A Nice Cuppa

I am not organized when it comes to my daily life. Lists, frequent housecleaning, and rigid schedules don???t guide me. However, there are a few habits I???ve held dear since I can remember. In these, I am incredibly strict and any interference can seem an irreparable loss.
Perhaps the most important custom is how I drink […]

Many Americans have been on a diet at one point or another. And it’s pretty safe to say that at some point most of us have heard that caffeine aids in weight loss. The question is, can that claim be backed up?
Dutch researchers seem to think it can. They’ve found […]

Every year connoisseurs eagerly await Darjeeling Nouveau…. This is the springtime harvest of tea known as the first flush. The Darjeeling district is famous for producing teas with the most exquisite bouquets, they are the best and most delicate of the India teas. Some 87 tea gardens are set within the foothills of the magnificent […]

The Civil-La-Tea tearoom serves the most colorful teas with unique ingredients. The Jenny Wade Jewels tea-tangerine, freesia, roses and hibiscius, Union Blue Lady tea-coconut, kiwi, and strawberries, Victorian Garden Tea- rolled green tea, rose petals and lavender, and Moon Over Savannah tea-black tea with passion fruit, strawberry, mango, and […]

Nino Marchetti is a Portland, OR area based freelance writer who specializes in food and technology related topics. His work has appeared in print publications as well as Web sites like About.com, Designtechnica and Citysearch. He also muses about food cravings, beagles, cool tech toys and other random things at his blog Nino Nano Speed.
Even […]

My Ethiopian Ghimbi from Sweet Maria’s, nice and dark, is at it’s prime today. I’m sipping a straight shot, something I’m not quite used to yet. Many minutes in, there is still a nice roof of crema. Hints of chocolate and molasses fill my senses. My mouth tingles with excitement. It’s almost effervescent. Truly, it […]

I have a confession to make: I am not a tea connoisseur. While this may not rank as one of the most startling confessions ever, it is certainly one of the motivations for my wanting to write for this fine blog. I am hoping to learn as much as I can about this precious […]

I’m a barista. I thought I was a barista. I work in a coffee shop after all. I grind it, brew it, serve it in a cup and ring it through after all. I even smile, and if they smile back I’ll beam an even bigger one at them. But […]

Drinking coffee is a very ritualistic activity. A sacred event, if you will. For those who appreciate good coffee, the daily brew is a very necessary part of the day. Whether gulped on the way to work, or sipped over the morning news, it???s as essential as eating and breathing. Most […]

It was my wife who first made the mistake of humoring my addiction by purchasing a Krups boiler espresso machine to celebrate my birthday four years ago. The justification was that my $3.50 a day habit would, hopefully, drop to somewhere around a buck a day provided I used the new machine regularly. If instead […]