Entries tagged with 'coffee'
Page 1 of 13
[Photo: Williams Sonoma] Until I joined the ranks of the working world, I really believed that a good cup of coffee isn't something that you have on the go. Instead, it should be a relaxing part of the day and ideally be kept as something special to be savored as a treat. It's not always that easy though, and in those moments, coffee should be an effortless (and still wholly delicious) pick-me-up. Unexpectedly, I found that the new Nespresso CitiZ was just what I needed to live out my modern-day coffee philosophy. Yes, there are certain drawbacks to Nespresso's newest machine, though they generally extend to capsule coffee in general. Arguably, the individual packaging makes it a bit more...
Continue reading »
Mary Lake-Thompson Pumpkin Latte Harborside Bakery Harvest Pumpkin Quick Bread [Flickr: KnaPix] [Photographs: Lucy Baker, unless otherwise noted] Coffee aficionados come in all shapes and sizes—from those who slurp only the finest Sumatran blends, to those who will settle for nothing less than a perfect dry cappuccino with a creamy cloud of foam. My boyfriend stocks our freezer with trays of coffee ice cubes (to avoid the dreaded watered-down effect). There are also those java connoisseurs who turn up their noses at specialty coffee drinks. Let me say right now: I am not one of them. I grew up in Massachusetts, birthplace of the Dunkin' Donuts Coffee Coolatta. My very first date involved a mocha Frappuccino. I have a sweet...
Continue reading »
[Flickr: Jeff Kubina] If you’re in a hurry, be careful when asking Bill Dugan, aka Chicago’s Fish Guy, owner of The Fish Guy Market and Superior Ocean Produce restaurant wholesale here in Chicago, a question. The veteran seafood forager has so many tales that he can talk both your ears off. In the last 20 years or so, he exploded the market for diver scallops and peekytoe crab with Charlie Trotter here in Chicago. Prior to that he got his start airlifting tuna from the East Coast and driving it up down the coast of California in a beat-up van for chefs to sample. His big break came when Rene Verdon, the Kennedy’s former White House chef, placed a...
Continue reading »
Søren Stiller Markussen is a world-renowned coffee artist who specializes in latte portraiture. He has to make each stroke for each face—everyone from Michael Jackson to David Beckham—within seconds, before the milk vanishes. (There are no white-out options in latte art.) Markussen's pieces will be on display at the Pallant House Gallery in West Sussex, England, until September 29. Watch him in action after the jump....
Continue reading »
Do you like food you can't pronounce? Are you tired of biscotti? Behold juustoleipä, or leipäjuusto, a slab of Finnish "bread cheese" commonly cut into strips or cubes. Phyllis of Me Hungry! bought the Carr Valley Cheese brand at her local Wegmans and had some fun experimenting with it. When dipped in coffee, the bread cheese was "surprisingly good...took on a sweet profile...and it hardly melted at all." To clarify: this cheese does not actually contain bread. The curds, usually from cow's or reindeer's milk, are grilled or baked, which yields a brown, bread-like color....
Continue reading »
This coffee doesn't contain salt, but it might be better if it did. If I had a nickel for every time I saw a salt shaker at Starbucks. Wait, no. Then I'd be broke. Even as a salt enthusiast, my mind hasn't stretched as far as considering salty coffee. Apparently it's big in Taiwan. According to the China Daily: 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. Salt reduces the bitterness in coffee, but only in moderation of course. That second pinch might turn it into a salt lick. Jacob Grier of the...
Continue reading »
After the magic begins, it's all downhill from there. See how the caffeine buzz unfolds at The Oatmeal's 5 Phases of Caffeine Intake. Related 'If You Like Coffee' Caffeine Examiner, Reviews of Caffeine-Filled Products Caffeine: The Good News and the Good News...
Continue reading »
"Way to go people in lab coats who figured this one out!" Instant coffee never seems like it's trying that hard to taste like regular coffee. You can almost hear Nescafé saying, "yeah, whatever, I give up." But Starbucks may be changing that. Earlier this year, the chain introduced Starbucks VIA Ready Brew, a line of instant coffee packets (three single servings for $2.95) sold in two flavors, Colombia and Italian Roast. We tried the Colombian packets against a fresh-brewed batch of Starbucks dark roast from around the corner and the paradigmatic instant coffee itself, Nescafé. While the Nescafé couldn't hide—ah, yes, that zap of chemicaly ink juice—it was actually really hard to differentiate the instant from the real deal....
Continue reading »
Foam cup artist Cheeming Boey of Newport Beach, California, creates intricate designs using the underexplored medium of Sharpie pens. His Flickr set includes images of noodle shops, faceless diners, scaly fish, Japanese gods, and more, which sell for about $120 to $220 each. Styrofoam cups may typically be associated with ocean pollution and non-biodegradable landfill waste, but they are looking pretty snazzy here. Read this interview with Boey on the Sharpie blog. Related RIP 'We Are Happy to Serve You' Coffee Cups? Video: Squirrel Gets Head Stuck in Yogurt Cup Latte Printer Art...
Continue reading »
Note: Our own Erin Zimmer just returned from ten days eating and drinking her way around Greece and will be sharing her adventures with us all week as Snapshots from Greece. —Ed. As a foam supporter, I was pretty happy about the Nescafe Frappe all over Greece. It's about 35-percent foam, 55-percent super strong instant coffee, and 10-percent sludge sitting at the bottom (percentages may vary; all of that was guesstimated). But the foam is some of the best coffee foam around. The micro bubbles don't dissolve into the drink while you're drinking it—they just sit there until you find a proper scooping device. Talk about some long-lasting, high-definition foamage. To make a frappe: In a tall glass, add a...
Continue reading »
