What happens when engineers and scientists are putting in too many hours in the laser lab? They get sleepy, and want coffee FAST. So, what better way to make it than to use a 2kW laser to almost instantaneously heat it up to drinking temp? Watch this video for more (they also make some green tea at the same time). Gee, and up until now I thought I had every coffee brewing machine known to mankind. 
(via Engadget)
Add comment March 26th, 2007
Many people believe the flavor of espresso is altered by the brass of the portafilter used in brewing. To address this, Portaflon is selling portafilters that have been coated with teflon. Currently, they’re focusing on parts for La Marzocco, Faema, and Rancillo machines. It’s a cool idea, check it out at their website linked to above.
Add comment January 5th, 2007
I gotta admire the persistence exhibited by the developer of the UglyRoast coffee roaster, a home-grown coffee roasting contraption. The project ended with the purchase of an off the shelf coffee roaster, but the website is still a good read for those of you interested in building your own. You can check it out at the UglyRoast homepage.
Add comment December 29th, 2006
The MAKE website has some very interesting homemade coffee roasters, with links to more info. I think my favorite is the one that uses a camping-sized propane cylinder and burner, with two ‘D’ size batteries rotating the roasting chamber. Resourceful! You can check them out here.
Add comment December 14th, 2006
Looking for a Christmas gift for a coffee lover? I recommend looking at the past Coffeeopolis stories in the Equipment category, you’ll find a lot of great ideas there!
If you’re looking to buy coffee beans for someone, be careful. If the person you’re shopping for is truly a coffee connoisseur, they’ll most likely appreciate a gift of premium coffee beans such as Kona or Jamaican Blue Mountain. However, keep in mind that buying coffee is more like buying wine than buying soda. What I mean is, there are just so many poorly roasted, stale versions of these coffees out there. If you’re not careful, you could end up paying $50 a pound for coffee beans that the recipient just can’t bear to drink. Trust me, I’ve been on the receiving end of this before! A classic example is Kona coffee. Friends and family know I love coffee, so many times now, they’ll bring me some as a gift from a vacation over there. Sometimes it’s been great. Other times, I look at the bag of very lightly roasted beans, obviously not fresh, thinking wow, they sure got ripped off, this stuff tastes like crap!
There are two things that really matter when shopping for coffee. The first is how it’s been roasted - light, dark, etc (in reality it’s more complex than that, but let’s keep it simple for now). Everyone has their own preferences there, there’s really not one ‘right’ roast. Best thing you can do is try to find out if there’s a coffee chain they frequent, and see how that chain roasts their coffee. The second thing when buying beans, is the freshness. This is key. You really want to be drinking the coffee within a few days of it being roasted; I believe an acceptable compromise can be had if the coffee has been packaged in a sealed plastic bag with a one-way air vent. Even then though, it should have been roasted fairly recently. So, how do you know when it was roasted? Simple, buy it from a shop that roasts their own beans. Don’t buy the gift-wrapped Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee sitting out on the counter in your local cafe until you can visually see the beans (I’ve seen many packages where you can’t!) and convince yourself it’s worth the risk! If you don’t know where to go to buy coffee with a known ‘roast’ date, I recommend shopping at Peet’s Coffee & Tea website. If you look at their selection of Reserve Coffees, you’ll notice something - they only ship once a week. This isn’t because it’s some small outfit that’s too busy to ship orders, it’s all about the roasting. This coffee is roasted once a week, when they ship it to you you KNOW it’s about the freshest you can possibly get, short of roasting it yourself. Yes, it’s more expensive, but you can rest easy knowing that you’re getting a quality coffee that the lucky recipient will love! If you shop in one of their stores, check the bag for a date stamp.
I’m not trying to push Peet’s here (though I do love the place!), it’s just a chain that has a great selection of these rare coffees and does a great job of ensuring you get freshly roasted coffee. If you have a local coffee shop that roasts their own coffee, by all means, frequent them instead - I’ve always preferred the mom and pop coffee shops over the chains!
Add comment December 3rd, 2006
…and Aeropress coffee maker! This $25 maker is similar to a french press, with some obvious advantages (reduced acidity, less brewing time, etc). It’s also one of the few coffee brewing devices I do not currently own. Maybe Santa will be nice to me this year? Note, you can read more about it in this post from about a year ago here.
Read more …
Add comment November 30th, 2006
Ok, this one is a bit ridiculous…it’s the ‘Dunker Mug’, a coffee mug with a space underneath where it can hold ‘dunkable treats’. Umm, ok. I suppose it’s handy if you’re not just sitting down in one spot to enjoy your snack, but then, if you don’t have time to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee, rethink your life! Ah well. If you have an extra $25 burning a hole in your pocket and think this is the answer you’ve been seeking, head on over to FireBox. Assuming you’re right handed, of course (not the best solution for lefties!).
Add comment November 29th, 2006
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