Category Archives: Fun

The Caffeine Infographic

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Randy Krum and his CoolInfographics site is well known for digging up fun Infographics all sorts of subjects. Many of the graphics on his site he did himself, including The Caffeine Poster.

He has taken the time to research and create a graphic that takes us through the many popular drinks that contain Caffeine (excluding Tea). Colas, drip coffee, Starbucks, Einstein Bros, the Energy Drinks and many more top brands. As well, Randy noted key items in the chart, like coffee half life in the human body is 4.9 hours and ‘the jitters’ set in at 300mg of caffeine.

Fun for this particular poster is that he took the time to do a ‘Making-of. It covers how he collected data, what software he used to build the infographic and even his notes in his moleskin along the way. I enjoyed his parts on where the data came from and his first few attempts at the graphic till he got it just right. I would say he had a winner here. Maybe there will be enough interest for him to end up doing a poster, which he mentions is under consideration. Also under consideration is looking over this poster before you buy your next drink now that you have the facts.

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Maple Bacon Flavored Coffee… Really?

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Doing so many meetings at a variety of coffee houses around the world, I see and hear folks order some interesting combinations of drinks. Most get to the point that I’m not sure why they have coffee in the mix, they end up with a super sweet drink to push down the coffee taste. I appriciate everyone has their own tastes. That is why when I saw the below, I just had to mention it. The folks back at the office will try it when our order gets in, just because they will try ‘anything’ bacon.

In full disclosure, I heard about the coffee from visiting one of my advertisers over on the right. Just looking around at what was different, and this option really hit me as ‘different’.

Even though they list the name as Maple Bacon flavored, I’m wondering if it will be less sweet than adding syrups in the finished drip coffee. More of a flavor ‘with’ the coffee rather than over the top.

Watch for a review here. Maybe some face shots if folks really love it or… they don’t. They loved the Mint Chocolate I brought in last week from the same folks, but this might be a stretch. Fun!

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Costco Introduces Instant Coffee Drink Packets

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Brandy has been keeping her eyes open for new instant coffee offerings. And it appears she has found a box of Cappuccino that Costco is selling under their Kirkland brand name. Here is what Brandy found:

Kirkland Signature Café Cappuccino™ is a little like a coffee house in a packet. You can make it hot, iced, or blend it for a cost-efficient, do-it-yourself frappuccino.

Ideally, I appreciate the convenience of premeasured, prepackaged coffee, but only if it’s worthwhile. This one is. Personally, I love that it comes in a premeasured packet, as opposed to a canister. I can carry it with me (and I don’t have to worry about how much mix to use).

The consistency of this mix is much better than similarly marketed easy-prep cappuccino mixes. This one doesn’t settle to the bottom quickly and doesn’t come off as watery-tasting (which I find to be the fatal flaw in Folgers and Hills Bros. cappuccino mixes). That gave me the confidence to be a little more creative. (Such liberties are not recommended with inferior coffee mixes; trust me.)

But, let’s not lose sight of the most important part: The espresso! Many competitors’ brands contain the instant coffee, but lack the instant espresso. What’s the point? So, if you’re too lazy to lug your espresso machine around with you (or too cheap to buy one in the first place), this could be a viable alternative.

I prefer iced coffee, which we were able to easily achieve. The package also suggests blending, which I also did. Simply add milk (or water) and ice and mix in the blender. I topped it off with whipped cream and chocolate shavings and even forewent my morning trip to Starbucks. (We also blended it with vanilla ice cream and served it in shot glasses with whipped cream and sprinkles for a dessert treat.)

Kirkland Signature Café Cappuccino retails for about $1 a serving, which allows you to give your wallet and your barista a break.

These are big packets! Here is the Kirkland instant cappuccino next to the Starbucks VIA.

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Fine Tuning Your Home Espresso

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There is that point when the really dark coffee from your espresso machine starts to lighten – known as the crema. What if you cut the pressure off just before the color changes? What if you let it go a bit longer as the color goes light? How about steaming your milk… while having the foaming head just below the surface froths the best, what if you went deeper initially. Will the milk taste a lot different if you heat from the bottom or the top of the milk container? How much difference does 160 vs 165 vs 180 degree milk?

There is the text book ‘right’ answer to all of the above. Very specific rules that you can find if you look around the internet or learn in a school. To understand the difference between acceptable espresso compared to great espresso is more than if it is more bitter or mild. There are many items you will want to take into consideration when rating a drink.

The International Coffee Organization has a long list of items that you may want to look over to think about when you take your cup in hand. Aromas… ashy, burnt, medicinal, chocolate-like, carmel, and many more. Tastes… acidity, bitterness, sweetness, saltiness and sourness. Mouthfeel… body and astringency. A lot of descriptive words, that they offer more detail to so you can use the information to narrow down what your really experiencing.

Randy Glass back in 2006 did a very nice reading post called “A Beginners’ Guide to Tasting Espresso”. He took a similar list to the one I referenced above to work his way through his settings and bean options. You may relate to everything you have heard about wine tasting, espresso is very similar.

After paying attention to the aroma, taste and feel of different coffees… you will have an advantage of knowing what your drinking and if the preparer has done it with care and fresh products. It’s all about enjoying your espresso!

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