascinating world behind the coffee we drink.
There is plenty of time to go and visit. For further information, visit the museum’s web site or call them at 206- 543-7907.
How About Some Salt In Your Coffee?
Uhhhh…I don’t think so. Seriously, I love this drink too much to ruin it with salt. Or am I being too narrow minded here? Apparently, the people in Taiwan have discovered something quite unique – salt coffee.
This kind of coffee is currently being offered by Taiwan’s largest coffee chain, 85 Degree Bakery Café. Salt coffee was launched only on the 11th of December 2008 but it seems to be catching on like wildfire. According to Cathy Chung, the spokeswoman for the coffee chain, “Public reaction surprised us. Nowadays an outlet in north Taiwan can sell 700 cups of salt coffee per day and a store in south Taiwan can sell 700 cups, which is 20 to 30 percent more than the daily sale of our brand coffee, American coffee.”
Heck, it surprises me too! 700 cups of salt coffee in a day? Unbelievable. I just can’t get over the fact that salt is not supposed to put in coffee. Period.
Then again, I have never tried this beverage so who am I to say anything? Customers who have tried the drink rave about it:
“It gives you three tastes. First, you get the slightly salty taste from the cold cream foam, second, the mixed taste of the salty cream foam and hot coffee, third, the aroma of coffee,” says Ho Hsiu-ling, a university student, at the 85 Degree Cafe outlet on Xinyi Road in Taipei.
“It is amazing. I ordered it out of curiosity and expected it to be salty, but the taste is not entirely salty. It is salty and sweet and is more fragrant then sugared coffee.”
But Li Ping-mou, a computer engineer, says he prefers iced salt coffee “because the salty-sweet taste is sharper.”
Alright, being the adventurous person that I am, perhaps I would be willing to try this salt coffee. Who knows, I might be able to tell you about it if I ever find myself in Taiwan sometime in 2009.
For now, I will stick to my hot, rich, and sweet coffee. Happy New Year, guys!
World’s Largest Irish Coffee
Yesterday, the baristas at the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco attempted to make the world’s largest Irish coffee. As can be expected, they want to set a world record. So what went into this gigantic drink?
Let’s see – 10 liters of whiskey (almost 10 liters, that is), 10 gallons of coffee, a gallon of heavy cream, and over 4 pounds of sugar. This concoction was served in a giant glass, which is 3 feet tall. Its capacity is 12 gallons. Naturally, this glass was specially made for the event, with a tap at the bottom to make for easier serving.
The Mercury News has this report:
“We took the same ration that we’d put in a 6-ounce glass and converted it to a 12-gallon glass,” Carden said.
The drink was initially going to be 15 gallons, but the cafe chose a 12-gallon glass to help keep the proportions and shape of the glass in line with the traditional Irish coffee they serve.
“It looks like a giant replica,” said cafe manager Larry Silva.
The unveiling of the Irish coffee happened around 1 p.m. today and it took about 20 minutes for four bartenders to pour the ingredients in the glass.
“Everybody went wild,” Carden said of the crowd when the drink was revealed.
Attendees of the cafe’s 56th Irish coffee anniversary celebration were given drinks from the huge glass, which had a tap at the bottom.
Bartenders added cream to the top of each individual glass served.
Guinness needs time to review the materials supporting the record setting attempt but I sure hope they get it.
The New Complete Coffee Book: A Gourmet Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Cooking
I am almost done with the book I have been reading for the past week so I thought it was time to search for some new interesting reads. I ran across this book on Google Book Search (as usual – I just love this Book Search!) and from what I have read in the preview, it looks like a good buy.
The book is quite short – a little over a hundred pages – and has 5 main chapters (introduction not included). The chapters are:
History
The Bean
The Roast
The Brew
Recipes
I think that The New Complete Coffee Book: A Gourmet Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Cooking would be perfect for your coffee table – something to browse through on a lazy Sunday morning as you sip your cup of joe while watching TV or whatever else it is that you do on lazy Sunday mornings. There is a lot of information on coffee within the pages of the book and you can get a lot of ideas for unique meals using coffee.
On the other hand, I felt that something was lacking. Sorely missing were the most basic of information, like, how to make cappuccino, latter, and the like. I know, perhaps the authors purposely left information out in order to focus on the more advanced aspects of coffee but it would have been nice to have it in the book as well.
Anyhow, I am still thinking of whether or not to buy the book – we’ll see this weekend.
Hilary And The Coffee Machine
This is a blog about coffee and NOT politics. God forbid that I start talking about politics! I actually make it a point not to dip into that pool – but this is just too funny to pass up!
You’ve probably heard something about this already – there are countless copies of the video circulating on the Internet today. So a potential president of the US can’t figure out how to coax coffee out of a machine, huh? Priceless.
Starbucks And iTunes Show Love
Starbucks and Apple are perhaps the two brands that I like the most – well, perhaps is the operative word here. In any case, these two groups have teamed up to bring more pleasure to their customers. Sometime last week, Starbucks proudly announced its new program – the Pick of the Week.
Yes, it is true that the name for the promotion could have been more creative. (Come on now guys, you make millions! You can surely pay someone to come up with something more than “Pick of the Week!”) However, the idea is quite an interesting one.
Imagine yourself sitting at your favorite spot in your regular Starbucks hang out. You spend a relaxing hour or so sipping your favorite coffee drink, doing whatever you are doing, and listening to your favorite music on your iPod all the while. Perhaps you don’t even need to imagine this – it is reality!
YOU are the target clientele of Starbucks and Apple. With the Pick of the Week, loyal Starbucks and Apple customers can enjoy free downloadable content. How?
I don’t know the exact details (obviously the Starbucks nearest me does not seem to have this promo running yet) but the idea is that people who buy coffee from Starbucks will receive a Pick of the Week download card. This card can then be used to redeem a free song or music video from the iTunes store. Users have up to 60 days to claim the song or video but can also download on the spot with WiFi access.
Coffee Etiquette In Italy
I sure am not headed to Italy any time soon (though the partner and I are planning a trip next year) but I found this blog post on The Road To The Horizon very informative and funny as well.
Did you know that Italians mostly drink their coffee at the bar standing up? If you drink your coffee at the table, then you are probably marked as a tourist (not always a good thing in my book).
How long does it take you to finish off an espresso? For me, it depends. Sometimes I finish it off really fast, sometimes I take my time. In Italy, espresso is meant to be drunk in a jiffy – 3 sips at the most.
As I was reading these interesting bits of trivia, I was thinking – would anyone really care if I didn’t follow the Italian customs when it comes to coffee? Well, I suppose that when you’re in Rome, you have to do as the Romans do. The blog post explains:
It is a habit, no, more a culture, strong: a religion, in Italy, not to drink any coffee with milk in it after breakfast. Cappuccino or Caffe Latte orders after 11 am are often laughed at or joked with.
While coffee bar tenders in the big cities will frown when you order a Caffe Latte in the afternoon, and exchange a glance of “Ah, tourists!” with the people standing at the bar, they will still serve you – all be it – reluctantly.
In restaurants, though, you might get occasions where the waiter will simply not serve you a coffee with milk in the afternoon or evening. The more remote the place, the more “mama and papa”-type the restaurant, the more chance of getting accused for “sacrilege”, turning that ‘friendly hospitable waiter’ into a rude tiran who wants nothing better than to see your backside as you walk out of the restaurant, while all you wanted was a “Cappuccino”.
Ok, ok I get it. Well, not really. I have to read this blog post over and over again – and take notes – before I even think of going to Italy.
Coffee Pot Meth
Ok, I have to warn you – this post is a bit weird. I have never heard of this “myth” before until I ran across I Need Coffee’s archive of articles. One title caught my eye – Coffee Meth Myth? Coffee and drugs? A bomb of a combination, isn’t it? So what is it all about?
Apparently, last year, a rumor circulated around the Internet that coffee pots in hotels were being used to make home made meth. As such, some people got really skittish about using the coffee pots provided in their hotel rooms. You never know – you just might be drinking something more in that coffee of yours, right?
Yet is there any truth to this? If you read the article, the author presents statements from various law enforcement officers. Though there is no hard proof for this “myth,” it seems that it is indeed possible to make meth using a coffee machine (at the hotel or at your home or wherever there is one). An officer even said that he had run across this situation several times in his career. Shall we take this for truth?
The author draws these inferences:
• Methamphetamine can indeed be cooked in a coffee carafe.
• A small coffee maker can be used to make meth through the “Nazi method.”
• Meth is sometimes cooked in motels or hotels.
• It wouldn’t always be possible to look at a carafe and determine whether it was used to cook meth.
I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to be careful. I honestly can’t make myself believe this, though. I mean, maybe it has happened. Maybe it is happening. Yet I can’t stay away from that coffee machine on something as vague as this. How about you?
Coffee Rush!
I don’t remember if I have shared about my passion for video games, which is, I think, at the same level as my passion for coffee. Those two go hand in hand as far as I am concerned. Anyhow, I recently finished playing this casual game called – you guessed it – Coffee Rush. The moment I received an e-mail from one of the popular casual game sites informing me of this new game, I got all excited. What do you get when you put gaming and coffee together? Coffee Rush!
I know that some of you may not share my passion for video games but humor me for this post, please.
Coffee Rush is a fine blend of puzzle action (finding patterns on the board) and eye and hand coordination (it’s a time management game as well). Your role is an up and coming coffee shop owner set on bringing down an evil coffee chain which cares only for profit and does not care about its customers. You have to serve your customers their favorite drink by finding the ingredients on the board and forming combinations in order to complete the number of needed ingredients. You can upsize drinks and serve side dishes in order to earn more money. The bottom line is to serve your customers what they want as fast as you can – basically what we coffee lovers want in real life, right?
So anyhow, if you feel like spending some of your time on an easy but fun video game, I suggest you try Coffee Rush. You’ll definitely be wanting some java while you play!
