Category: coffee

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Help, we need somebody…

BBC reports on how Starbucks is trying to get its customers to come up with fresh ideas.

Coffee chain giant Starbucks is hoping its loyal customers may be able to brew up the bright ideas to help turn around its struggling fortunes.

The company recently launched a website offering its US customers the chance to pitch ideas for how the firm can improve its stores and operations.

Here’s some free advice Starbucks…

Make better coffee, nicer environments and lower your prices.

Oh and free wireless wouldn’t go amiss either!

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Illy

Illy Coffee

Listening to Windows Weekly last week I was reminded by Leo Laport on how good Illy coffee is.

When I use to visit Italy a lot I would always try and ensure that the coffee I drank when out and about was Illy.

Even today when looking for coffee, if I see an Illy sign, I make a beeline for that cafe over any other.

Today when we have coffeeshops on every corner, we sometimes forget when we pay £2 ($4) a cup that really we should expect not any old coffee in that cup, but a really good cup of coffee.

I keep meaning to buy some Illy for my espresso machine, but in the meantime I have been using Percol’s organic freetrade coffee instead, which I also enjoy.




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Latte please, to go…

Imagine going to Starbucks having already ordered your drink from your iPhone?

Engadget reports on an application for the iPhone which allows you to place an order for a drink so it’s ready when you get there.

Quickorder, as you can probably imagine, would enable iPod touch users to swing by their local Starbucks, order up their favorite drink and avoid a good deal of that always questionable human interaction.

Just demonstrates how useful/useless an application for a mobile device can be.

Photo source.

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McGreen

This is a really interesting article in the Guardian from a week back, I meant to blog then but I was away from a computer.

He could have chosen Rainforest Alliance certified freshly ground coffee, with British organic milk, or a free-range egg, delivered by a lorry powered by biodiesel from recycled cooking oil, and a bag of carrot sticks or fresh fruit.

No they’re not talking about Starbucks or Costas, they are talking about that fast food giant McDonalds.

They are reinventing themselves.

Now you won’t catch me there, but it’s tempting if there is better coffee and they have free wifi…

What!

Stop!

They’re getting to you…

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628 Calories

You know that Grande Mocha you bought from Starbucks this morning.

628 calories.

That’s right a huge chunk of your recommended daily intake of calories.

Oh you had a muffin as well, a skinny one?

Well that’s okay then isn’t it!

Thanks The Register.

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Coffee Primo

Stopped at the services and actually had quite good service at the Coffee Primo stand, normally I always seem to ge the surly assistant who seems to really not want to work there (sometimes not surprising but I am the customer and more importantly a human being).

Today I got a fellow person who was bright cheerful and happy to serve me my Americano.

It wasn’t bad, I have had (much) better, and I have had a lot worse, but it tasted fine and did the job.

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Which coffee do you drink?

coffeeSo which coffee do you drink on a regular basis?

Personally I stopped drinking instant coffee a few years ago, and now only drink “proper” coffee. I either use my espresso machine or the cafetiere.

I use Percol’s Fairtrade Organic Percol which is quite a strong coffee.

Dark and full with upfront flavours of bitter chocolate and hazelnut with a smooth and rounded finish.

I enjoy this first thing in the morning and often have a second cup mid-morning if I am at home.

So which coffee do you drink and enjoy?

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Ritazza Coffee

If you go to some service stations (Moto if I remember correctly) you will find Ritazza coffee shops.

coffee

I don’t recall seeing this brand on the high street, only on the motorway.

I recently enjoyed a nice Americano from Ritazza and (despite the picture) the coffee was served in a real mug as opposed to the cardboard cups you sometimes get. I was also able to get skimmed milk which was a bonus.

Though I still believe that the food at motorway service stations leaves a lot to be desired, I am relieved I can find a decent cup of coffee.

Now all they need to do is make the environment more welcoming!

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A warning to all coffee lovers out there

Found this interesting article on the BBC News website.

Girl overdoses on espresso coffee. A teenager was taken to hospital after overdosing on espresso coffee.

It would appear that she had seven double espresso coffees and as a result had overdosed on caffeine!

A warning to all coffee lovers out there.

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Tiramisu Recipe

This is my recipe, there are no exact quantities as I don’t use them…

Get some amaretti biscuits, you can use sponge fingers if you prefer.

Make up some espresso coffee, using decent espresso coffee. Add some Amaretto spirit. For those that avoid spirits, then just using coffee will be fine.

Dunk the amaretti into the coffee/Amaretto mix, and place into small bowls (or one big bowl).

Mix (say) three egg yolks with some caster sugar (say 3 oz), mix in a tub of Mascarpone cheese.

Spoon the mixture onto the biscuits.

Now you could do a layer of biscuits, a layer of the Mascarpone mixture, but it depends more on what you are serving them in.

Leave in the fridge to set.

Once set, dust with cocoa.

Serve.

Links

Disaronno Amaretto