A Nice Cuppa

In Manhattan, good apartments are as easy to come by as flying pigs. After months of searching, my husband and I finally found the perfect one. We call it our grown-up apartment because we can finally decorate according to our taste rather than depending solely on family hand-me-downs or knick-knacks found on the […]

The following list is not intended to include all beverages made with coffee but as a reference guide to some traditional and a few unusual ones. Enjoy!
Espresso Based Coffee Drinks
It is imperative to note that to make spectacular drinks, you’ve got to start with great tasting, high quality fresh coffee. No amount of sugar, […]

Tea is as British as Big Ben, The Queen and bad teeth. So when one crosses the pond to visit this lovely land, coffee is not on the top of the list of things to try. While you can’t walk 100 yards without seeing a Starbucks or Costa Coffee on the street (the only decent […]

I was raised LDS. That???s Mormon to most people. It???s pretty common knowledge that there are some strict rules for Mormons, especially in the food and drink department. Coffee is evil. It is on the same par as cigarettes, alcohol and drug abuse. At a Mormon summer camp, a girl in my cabin […]

I was born and raised in Mexico City and food has been part of my visual and emotional memory since … well since always. Latin and Jewish families revolve around food and I am no exception to that rule.
I am a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and have been working in various restaurants […]

Among lovers of food and drink, there are extraordinary levels of devotion that exist in the confines of the kitchen and its associated crafts. A passionate baker will happily commit two days to making croissants that they could just as easily buy at the corner bakery. A skilled and accordingly fussy chef might […]

How can you not like an espresso with monkey in the title? It conjures up fantastical images of monkeys picking the beans. It just sounds fun and exciting. So it shouldn’t be surprising that this blend is a bit on the mischievous side.
For starters, this is a blend of different beans, but Sweet Maria’s is […]

Is it Coke effervescence? Is it coffee essence? Cola maker Coca-Cola would have you believe its both as they prepare an American roll out of Coca-Cola Blak, a ???carbonated fusion beverage??? which blends Coca-Cola, natural flavors and coffee essence into a drink the soda company hopes will pick you up and, in turn, pick up […]

How do you get to the Carnegie Hall of barista-ing? Practice. Another week at the unnamed Toronto coffee shop is in the books, and I’m still learning the ropes. As I should. Generally, new job learning curves are little more than a speed bump when it comes to basic execution (flipping […]

What goes better with coffee than dessert? Well, with my recipe for Espresso Brownies you can have your coffee in your dessert. Or, you can just have a double dose of the energy-buzz inducing stuff. The great thing about these brownies, I’ve found out through lots of consumer research - you don’t […]