Romance of Coffee
April 2, 2004
As the great composer Johann Sebastian Bach once said, ‘”Ah! How sweet coffee tastes! Lovelier than a thousand kisses, sweeter far than muscatel wine!”
Since its introduction to Paris in the late 17th century, romance has surrounded the coffee bean. Whether it was served to two lovers on a cobblestone street or enjoyed in front of an evening fire at home, coffee has stood the test of time as a luxury and comfort to couples around the world.
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Coffee Roasting De-mystified
April 2, 2004
How many different names have you run across for different types of coffee roasts? Light, Medium, Dark? Espresso? Continental? Vienna, French, Italian, Spanish? City? Full-City? C’mon, who’s thinking up these things?
Well, the dark secret (pardon the pun) of the coffee industry is that, well, there really isn’t full agreement on which roast is which. So basically, we all pretty much get to hunt around, try different coffees from different sources and pick the one(s) we like. In this article, I’ll try to use the standard nomenclature, and map it to the color and texture anyone can judge for himself.
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Six delicious coffee recipes
April 2, 2004
6 Delicious Coffee Recipes
Do you love coffee? Most of us do. In this article we will provide you with 6 recipes to enjoy your coffee a different way. We hope you enjoy it.
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3 Simple Tips For Making Perfect Coffee
March 19, 2004
Want to brew the perfect cup of coffee?
Here are 3 simple tips that will make a difference in every single cup you drink.
Tip #1
Clean Coffee Pot
A clean pot is essential and can make a world of difference in the taste of your coffee. Old oils from previous batches of coffee and soap residue left on the pot makes coffee taste bad.
Baking soda and water work well for cleaning coffee mugs and pots. Be sure to rinse extra good so no residue is left behind.
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Rooibos: Regular Rooibos tea vs. Green Rooibos tea
March 19, 2004
ROOIBOS TEA has taken the world by storm. Both fermented and unfermented Rooibos tea are primarily sold as a health drink however, it is also used as a raw material in the cosmetic industry. Green Rooibos Tea is the unfermented version of Rooibos Tea and it has a lighter, fruitier taste than regular Rooibos tea. Rooibos tea lacks the astringent taste of normal tea and green tea.
Tips For Choosing The Perfect Travel Mug
March 19, 2004
A good travel mug is a must when you need to take your coffee or tea with you on the road. There are many different types of mugs available, so here are a few tips to consider before you purchase one.
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The heat goes on and it drives you mad
July 30, 2003
If you can’t bitch about the weather on your own blog, where can you do it?
It’s this time of year that makes me wonder what in the hell I’m doing in Texas…
It’s not typically until the 72 degree Decembers that I remember, at which point it suddenly seems all worthwhile (since I’ve cooled off in the meantime).
This isn’t even one of our hotter summers, but it’s gone on long enough now that I’m sick of it. And sick of my next-to-useless 20 year old central air….
“If I owned both Hell and Texas, I’d live in Hell and rent Texas out!”
- Gen. William Tecumsah Sherman
Dinner Theater
July 23, 2003
Harry points out to me that painting is not just for the cows—in Boston, they do it with cod, while in Rhode Island, it’s all about Mr. Potato Head.
The end of the beer babes?
June 25, 2003
Speaking of men, sales, and pictures of women… Adrants reports that advocacy groups are turning up the heat on beer makers to turn down the heat in their commercials.
Not surprisingly, the brewers don’t seem terribly sympathetic.
Adrants ran a poll of their readership which indicated that 73% felt that the current beer babes trend was just fine, 17% felt they were getting boring, 8% felt they were racy but okay, and an underwhelming 2% were concerned about their effects on children…
I might miss my guess, but I’m assuming those were mostly men answering…
Alienation has a new name
May 19, 2003
What is it about this movie that so captures everyone’s attention?
Frank, in Neo. Kill! points out that blaming “being in the Matrix” is becoming a popular new murder defense… My personal opinion is that if it wasn’t The Matrix, they’d have played their Black Sabbath albums backwards, or the devil disguised as the neighbor’s dog would have told them to do it, or any of the other excuses down through time people have used to keep from having to ‘fess up and take responsibility for their own actions.
Not that being “at effect” instead of “at cause” isn’t the default state of most of humanity these days, but fortunately the majority take it out on their livers or the dog or something else slightly less damaging to those around them…
But using the movie as a murder defense or not, the release of the sequel (which I will get out to the theater and see soon, regardless of the reviews) has of course unleashed another flurry of pseudo-philosophical essays on the whole concept.
My favorite yesterday was the one trying to portay Neo as “the reincarnation of Buddha”.
‘Scuse me?
I thought enlightenment in Buddhism was all about not having to reincarnate anymore…
Just how much karmic burden do you have to be sweating off to be forced to reincarnate as Keanu Reeves?
Nevermind… I really don’t wanna know…
The idea of the perceptual world being illusion is at least as old as the Hindu Vedas, and as new as quantum tunneling—it’s been with us forever.
Which is probably why this movie strikes such a chord with so many people—it appears to tie into some deep-seated archetype in our personalities somewhere.
Which is not to suggest that the idea is wrong, of course, just that as usual, a lot of people have totally managed to miss the metaphor as it was presented, and have confused the map with the territory…
I guess we should be thankful that we don’t find them at the snackbar at the theater, attempting to eat the menu…
you had my hope up 
