Increase in home coffee brewing

It’s no surprise that people are cutting back on their spending due to the economic downturn, and gourmet coffee drinks are an expense that many are choosing to cut way back on, if not eliminate entirely. But that doesn’t mean giving up coffee. Instead, it means that more Americans are brewing coffee at home more often than last year

According to a survey on coffee-drinking trends carried out by the National Coffee Association, the number of people who drink coffee everyday has remained steady – 54 percent this year vs 55 percent last year – with no statistical difference between this year and last. Conusmption of gourmet coffee beverages, especially if they were consumed on a daily basis, has definitely dropped from 17 percent of regular coffee drinkers to just 14 percent. 85 percent of people participating in the survey who reported having coffee the previous day (or on a daily basis) said that they brewed it at home.

Trader Joe’s Wake Up Blend Coffee, reviewed

The huge logo on Trader Joe’s Wake Up Blend Coffee pulled me in – I was shopping early and who couldn’t use a little pick-me-up before noon? – as did the jumbo-sized can that the beans came in. This is twice the size of TJ’s standard coffee containers, which makes it a convenient option if you go through a lot of coffee in a short time (brewing multiple pots per day for a family or a small office, for instance).

I anticipated that this coffee would be fairly mild and acidic, as many”breakfast” coffees are, even though it was a medium roast. While it was quite acidic, it had a fairly full bodied flavor. It was much better when brewed a little on the strong side, so that the flavor of the coffee could temper some of the slightly aggressive acidity. Once you get past the first few sips, more flavors seem to emerge and the coffee takes on a pleasantly nutty taste, reminiscent of hazelnuts with maybe a hint of nutmeg to it. It took a little more experimentation with the coffee-to-water ratio than I usually need to do to accommodate a new blend, so keep that in  mind if you brew this and it doesn’t come out to your tastes the first time around.

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.