Archive for January, 2006
When you hear the name Aerobie, what first comes to mind? If you’re like most people, you probably picture flourescent flying rings. Well, those frisbee folk have come up with something really, really far from their core business - a new way of brewing coffee! It’s similar to a french press, but with the filter on the bottom, not at the top. Since the grounds float, this allows for a much finer grind to be used (try that in a french press and it’ll clog the filter). With a finer grind, the brew time is greatly reduced, around thirty seconds! It’s a really interesting concept (and affordable at $30); it sure seems superior to a french press and I can’t see how it won’t produce superior coffee. The one downside is that it uses disposable filters. You can read more about it at the main Aeropress product page.
January 26th, 2006
A little random humor for the day:
15. “They told me at the blood bank this might happen.”
14. “This is just a 15 minute power-nap like they raved about in the last time management course you sent me to.”
13. “Whew! Guess I left the top off the liquid paper”
12. “I wasn’t sleeping! I was meditating on the mission statement and envisioning a new paradigm!”
11. “This is one of the seven habits of highly effective people!”
10. “I was testing the keyboard for drool resistance”
9. “Actually I’m doing a “Stress Level Elimination Exercise Plan” (SLEEP) I learned it at the last mandatory seminar you made me attend.
8. “I was doing a highly specific Yoga exercise to relieve work related stress.”
7. “Darn! Why did you interrupt me? I had almost figured out a solution to our biggest problem.”
6. “The coffee machine is broken….”
5. “Someone must’ve put decaf in the wrong pot.”
4. “Boy, that cold medicine I took last night just won’t wear off!”
3. “Ah, the unique and unpredictable circadian rhythms of the workaholic!”
2. “I wasn’t sleeping, I was trying to pick up contact lens without hands.”
AND THE #1 BEST THING TO SAY IF YOU GET CAUGHT SLEEPING AT YOUR DESK:
“Amen”
January 24th, 2006
There seems to be this continuing debate, is coffee helpful or harmful? As previously reported, roasted coffee beans DO contain small amounts of a chemical shown to cause cancer in lab rats when taken in large amounts. Well, the flip side of that is a new type of roasted coffee that manages to preserve the natural antioxidants in the beans that would normally be destroyed by the roasting process. The resulting beans have more antioxidants than green tea! Many people believe that antioxidants can help reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, and stroke. I haven’t tried this specially roasted coffee yet so can’t report on its quality; if you’d like to give it a try you can find it over at Caffe Sanora.
January 17th, 2006
The Times reports that research done by the United Nations has found that coffee is to blame for approximately a third of the daily intake of a cancer-causing chemical known as acrylamide. It’s the same stuff that is produced by high temperature cooking processes like frying or roasting; french fries are one common source of this. So, is it time to stop drinking coffee? Ha! Not a chance. Like anything, the key is to enjoy it in moderation. No one’s really sure just how much of a risk acrylamide is when ingested at the lower levels most people face. If you’re really concerned though, you can reduce your acrylamide intake by favoring coffee beans that are either a light city roast, or a very dark French or Italian roast, as the levels of acrylamide are highest in medium-roast cofee. Read the full story here or in the rest of this post.
Read more …
January 17th, 2006
Audi recently showed off a concept car that has a built in espresso maker in the rear center armrest! Man, and I thought the Germans mocked Americans’ obsession with cupholders? This is even worse! Fun concept, though as anyone who’s made espresso at home will tell you, this is a ridiculous idea for any car. Read more here.
January 12th, 2006
Good news, espresso fans…now while sitting in your Ikea food court enjoying Sweedish meetballs, you can top it off with an espresso made by one of those automated espresso drink makers from Acorto. Yeah, it’s not as good as having a real barista make the drink for you, but anything that makes decent espresso more widely available is a Good Thing! Read more about it over here.
January 12th, 2006
I just learned today about a ’secret’, off-menu drink you can order at Starbucks - a short cappuccino. This is an 8oz cappucino compared with the smallest advertised size, the tall (at 12oz). It has the same amount of espresso as the 12oz, but is closer to being the ‘proper’ ratio of coffee to milk (with results in approximately a 5-6oz beverage). You can read more about it in this article at Slate.
January 9th, 2006
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