November 4, 2009
Posted by Matthew Amster-Burton, August 18, 2008 at 3:30 PM
Sure, I live in coffee country, but as soon as I saw Adagio Teas TriniTEA—something of a cross between a coffee machine and Big Mac—I had to try it.
For $100, the electronic tea kettle can make up to four cups with the ability to brew at two temperatures (212°F for black and herbal tea, 185°F for everything else) and steep between two to eight minutes.
How Does It Work?
Just put loose tea leaves in the steeping chamber and add water to the first of three chambers. After turning on the machine, water will reach the proper temperature, then it beeps and dispenses water into the steeping chamber.
When it's done steeping, the machine beeps again and allows the tea to proceed into the carafe. Three more beeps lets you know it's teatime. This is not quite as relaxing as the honeyed voice of a British matron calling you for tea, but I'll take it. Since the carafe sits on a heating plate, your tea stays hot for hours. It doesn't have a built-in timer, but presumably the machine should work fine with an outlet timer.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, August 7, 2008 at 1:30 PM
Water filtration pitchers can certainly be useful for improving the quality of tap water, but they have their drawbacks. Filter pitchers require regular replacement of disposable plastic filters to maintain performance, and they are generally big, bulky, and nothing to look at. For all but the most casual gatherings and dinner parties, I decant filtered water into a glass or ceramic vessel that looks better and takes up less table space than my filtration pitcher. Though it may not be ideal, this method works well enough that I’d never much considered another possibility.
Filtering with Charcoal and Stones
Design Within Reach
Then, while flipping through the pages of the latest Design Within Reach (DWR) catalogue, I found a tempting alternative: an elegant, slim glass water filtration pitcher with an attractive, “natural” filter solution. Instead of using sealed disposable plastic filters that should be changed monthly, this glass pitcher uses big chunks of Binchotan charcoal and louseki stones, suspended in a columnar basket in the center of the pitcher, which last about 6 months. I couldn’t find any information on the louseki stones (all I know from what a DWR representative told me is that they came from a mountain in Japan), but I have gathered that Binchotan is a much revered Japanese charcoal that is exceptionally hard (making it unlikely to flake or crumble into the water) and it is used, among other things, for purifying water while imparting healthful minerals.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, July 24, 2008 at 3:30 PM
There was a time when dry goods like flour, rice and chicken feed were sold almost exclusively in sturdy, tightly woven cotton sacks. Enterprising (or frugal) consumers often reused sacks in their original forms for storage, carrying goods, as hand-stuffed pillows, and more. It was so popular to make clothing and linens from the bag's fabric from that some producers even printed them with decorative floral patterns.
Though actual flour sacks are difficult to come by these days (save for a few small-scale producers, like the Nora Mill Granary of Helen, Georgia) "flour sack" kitchen towels, made out of roughly the same material, are commonly available, inexpensive, and well-suited to a multitude of household applications.
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Posted by Lucy Baker, July 16, 2008 at 11:45 AM
According to Fast Company, Americans spent $15 billion on bottled water last year, which is more than we spent on "iPods or movie tickets." From corporate buffet lunches to health club vending machines, restaurants, and home refrigerators, bottled waters such as Poland Spring, Evian, and Perrier account for a huge percentage of what we drink every day. But how healthy is bottled water, for us and for the environment?
Bottled Water: No More Beneficial Than Tap
Not very, according to many experts. All drinking water, from fancy Italian Lurisia to plain old Brooklyn tap, has to meet the same standards for consumption. Bottled water is more or less an appeal to vanity. We buy it because it makes us feel fit, virtuous, and hip, when in fact it is no more beneficial than what comes from the kitchen sink, in addition to being more harmful to the earth. Consider how much fuel is used to transport bottled water around the world—according to Fast Company, in the United States alone it's a weekly equivalent of 37,800 18-wheelers delivering nothing but water. Add to that all the plastic and glass bottles, and you've got a whole lot of wasted energy.
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Posted by Amanda Clarke, July 10, 2008 at 1:45 PM
Aaaah, beer. In my opinion, there are few things more satisfying on a hot day. For those of you of like mind, here are a few nifty ideas for getting your beer on:
Tool Bottle Openers
Bearing likeness to pliers and wrenches, these tool bottle openers will impart a greater sense of productivity to the opening of your next brew. $25, from The Curiosity Shoppe
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