Stain Tea Cup

The problem with white coffee mugs and tea cups is that they can stain and yellow with use over time . It’s usually not much of a problem (since it happens to the whole set), but one designer decided to take advantage of this by creating the Stain Tea Cup. The tea cups are etched with a design that is stained by tea with repeated use, so the more you use the cup, the more dramatic and distinctive the cup becomes. They are being sold by the designer for £35 each, and seem to be available with different patterns.

via book of joe

What is Irish coffee?

Irish coffee is a hot coffee drink made by spiking strong coffee with Irish whiskey, sweetening it with a little bit of sugar, and topping it with whipped cream. The drink is warming from both the whiskey and the coffee, and it gives you a nice little rush from the caffeine when you drink it. It’s a great winter drink – and it’s perfect for any St Patrick’s Day celebration.

The world record for an Irish coffee used 10 liters of whiskey, 10 gallons of coffee, a gallon of cream and about 4 pounds of sugar, and was created at San Francisco’s Buena Vista Cafe, which has laid claim to the creation of the drink. A standard one will be a little easier to take than the record-setting cocktail; usually it’s built in a smaller glass that holds 8 to 12-oz.

McCafe Mocha, reviewed

After weeks of seeing “coming soon” signs taped over the McCafe menus, the McDonalds in my area finally started serving their much-hyped espresso drinks. The iced coffee drinks they’ve had on the menu for a while are actually pretty good, not to mention a good value, but this was the first chance I had to try a hot espresso drink from a McCafe in the US (I’ve tried McCafe in other countries before). I opted for the mocha.

The drink is actually pretty good, although how it stacks up to your favorite coffee shop will depend on what features you like in your mocha. This one is creamy (I ordered it with whole milk, but it comes in a nonfat option), with a lot of not-too-sweet chocolate flavor. The coffee flavor, however is minimal, and there isn’t any foam from steamed milk on the drink. Instead, it’s topped with whipped cream and the same syrup they put on top of hot fudge sundaes. Although the whipped cream melts into the drink quickly, the fudge really is a nice touch. The ingredient list for this drink is surprisingly short – whole milk, espresso, chocolate syrup – but it does have corn syrup as opposed to, say, melted chocolate in it. That said, the chocolate sauce probably isn’t all that different from what you’d find at other coffee shops.

In the end, I’d still prefer to have a more heavily coffee-flavored drink, I think that it will find a solid audience with chocoholics and I wouldn’t turn it down if I was in the mood for something very chocolaty with an extra boost of caffeine in it, either.

Starbucks Bella Vista FW Tres Rios Coffee, reviewed

Starbucks Bella Vista FW Tres Rios is a Costa Rican whole bean coffee blend,  medium roast, that was added to the Starbucks lineup fairly recently. The bag is gorgeous, with artwork that depicts a Costa Rican coffee plantation. Not that this has anything to do with the coffee, of course, but it did make the bag easy on the eyes when it was sitting on my kitchen counter.

The coffee has a deep, roasty flavor to it an a light, slightly acidic finish. Even though it was a medium roast, I found it to be a little on the darker side, with the brightness at the end serving to really lighten it up. It has some slightly spicy notes to it, but comes off as a smooth and balanced coffee that doesn’t really standout dramatically from the pack, although it is very nice overall and worth buying again.

Chocolate and Cinnamon Mills

One of the easiest things you can do to spice up a drink is to add a little bit of garnish to the top. A dusting of chocolate or cinnamon can boost the flavor, as well as really enhancing the overall presentation of a drink. I like to put a sprinkle on my drinks just for fun, but I almost always do it when I’m serving family or guests. Ground spices and coarsely chopped chocolate work out nicely, but this pair of Chocolate and Cinnamon Mills makes the garnishing process a whole lot easier. The mills function just like pepper mills, but are filled with chunks of chocolate and pieces of cinnamon. Both are refillable, so you can change up the type of chocolate or use a custom blend of whole spices, too.