Topic: instant coffee

So we all love our coffee. But what if we don’t have time to stop at that favorite coffee shop every morning on the way to work or class or whatever our destination may be? Instant coffee.

Instant coffee is essentially freeze-dried coffee, a product made to be kept for a longer period of time. It was actually invented back in the day (1906) by George C. Washington (not the president), who was a coffee addict just like us.

The most popular instant coffee brands are:

Folgers

photo courtesy of http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51EXMGMMCAL.jpg

Maxwell House

photo courtesy of https://www.epiceriedirect.com/lookproducts.php?id_pro=3584

Nescafé (Taster’s Choice)

photo courtesy of http://abc7news.typepad.com/.a/6a0105370de4c7970b0120a63fce1f970b-800wi

Also on the market just recently, and quite controversial, is Starbucks Instant VIA. An instant coffee that Starbucks claims tastes just like their famous fresh brewed coffee.

photo courtesy of http://lifestyleliving.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/via-packaging.jpg

But I’ll let you decide. On the go? Try instant coffee!! Many swear by it. (and PS: it’s cheaper!)

Fan MUG and PAGE – Laura

Laura A, of Winona, MN gave us a rundown on her favorite coffee beverage and her review of a book.

Her favorite drink?

White Chocolate Mocha:

As described on Starbucks.com, a white chocolate mocha is Espresso with white chocolate flavored sauce and steamed milk. Topped with sweetened whipped cream.

And a book she recommends?

photo courtesy of http://hypermedia.educ.psu.edu/k-12/units/perks/images/perksimage1.jpg

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. As Laura describes it:

“This novel is written as a series of letters written by a young boy named Charlie to an unknown recipient.  The letters account Charlie’s life and times as an awkward and thoughtful adolescent.  It follows him through issues with school, drugs, love, loss, and family.  This book had a very profound impact on me, as well as many of my friends that have read it.  I am a self-proclaimed wallflower myself and it was nice to read such an honest portrayal of what it is like to be ‘standing on the fringes of life’.  Charlie is a complex character that represents the dork in all of us.  This book is sure to remind you of your awkward teenage years, or if you are still in that stage, it will reassure you that you are not alone.  Along with the painfully poignant story, it is also beautifully written.  I have read this book three times and I find something new that resonates with me every time.  This a must read for everyone!”

PAGE – The Classics

Today I want to talk about a passion of mine. Reading of course. And even more specifically, the Classics.

Many people, mostly teens and young adults my age, don’t appreciate the classic books that are oh so important to our culture and books of today. They may be difficult to read, whether it be because of outdated language and slang, length of the book, or shear un-relatable content. But what I say to those readers is: have an open mind.

To me, the classics may not be as “fun” to read, and you may not say “oh hey! I can totally see where this girl is coming from when she says she hates wearing a corset and being betrothed to the local butcher,” but these books are important. They force you to have an open mind and immerse yourself in a time and culture you are not familiar with. It forces the reader, in a way, to put himself/herself in the shoes of the characters and learn about a different time.

I also love owning my own books. It is great to go to a library if you want a quick read, or even better, to have book exchanges with friends or relatives. But if you are looking for the classics all in one place, Barnes and Noble is the place to go. They have a collection called Barnes and Noble Classics, which includes all the big classics, and some others, that i recommend you look into.

Many libraries and writers have published lists of the best classics to read. here are just a few:

Cincinnati Library

The Best 100 lists

About.com

Amazon.com

Read the classics. You will learn so much.

PAGE – The Nanny Diaries

I just finished reading The Nanny Diaries by Nicole Kraus and Emma McLaughlin.

photo courtesy of http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://jeanxbookreviews.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/nanny.jpg&imgrefurl=http://jeanxbookreviews.wordpress.com/2009/07/17/the-nanny-diaries-by-nicola-kraus-emma-mclaughlin/&usg=__mN2-1ABNXTDrlJkJjwGCk67fM0M=&h=475&w=310&sz=31&hl=en&start=2&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=tgOjWmN3RqUxiM:&tbnh=129&tbnw=84&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dthe%2Bnanny%2Bdiaries%2Bbook%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26tbs%3Disch:1

Being a nanny myself during the summer, I found the book to be strangely relatable, even though Nanny in the book works for a super-rich super-snobby family. The book is a very simple read and is pretty entertaining, but I definitely think you need to appreciate looking after children to love it.

Nanny struggles with school and family and friends all while watching a 4-year old with parents who demand her services more than she expected. While the ending is a little dull, I didn’t ever find a dull moment until then.

There is also a movie made and sequel book to The Nanny Diaries.

Check it out!

Light vs Dark: what does it mean?

“Which roast would you like” The barista asks.

Your mind races. You always hear dark roast is more superior. But light roast has a certain je ne sais quoi sound to it. You ask which they would recommend, to which of course they reply with “both are delicious I hear,” or something of the sort.

In a few seconds you have to decide between two types of coffee you kn0w nothing about.

Well my friend, I am here to tell you about the difference between the two. No more roast dilemmas for you.

photo courtesy of http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Coffee_roasting_grades.png

LIGHT ROAST

The length of roasting time determines the if the roast is light or dark. Although light roast is “lighter” it actually has more caffeine. The reason for this is that more of the actual bean is burned the longer is roasts, so it also loses caffeine.

“Usually a light roast has a more acidic flavor as apposed to the darker roasts which if brewed correctly usually have a more chocolaty taste. sometimes we confuse this acidic taste to strong caffeinated coffee.” (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/364047)

DARK ROAST

Roasting the beans longer gives them a smoother flavor, but too long leads to a burnt flavor. Dark roast simply means that the coffee bean has been roasted to a higher temperature and typically for a longer period of time. This causes all of the flavor molecules stored within the coffee beans—both the good and bad flavors—to be burnt away. By roasting so dark, the end consumer (you) can’t tell whether it’s a good bean or a bad bean because all the natural flavors have been turned to charcoal. (http://www.ineedcoffee.com/06/darkroast/)

Here is a chart describing the different coffee roasts and their flavor results:

chart courtesy of http://www.roastmagazine.com/roasting101/leaving/leaving.html

Why drink coffee?

Coffee drinkers often get grouped with drug addicts: it is a bad thing to need.

But studies have shown that there are actually many benefits to being a regular coffee drinker. Here are just a few!

- Lowers your risk of getting diseases such as

+ Diabetes

+ Parkinson’s

+ Colon cancer

- Can lift your mood

- Treats headaches

- Lowers your risk of getting cavities

Web MD

- Helps to improve muscular work capacity in most if not all exercises

- Help provide protection against the development of liver disease

- Did you know that driving a vehicle when feeling sleepy causes more deaths and serious injury than drunk driving? So coffee can help reduce accidents! (caffeinated of course)

- Positive effect on mental performance

Positively coffee

- Prevents Alzheimer’s

- A good source of antibiotics

- Coffee’s dietary fiber, soluble fiber, helps prevent cholesterol from being absorbed by the intestines.

Coffee Detective

photo courtesy of http://blog.thecoffeebump.com/2009_06_01_archive.html

So go ahead! Drink that coffee. Your health will thank you

Know your coffee drinks

Ever wonder what all those weird names are?

well here is your quick start guide to the types of coffee beverages!

Americano: A single shot of espresso with about 7 ounces of hot water added to the mix. The name for this coffee drink stemmed from an insult to ‘uncouth’ Americans who weren’t up to drinking full espressos. (http://www.talkaboutcoffee.com/types-of-coffee-coffee-varieties.html)

photo courtesy of http://www.dineouthere.com/images/bean-around-the-world-02.jpg

Cappuccino: made of strong coffee espresso, steamed milk and frothed milk in equal parts: espresso at the bottom, steamed milk and frothy milk at the top. (http://food.qandas.com/coffee/what-is-a-cappuccino.html)

photo courtesy of http://www.balancetransfercreditcard.com.au/uploads/images/cappucino.jpg

Espresso: A 1-2 ounce drink made in by forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee beans.  Typically, espresso beans are darkly roasted but this is not a requirement. (http://www.namastecafe.com/coffee_names.htm)

photo courtesy of http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/Espresso/Espresso.jpg

Latte:A drink of coffee made from espresso and steamed milk, generally topped with foam (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/latte)

photo courtesy of http://www.anntorrence.com/blog/at-images/latte.jpg

Mocha: This popular drink is basically a Cappuccino or Latte with chocolate syrup added to the mix. Sweeter, not as intense in coffee flavor, and a good ‘gateway’ coffee for those who don’t usually do the caffeine thing.(http://www.talkaboutcoffee.com/types-of-coffee-coffee-varieties-ii.html)

photo courtesy of http://i.timeinc.net/recipes/i/recipes/ck/mocha-coffee-ck-1134043-l.jpg

I hope this helps in your coffee drinking endeavors!

Go green with your caffeine – Part 2

As you may be able to tell, I am a little bit of a hippie.

If there is a cool way to help the environment I am all for that.

You may love getting coffee at your local shop everyday or even weekly, which I encourage of course

But another way to help save paper besides reusable coffee sleeves, as shown in my last post,

You can use REUSABLE CUPS!

There are many options for this.

Number one of course would be:

Travel Mugs

photo courtesy of http://store.brugomug.com/servlet/-strse-31/Executive-and-Jazz-Collection/Detail

Everyone has one. You use them on trips or for hot chocolate during the winter. Why not use one every day?

These travel mugs are temperature controlled, so you can have your coffee or tea the way you want it.

Porcelain Cups

photo courtesy of http://www.amazon.com/Friendly-Reusable-Melamine-Coffee-Tumbler/dp/B002QSI4AM

Starbucks throw-away cup? think again. These just look like the paper ones. They are actually porcelain cups with a rubber top, and they are just as cool as they look.  And they last longer than plastics!

Another GREAT feature of these:

A lot of coffeeshops will give a discount if you bring your own cup for your beverage. Just ask!

So Go Ahead!

Go Green!

Go green with your caffeine

I love coffee. But I also love the environment. These days there are so many ways to help save the earth, and look cool while doing it!

My new favorite thing: reusable coffee sleeves

They come in TONS of fun colors and patterns, and you can even make your own.

Here are some links to some sleeves:

cotton sleeves

photo courtesy of http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36630929

knit sleeves

photo courtesy of http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36612515

portable sleeves

photo courtesy of http://www.cupkozy.com/product_info.php?cPath=1_3&products_id=79

So have fun drinking your caffeine in style.

I love whipping out my reusable beverage sleeve at coffee shops and looking like an earth-friendly lady!

Location #2 – PAGE

Emily Templin also suggested the book for the week,

A little-known novel titled Tuesdays with Morrie.

photo courtesy of http://amyletinsky.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/tuesdayswithmorrie.jpg

This book by Mitch Albom is about, in Emily’s words, ” Is how a younger man connects with Morrie on his final days of life, and how Morrie realizes the simple pleasures in life.”

In 1999 this book was even made into a movie, starring Hank Azaria. After its 2002 release on paperback, this book became a hit in america and worldwide, selling over 11 million copies.

Check out more about this “feel-good” book here.