Category Archives: News

‘TODAY’ says that flavored coffee drinks have calories

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If you missed it, this morning the Today show let us know in their Drink This Not That segment, many flavoried coffee drinks where covered. The guest speaker was the author of Eat This, Not That! 2011: Thousands of easy food swaps .

As you would expect… big drinks with lots of syrups and whole milk is like eating a lot of candy. Well, calories wise, it isn’t the best thing for you. Before folks get really excited, what we comparing the calories against? If a person has a drip coffee and four donuts, they could have skipped the crumbs and just had a tasty drink. All fun aside, it is an eye opener on how the calories count up. Here is the info from the show… I had to type fast!

Starbucks
Peppermint Mocha Latte whole milk
700 calories

Starbucks
Cafe Mocha Skim Milk
220 calories

Dunkin Donuts
Large Gingerbread Latte
440 calories (= 4.5 of their “Sprinkle The Cheer donuts”)

Dunkin Donuts
Medium Gingerbread Latte
170 calories

Panera Bread Peppermint Hot Chocolate
610 calories

Panera Bread 10 oz Hot Chocolate
270 calories

McDonald’s
Large Frappe Carmel
680 calories

McDonald’s
Non-Fat Carmel Cappuccino
190 calories

Starbucks
Vente Eggnog latte with whole Milk
630 calories

If you want to see the video of the actual show bit, take a look on their TODAY Holiday Guide Web page.

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Starbucks® Christmas Blend is in – Including VIA Too!

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Buzzing by the local Starbucks, we knew the holiday season was upon us as the Christmas Blend was available! If your new to the Christmas Blend, you might want to give it a try if you like slightly stronger coffee without the burnt taste and without the afterburn most often found with the stronger day coffees.

Starbucks describes it as: Multi-Region Blends, Tasting – Sweet, spicy, herbal.
The normal bags of the regular Christmas beans are available. Normally, we enjoy for the month to two months, then they are not available anymore and you can only drink ‘older’ beans. This year, Starbucks has added a Espresso bean version.

And finally, for us folks on the go, a VIA version. Yes, for the first time we can have a cup of the Christmas Blend even when a bean grinder isn’t available. We are normally talking about what a little speciality coffee shop can do better than the big chains, but in this case we are really happy we can take our seasonal coffee with us.

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illy Y1 iperEspresso Machine discounted

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illy has introduced a new single cup coffee/espresso maker that is a nice piece of art. It looks like a little red table and a dispenser popping up out of the back right corner.

In reality there is a power button and heat status lights along the top. The upper part of the ‘dispenser’ opens to accept the new illy coffee capsules. Below the coffee head the ‘table top’ lowers so a variety of cup sizes can be used. Water has a drawer of it’s own on the right side of the unit. Used coffee capsules eject into a back area holder to dispose of later.

As single cup makers go, the Y1 iperEspresso Machine is average for the more complex machines at $295 (US). It is possible to get this fine looking machine for only $125 (US). If you order online and agree to sign up for a coffee delivery service you get this more than 50% discount. A new ‘Lungo’ roast has been added to the Medium, Bold and Decaffeinated options. The delivery times for the service can be weekly up to monthly. You may want to read the rules, but it appears that you only have to take one round of capsule deliveries before your allowed to cancel so your not locked into a long term agreement for deliveries. That said, where else will you get the new style capsules (outlined below)?

“Now, for a limited time, the striking and compact Francis Francis Y1 iperEspresso machine is OFFERED FOR JUST $125 (value of $295) plus a $12.95 handling fee. Simply purchase a minimum of 2 cans of iperEspresso capsules with your machine, and we’ll continue to send you convenient deliveries of 2 or more cans of capsules on the delivery schedule you choose. There’s no commitment. You can change or cancel your coffee deliveries any time after your first shipment.”

The coffee packets that illy has been using (below) are called the ESE Pods. These have been manufactured by other coffee providers. We use these all the time in our hand pump espresso gadget. They come in a variety of strengths and since different brands there are different tastes and quality.

New for the iperEspresso machine is the “iperEspresso Capsules’. These are only being manufactured by illy in three types: Medium, Dark and Decaffeinated (Lungo just added as this was being typed). The special feature of these new capsules is that all of the brewing happens inside of it so the fluids never touch the machine. Hot water is pushed in, steeping happens, the fluid goes into a second area of the capsule then pushed out to your cup. The illy site has a nice little video of how this all works (the site doesn’t allow direct linking to the video, go here and look for the little video camera icon half way down the page on the left side). The capsule below is upside down from how it goes into the machine. The pricing on the illy site is showing a pair of 21 capsule containers are $32 (US).

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NESCAFE’ has coffee makers and they need to be on my counter!

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Last night there was a NESCAFE’ coffee commercial on TV. I barely glanced up from my computer as it went sped through a whirl of cold and coffee drink images. Until I saw a flash of what looked like a very artistic coffee maker. I was reaching for the remote to rewind back to see what must be an artist concept when several more coffee makers where flashed up making dark rich coffee. Artist concepts? Future product? Did they steal something from a art college?

I spent a while looking around for the commercial online. Visiting the NESCAFE’ Instant Coffee site resulted in nothing. Not giving up, I clicked through the different areas of the site till I happened upon a link to the NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto™” site. There I found the four bits of cool fun art to sit on the kitchen counter which I can request a cup of coffee from too.

I have several different brands of machines that use pucks, discs and cups of pre-packaged coffee. Each machine does something better than the other and the coffee choices vary from one brand to another as well. All are black and silver plastic with a see through plastic area to hold water.

Coffee for the NESCAFE’ Dolce Gusto line is more specialized than others since it is limited to their own. Most other quick coffee makers have done deals with a variety of other coffee producers so their line stretchs across many customer’s needs. By allowing others to package coffee, you get more choices but less control on what the customer has. NESCAFE’

From their FAQ:

NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto™ is a new coffee machine with a proprietary one portion capsule that produces high quality coffee-shop style beverages including Espresso, Cappuccino, Latte Macchiato and Lungo (traditional cup of coffee). The machines will be available in black, red, and cream. NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto is a joint venture between Nestlé® and KRUPS® and is aimed exclusively toward the at-home consumer. This 15 bar system uses pressure similar to coffee house machines. The coffee that is used in the capsules is made of premium 100% Arabica pure coffee beans.

Retail pricing:

NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto™ Piccolo – $89-$99
NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto™ Melody™ 2 – $129
NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto™ Circolo™ – $149
NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto™ Creativa™ – $169

The flavors available cover hot to cold, mild to strong:

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Starbucks Reserves Single-Origin Coffees On Their Way

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In a recent press release, Starbucks announced that, beginning at the tail end of August, it is releasing Galápagos San Cristóbal (a “medium-bolded” coffee), the first in a series of premium single-origin coffees called “Starbucks Reserves.”  Throughout the fall, Aged Sulawesi Kalosi, Fair Trade Nicaragua Corcasan, Brazil Sul de Minas Peaberry, and El Salvador Montecarlos Estate Pacamra will follow Galápagos San Cristóbal.  According to this fact sheet, Galápagos San Cristóbal is “a rare coffee from the unique subtropical climate in the Galápagos Islands that produces a limited amount of coffee each year.” Baristas brew Galápagos San Cristóbal via the pour over method or with a Clover coffee maker (Clover machines are currently available in more than 60 Starbucks stores, with more to come throughout the year).  Both methods will enhance and enliven the coffee’s rich and complex flavor over traditional drip brewing.

Starting August 31, if you’re fortunate enough to live in New York City, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, D.C., Boston, Seattle, Portland (Oregon), Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Atlanta, or Miami, you will be able to purchase Galápagos San Cristóbal in-store for an immediate fix or whole-bean by the half pound. The suggested retail price for a half-pound of these ultra-premium beans is $12.50; $2.95 will get you a freshly brewed Tall.  For comparison, 11 oz of Starbucks’ Natural Fusion flavored coffee comes in at $8.95 and the old standby Caffè Verona runs $10.95 a pound.

If you’re not lucky enough to live in those areas, you can purchase (as of August 17) the 8 oz bag online at www.starbucksstore.com.  On August 28, participating Starbucks Reserve stores will host special tasting events.

No advanced word as to whether Starbucks Reserve will see an incarnation as a VIA instant coffee drink, but with the increasing popularity of VIA and Starbucks’ willingness to innovate by continuing to expand VIA options (VIA Iced), don’t rule it out.

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