Tag: Coffee

Coffee and PC

If Blur were still around (and they may well be) then not only would their claims of superiority with regards to Oasis be borne out (on the basis of longevity alone) but this post title would be representative of the kind of song they’d write now…

That was a tangential segue worthy of Today Tonight. But tonight. In all its glory. I give you. The Coffee Casemod – a computer case with a built in, and working, software controlled drip filter coffee machine.

It is awesome. I commend it to you.

Here’s how to make your own.

November 24, 2009

Coffee chemistry

Wired has a fascinating look at the chemicals at play in your daily espresso.

Here’s my favourite part of the chemical equation (if you thought caffeine you were wrong):

Trigonelline
Chemically, it’s a molecule of niacin with a methyl group attached. It breaks down into pyridines, which give coffee its sweet, earthy taste and also prevent the tooth-eating bacterium Streptococcus mutans from attaching to your teeth. Coffee fights the Cavity Creeps.

October 6, 2009

Hitchhikers guide to coffee

Finding a good cafe when you’re on the road is pretty tough. We struggled in our January trip to New Zealand. There are a number of tips and tricks for checking if the cafe you’ve stopped in is worth your while. But most require you to actually step inside the cafe, and then there’s the awkward evacuation that comes after you spy the milk caked steam wand…

But no more. Beanhunter does the hard work for you. Tracking down independent cafes and recommending them. There’s one result for Townsville – the sadly defunct Squires (actually I think they’ve just moved, and I haven’t found them yet). I’ll put Coffee Dominion on the map. Because they deserve it.

In case I’ve not posted something like this before – here’s my fail safe list for judging a cafe without actually tasting their coffee…

  1. Bean supplier – I tend to avoid the big name companies like La Vazza and beans that are shipped from Italy or elsewhere. You’ve got absolutely no way of knowing if the beans are arriving within the window of freshness – and chances are they’re not. Beans roasted on site are normally the best bet (but not always). Reputable local wholesale roasters (eg Merlo) are a good start… but can suffer from the same dramas as international beans. Beans from specialty roasters tend to come with a little more care involved – they’re more interested in protecting the brand than expanding the number of cafes selling their beans.
  2. Grinder. I don’t think there are any cafes not grinding their own coffee these days. But Grinders with a big doser (the plastic chamber at the front) are dangerous. If the barista is grinding on the spot it is at least freshly ground.
  3. Milk wand. Seriously. If it’s caked with cruddy milk or screaming like a banshee – run away. Literally. Run. Don’t wait.
  4. Volume of traffic – lots of customers means high turnover of beans and that other people like the product.
  5. Staff – if the staff look like they can handle the basics – grinds, tamp, extract, and froth the milk – that’s a start. If they have two baristas working the machine – one doing coffee and the other milk – that’s even better.

August 29, 2009

The cups runneth over

For some reason there have been thousands (well tens) of great coffee tips around the Internet this week. I’m going to start posting them. There’ll be hundreds (well tens) of great coffee posts to follow.

I’m going to call it my international day of coffee posting. Let the calendars henceforth recognise this date as such.

So sit back, get yourself a cuppa, and have a read…

August 29, 2009

Smells like bean spirit

You know how coffee smells incredible. It does. It’s awesome. It’s also just as good for you as drinking it. Well, almost… a guy named Han-Seok Seo, of the Seoul National University in South Korea did this study with rats. Good news people. Good news. From a wholelattelove.

“Seo and his colleagues have done studies on lab rats which were stressed by sleep deprivation. They allowed the sleep deprived Rats to sniff the aroma that coffee produces. They then compared the expression of certain genes and proteins in the rats’ brains with other sleep deprived rats who were not allowed to sniff the coffee. They found in the rats that sniffed the coffee, some of the genes expressed proteins that have healthful antioxidant properties that are known to protect nerve cells from stress related damage. The rats that were not allowed to smell the coffee aroma did not show these expressions in their genes.”

August 20, 2009

Coffee idolatry

JT’s Between Two Worlds is one of the pillars of the Christian blogosphere. Today he shared a little link to this article on sacred cows – and coffee in particular.

While I can appreciate where the author is coming from – I do like my coffee. More than most. It stings a little to see coffee lumped in with U2.

What you find on many websites is some kind of description like this: “I love reformed theology, U2, anything by Steven Soderbergh, and a fresh cup of joe.”  Or maybe: “My interests are theology, issues of social justice, Beastie Boys, and an Americano from (fill in neighborhood coffee shop here).”  Or perhaps: “Can’t resist a good Bonhoeffer quotation, Edwardsean philosophy, and a venti mocha with light whip.”

You get the point. Here’s the thing about this situation: there’s nothing ironic or unique about liking coffee. We all like coffee. Coffee is good. Made well, it’s really good. It’s kind of like saying you like bread. “Anything by Piper, Band of Horses, and Pepperidge Farm rocks my world.” Everyone likes bread. And everyone likes coffee.

Ouch.

August 13, 2009

Location, Location

Robyn is pretty thrilled. A little bit of a furniture rearrangement has rescued our kitchen bench space (and given me a sore back).

We now have a little coffee island in the dining room – making use of a buffet that was previously a fishtank stand and place for general clutter.

I have a habit of buying coffee sacks wherever I can – and I’ve finally put them to some use.

If you’re in the area why not arrange a time to drop round for a coffee… if you’re not in the area, you can always visit…

One day I might get a coffee machine that’s designed for home use.

August 12, 2009

YouTube Tuesday: Coffee culture

I know it’s not technically Tuesday. Well, not in Australia anyway. I’m a pretty inclusive kind of guy.

It’s been a long time since my last coffee post. I’d look it up, but that would take away valuable posting time and delay the wonder that is the Mona Lisa being recreated with coffee in Sydney. That’s right. This little video has gone all over the world, and it was created in our backyard. Impressive.

August 12, 2009

(potential) shirt of the day

Glennz.com is running a reader poll on the next shirt they may or may not produce… there are some crackers (though they’re always a little obscure without the caption)… like this one called – it’s a coffee serving robot from the future.

There’s also this Tetris Airdrop…

And these kung fu sumos…

July 18, 2009

Still life

This print pretty much sums up two of my favourite things (not my only favourite things – just things I like). You can buy it as a print. Here.

July 17, 2009

Coffee by the Numbers

One of the perks of my job is the quantity of industry publications that land on my desk for me to read. This month’s FoodService – a journal for hospitality businesses – includes some facts and figures about coffee. I thought I’d share them with you… they’re from BIS Shrapnel’s Coffee in Australia 2009 – whatever that is…

  • 64% of Australians aged 11 and above drink coffee.
  • 65% of coffee drinkers drink instant.
  • 31% drink a cappuccino
  • 21% drink a flat white
  • 20% drink a latte
  • 10% drink a short black
  • The “food service” coffee market in Australia is worth $435 million – this is the value of the market that the food service market buys it for – I assume that’s not including dedicated coffee houses.
  • The “fully automatic” coffee machine market is worth $270 million a year – which seems odd given the market itself is only worth $435 million.

Milk Facts

  • 52% of consumers drink full cream
  • 19% drink semi skim
  • 22% drink skim
  • 3% drink soy
  • 14% are hardcore and don’t have milk

Purchasing Rationale

  • 70% purchase coffee for pleasure
  • 51% purchase on the basis of flavour

July 17, 2009

My cups runneth over

Robyn bought me a present yesterday. Bodum coffee cups. They’re awesome because they’ve got a little cup within a cup – they’re double walled. They’re not cheap. But I really like them…



July 10, 2009

Coffee for the shirty

Coffee makes the world go round. And if there’s been one gap in the coffee spectrum it’s in the field of wearable coffee. Harnessing the awesome and incredible powers of coffee waste – not even the good bits – this company is able to make fabric – and then shirts.

July 10, 2009

Coffee memories

Coffee apparently helps fight Alzheimers. I meant to write something about this earlier – but I forgot.

July 7, 2009

YouTube Twosday: Crema of the crop

A while back I speculated that crema wasn’t the most exciting part of a coffee – nor is it necessarily a sign of good coffee. Today the coffee blogosphere is going nuts after former World Barista Champion James Hoffman spilled the beans on a video blog… he agrees.

I know it’s not from YouTube – but it fits with my Tuesday video features.

Update – Neil from Ministry Grounds agrees – he’s posted a link to this video as well.

July 7, 2009