December 13th, 2009 by editor
I am simply amazed at the variety of coffee lovers’ gift baskets that are available today. One of my real coffee-loving friends had an upcoming birthday, and I had determined that I would send him a gift basket made up of coffee and coffee items. We had shared many cups of coffee over the years, and it seemed like an appropriate and thoughtful gift for my old friend.
The idea sounded simple enough, I thought. I would just go online, find a nice coffee gift basket and have it sent to him. Problem solved! That was before I discovered how many choices there were available. It was a mind-boggling array.
I had the option of choosing a gift basket that was already made up and consisted of a variety of gourmet coffees. I had the option of choosing a gift basket that I could determine which coffees…
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December 3rd, 2009 by editor
You might have visions of Mardi Gras and Bourbon Street when you think about coffee with chicory. The coffee served in New Orleans and all of south Florida comes in two flavors; with and without chicory. The coffee is always strong, and only tourists add anything to the coffee. It is usually served in demitasse cups (4 ounces).
Some people mistakenly believe that the coffee with chicory is stronger and bitterer tasting than coffee without chicory, but that is a misconception. Chicory makes the coffee blacker, but it does not make it stronger or bitterer. Actually, the chicory makes the coffee a little less bitter and a tad sweeter.
Chicory leaves have long been used as a salad green all over the country. They have a distinctive and pleasant taste and add another dimension to green salads that many people find very enjoyable. Chicory root is the…
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November 27th, 2009 by editor
Back in the dim and dusty past, women didn’t hold jobs outside the home. I know that is hard to believe, but it is true. One income was sufficient for a household to live on. Children were cared for by their mothers at home, while the father worked and earned the living to support the household. My, how times have changed!
Now, understand that running a household was a full time job in those days. The modern conveniences that we all take for granted didn’t exist. Washing machines weren’t automatic, clothes were dried on clothes lines, and the only canned goods that were available were those that the mother had canned and stored herself. Life wasn’t easy, and social occasions were few and far between. That is why women participated in old-fashioned coffee klatches.
Coffee klatches were most often regularly scheduled events. A group of women would gather at…
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November 23rd, 2009 by editor
This is going to come as a shock to a lot of people, but coffee is just loaded with health benefits. It is true! Because coffee tastes so good and provides so much pleasure to coffee lovers, it stands to reason that it would have to be unhealthy…like French fries or T-bone steak or a good cigar, right? Nope! Wrong! Coffee is actually good for you and it is just full of health benefits.
First, coffee has long been known to improve mental alertness and relieve the boredom of repetitious tasks, but that is not even a scratch on the surface of the health benefits that coffee provides.
Coffee has been proven to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Those who are regular coffee drinkers are diagnosed far less often and later in life for both. There are good scientific studies that back up this claim.
Coffee also is loaded with antioxidants. There are scientific studies to back up this claim as well. Regular coffee consumption has been proven to prevent type-2 diabetes in…
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November 19th, 2009 by editor
Every morning sunrise in America means that coffee is being brewed in almost every kitchen across this great country. Coffee is the traditional morning drink for the greatest majority of American citizens. The coffee that is brewed each morning is just coffee. There isn’t anything exotic about it.
The coffee is usually made from coffee that has been purchased at the local supermarket. It is most often made in automatic drip coffee makers, but there are still a few of us who use percolators. We don’t want anybody to do anything exotic to that first cup of morning coffee, but as the day progresses, we get more adventuresome and we like to try “stuff” that will make coffee more interesting.
Syrups are available in some really exotic flavors that can be added to a plain cup of coffee to give some added body,…
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November 15th, 2009 by editor
The medical establishment has changed its view of the way caffeine affects blood pressure several times over the years. It kind of reminds me of that old song, “First you say you do and then you say you don’t, first you say you will and then you say you won’t…”
While it IS true that drinking a cup of coffee temporarily and very briefly raises blood pressure by a tiny bit, the caffeine does not cause the blood pressure to remain elevated for any length of time, and now almost all medical research suggests that there is no correlation between coffee drinking and an increased risk of heart attack or stroke. Furthermore, there is very good research that has determined that coffee drinking is actually helpful in preventing colorectal cancer and delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Actually, it would be nice if simply giving up caffeine were the complete answer and an easy fix to the problem of high blood pressure. That isn’t the answer, though. You can keep your coffee mug…
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November 13th, 2009 by editor
Caffeine is a natural substance that is found in coffee. Caffeine is also found in tea, soft drinks, and chocolate. Caffeine is what helps to wake us up in the morning as we sip that first cup of coffee. It is what gives us that little added boost in the afternoon when our energy is flagging.
There is research that “proves” that caffeine is bad for us and good for us. It has been determined that caffeine is a stimulant, and some researchers see that as a good thing; while others see it as a bad thing. It is true that caffeine is somewhat addictive and there are those who are deeply opposed to anything and everything that might possibly be addictive in any way.
My point is that the caffeine might be called the “active ingredient” in coffee. So, of course, it can be removed. When…
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