Caffeine Trivia 04.30.14

Everybody should believe in something.  I believe I’ll have another coffee.  ~Author Unknown

Caffeine Trivia 4.29.14

Did you know:

The first “coffee break” on the moon took place at 7:27pm, July 20, 1969. It was three hours after landing and four hours before the historic walk that an astronaut on the Eagle spacecraft radioed Houston control to say, “If you’ll excuse me a minute, I’m going to have a cup of coffee.”

Caffeine Trivia 04.28.14

A cappuccino is an Italian coffee drink prepared with espresso, hot milk, and steamed-milk foam. The Italian name ‘cappuccino’ comes from the long, pointed cowl, or cappuccino, that was worn as part of the habit of the Capuchin Order of Friars. In Italian, the word cappuccino also describes espresso coffee mixed or topped with steamed milk or cream, because the color of the coffee resembled the color of the habit of a Capuchin friar. Some people also believe that the term relates to the aspect of a friar’s tonsured (white) head, surrounded by a ring of brown hair.

Caffeine Trivia 04.25.14

This is a yummm for me: A good test for freshness of a coffee bean is to actually bite into the bean. If it has a crisp bite and a strong, full-flavored aftertaste, it is fresh. However, if it is chewy or bitter, it is not.

Caffeine Trivia 4.16.14

From the Seed to the Cup – Ten Steps to Coffee

#1 – Planting

A coffee bean is actually a seed. When dried, roasted and ground, it is used to brew  coffee. But if the seed is not processed, it can be planted and will grow into a coffee  tree.

Coffee seeds are generally planted in large beds in shaded nurseries.  After  sprouting, the seedlings are removed from the seed bed to be planted in individual  pots in carefully formulated soils. They will be watered frequently and shaded  from bright sunlight until they are hearty enough to be permanently planted.      Planting often takes place during the wet season, so that the soil around the young  trees remains moist while the roots become firmly established.

Source: National Coffee Association USA

I Love Paris in the Springtime…..

This is a reposting of my blog written in 2008: When I told my friend Henry about my new blog, Caffeine Chronicles, and how bad the coffee was in Spain….he immediately responded that’s why I loved Paris so much.  You guessed it, the best coffee I’ve ever had was in Paris…everywhere in Paris. 

They have something very similar to cafe con leche…they call it Cafe Creme…but to the tenth power.  My first introduction to Cafe Creme’s taste and kick came very shortly after arriving in Paris on the morning of April 20th, 2007.  Yes, I remember the date.

I was on a business trip to Paris – participating in an incredible real estate expo.  Lynda and I were on the same flight from Miami (this is same Lynda that referred me to the Preciosos Hotel in Madrid with the Starbucks down the street) and she agreed to go with me to the Eiffel Tower before we started to work at the expo the next day.  It was great to have Lynda go with me because she speaks French…I do not…and she’s been to Paris before.You see, going to the top of the Eiffel Tower is one of the things on my list of 50 things I have to see or do before I die.  I composed my list of 50 when I turned 50.  In fact, three things on my list were accomplished during my trip to Paris (more on that later).

It was cold…very, very cold standing in line with all the other tourists waiting to buy a ticket.  My decision was to buy a ticket to go to all three levels, culminating at the top.  This was huge, considering I have a fear of heights.  My heart raced all the way to the first level, but I stayed on the lift.  My heart never beat harder going to the second level platform.  There we had to get off, walk up two flights of stairs (metal grating) and get into a small elevator that would take us to the top….a glass elevator.  I did not know that a person could survive when their heart and stomach relocate to their throat.

It was worth it!  What an absolutely incredible 360 degree view of Paris.  I can honestly say, it took my breath away, not from fear, but from the sheer beauty of this city.  There was also a bonus…a coffee shop at the top.  I had my “first” cafe creme and unbelievable pastry called a pan du chocolate (pardon my spelling).  The coffee was fabulous, rich, dark and very strong with the sweetest tasting milk that I’ve had.  I was hooked.

Only one other of my fears needed to be overcome that day while I was conquering my fear of heights, very nicely, thank you very much – my fear of birds.  There were pigeons everywhere and they were bold.  They are used to being fed by vistors to the top and they approach you.  I’m talking right up to your feet.  I had to throw small bits of my pan du chocolate some distance away from me just to get them away, far away from me.  But these were smart pigeons, they saw the hand that was feeding them and demanded more.  Sorry, but my fear stems from a flock of pigeons that desended upon me at a young age at Miami’s Bayfront Park…..just like the movie “The Birds”.

Needless to say, it was one item on my list of 50 that exceeded my expectations.  It also had that bonus…my first Cafe Creme.

Later…..

Caffeine Trivia 4.14.14

Buy Right ~ It is wise to purchase coffee in amounts proportionate to how quickly it will used. Coffee begins to lose its freshness almost immediately after roasting so it is far better to purchase it in smaller quantities. Purchase freshly roasted coffee frequently and buy only what you will use in the next 1 or 2 weeks. And because exposure to air is your coffee’s worst enemy, it is a good idea to divide your coffee supply into several smaller portions, keeping the larger, unused portion in an air-tight container.

Source: National Coffee Association USA

Caffeine Trivia 4.13.14

Storing Your Daily Coffee – It is important not to refrigerate or freeze your daily supply of coffee because contact with moisture will cause it to deteriorate.  Instead, store coffee in air-tight glass or ceramic containers and keep it in a convenient, but dark and cool, location. Remember that a cabinet near the oven is often too warm, as is a cabinet on an outside wall of your kitchen if it receives heat from a strong afternoon or summer sun.

The commercial coffee containers that you purchased your coffee in are generally not appropriate for long-term storage. Appropriate coffee storage canisters with an airtight seal are a worthwhile investment.

Source: National Coffee Association USA

Caffeine Trivia 04.12.14

Caffeine isn’t a drug, it’s a vitamin!  ~ Author Unknown

I have to have my daily dosage!!

Caffeine Trivia 04.10.14

He was my cream, and I was his coffee – And when you poured us together, it was something.  ~ Josephine Baker